Solidarity

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I've been studying hard and attending lots of births, and some things (like housework and this blog) have fallen by the way. But a conversation with two other students this week got me thinking about midwife solidarity.

Midwives are, by nature, pretty cussed, independent and difficult women. I've hard organizing midwives described as "herding cats". Even the most gentle of us are stubborn and have strong beliefs.

And I'll be honest, I've seen and heard of my sister midwives doing or saying things that made me say to myself, "Are you serious? Really? That's nuts!" I'd be surprised if no one's ever thought that about me.

But this is a cry for solidarity. We are midwives, whether licensed or unlicensed, nurse or direct-entry, certified or not. Whether we rely on faith, or evidence, or tradition, we are midwives. And as Ben Franklin said, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."




Next time we have the urge to judge, to point fingers or to say, She's not like -me- let's think a little more deeply. We don't have to agree on every aspect of practice to agree that women deserve choices. A midwife for every woman means midwives as diverse as the world is wide. But we have to stand together, stand up for one another, and believe that what makes us midwives is the same.