The Virtual Midwife

Getting to know Lorraine - VIDM Committee Member
It has been a pleasure and an honour to be involved with Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) for over a decade. As one of the (two) non-midwives on the committee, I help support the technology and organizational side of bringing together a global virtual conference. My backgound is in post-secondary education and instructional design, primarily in online learning. I am fascinated by the many ways digital technologies can bridge the divides of distance and access, bringing teaching and learning to a global audience.
My education background includes a diploma in adult education and a Masters in Education specializing in learning and leadership.
I live in the beautiful Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, Canada. I have been mostly retired for the last few years, which affords me the time to work with virtual conferences like VIDM. I also support the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) conference as the  2020 Programs Chair. It was at this conference many years ago that I first met the VIDM founders: Sarah Steward and Deb Davies. The rest, as they say, is history.
Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education  http://www.vwbpe.org

Virtual International Day of the Midwife  http://www.vidm.org

Getting to Know Ally - committee member for VIDM

Ally Anderson is a newly qualified midwife at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, UK. She was a secondary science teacher for thirteen years before embarking on a change of career and going back to study again at Teesside University. Ally’s first degree was in Anatomy and Physiology and she has a PGCE and Masters in Education. Ally has four children and a husband who keep her busy in between placements and study!

As part of her studies, Ally took the whole family to Tanzania in 2018 for her elective placement. This experience was invaluable in demonstrating that there are so many things we can all learn from each other whether you are a student, midwife or doctor and whether you work in a well-resourced city hospital in a high-income country or a small village hospital in a low-income country. Ally’s elective placement has enthused her interest in ‘normal’ childbirth, breastfeeding and respectful maternity care.

Due to Ally’s previous role, she is passionate about midwifery education – for students, preceptor midwives and qualified midwives for their continued professional development. In the future, Ally is keen that everyone all over the world should be able to have access to a contemporary and innovative midwifery education.

The VIDM is one way that this could be achieved. She loves working with the wonderful, diverse members of the VIDM committee!

You can find out more about the VIDM on https://vidm.org/

Getting to Know Raquel, committee member for VIDM

Hi! My name is Raquel Justiniano. I´m from Bolivia, residing and working as a midwife in Argentina. I’m currently studying a postgraduate diploma* specializing in Emergency Obstetrics and Gynecology.

I developed an interest in maternal and newborn health while finishing my nursing career and later on when volunteering, assisting women´s health in a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Bolivia. Meanwhile, I helped coordinate an independent social communication project with an emphasis on humanitarian aid. Since then, there have been three things that I´m passionate about: the physiology of birth and the factors needed to promote gentle, dignified births, women´s sexual and reproductive rights, and the work of health professionals in conflict zones.

I advocate for birthrights, which are under threat in some institutional settings which fail to recognize pregnancy and birth as a natural and physiological process of the human body. I´m currently putting a great emphasis on prenatal classes, which are fundamental for healthy pregnancy outcomes, empowering women to trust their body and make informed decisions.

I´m continuously searching for courses, participate in conferences, workshops and reading search findings – this is how I came to know about VIDM.

VIDM is another door to a new experience. Being part of the committee and sharing a common passion for women´s health and newborns is an honor and a great opportunity to enrich myself with outstanding professionals.  

I´m very excited about this VIDM 2020, as we have marvelous midwives who will share their knowledge and work experiences through a FREE online platform! This is amazing! I invite you all to take this chance and join the VIDM2020. 

I´m looking forward to connecting and learning from all of you!

This is more than a book. It is a philosophy of birth that will guide you to connect with the wisdom and purity of your unborn baby. Learning how to communicate with your baby while they are still in your womb may seem unattainable, but the meditations and guided visualizations will allow you to explore this beautiful practice and develop an awareness of your unborn baby so that you are able to work together during pregnancy and birth and be guided by this deeply held wisdom. You will read stories from parents who have experienced these insights as well as transcripts of session done with the author Robyn Sheldon, midwife and soul integration therapist.

The Mama Bamba Way is a beautiful birth book and a powerful reminder of the importance of being still and mindful of every precious moment of pregnancy and birth. 

Connect with  me 

While this in itself sounds too simple, reading the book will give you such a deep insight into the physiology of fear (and its impact on the birthing body) that you will be forever changed. It is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort - especially if you have deep-seated fears that are holding you back from experiencing this life event in all it's power and glory.

Season 3 is all about which books to ready during pregnancy, and first up is Birthing from Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz.

This is an extra-ordinary guide to childbirth preparation. Each chapter will take you on a journey of exploration into the profound mystery of birth that can never be understood with your mind but is known to your heart.
The exercises and activities are the key to unlocking these insights and I encourage you to challenge your creativity and your curiosity as you explore your beliefs and expectations about birth as you work through them.

It is not a script or even a rigid method, but you will learn everything you need to know to be able to birth in awareness rather than be focused on a specific birth outcome. As the title suggests, you will learn how to "birth from within" by gaining insight about what labor might feel like from your perspective. You will learn everything that you would usually learn in a traditional childbirth class, but in a way that uses story and metaphor to explain concepts until it resonates with what you intuitively know already. I encourage you to work through it slowly, savoring the wisdom of other women's stories and anecdotes from around the world.

Don't be afraid to get your pencils, paints and paper out to play with the many examples of birth art, and don't be surprised at what you discover! There is a lot to learn about birth, and this book is a great place to start. I use many of the exercises in my own birth classes and love watching the transition to a deeper understanding that birth is an opportunity for growth and transformation as you become a parent.



If you enjoyed this episode you can sign up for my free video series , check out my store or book a call to chat about signing me up to be your personal virtual midwife. 

It's an uncomfortable conversation. You may be told that a cut is better than a tear but a tear sounds terrifying!

A recent Cochrane systematic review examining the evidence on selective versus routine episiotomies for vaginal birth concluded:

Despite this recommendation, health workers sometimes encounter institutional barriers that pressure them to perform the procedure. Fear of a woman developing a third or fourth degree perineal tear and a lack of proper training can also contribute to high episiotomy rates.

Evidence shows that episiotomies do not protect the perineum during birth and in fact increase the chance of a third or fourth degree tear. Once the cut is done the baby’s head emerging causes the cut to tear deeper into the muscle. Tears will heal much better than episiotomies as well. The scar tissue from an episiotomy can be weaker but will not restrict the perineum’s ability to stretch in future births. A previous episiotomy is not an automatic reason for an elective c-section.

In this episode I talk about some of the things that you can do to prevent an unnecessary episiotomy. Please connect with me on my Facebook page  so that you can be kept up to date with the extensive resources that I am putting together for you about episiotomy. 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift."

Albert Einstein

You will be faced with many choices and decisions during pregnancy. Some of them will feel wrong and some will feel right. Some will require a lot of research and study. Some will involve opinions from family, friends and professionals. All of them will seem overwhelming at some point or another. This episode is about rallying your intuition as a valuable tool that you can rely on. 

You will learn 5 ways of learning to work with your intuition and I end the episode with a short meditation to connect and communicate with your unborn baby. 

* Using your intuition to give you insight into situations or find a solution

* Using your intuition to prepare yourself emotionally for unexpected news.

* Using your intuition to listen to your body's subtle signals.

* Using your intuition to alert you to take action. 

* Using your intuition to connect and communicate with your unborn baby.

SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN CONNECT WITH ME 

[The 10 day Birth Plan](https://www.thevirtualmidwife.com/online-childbirth-course/) (Midwife guide to safe and gentle hospital birth)

[Personal Pregnancy Coach](https://www.thevirtualmidwife.com/personal-midwife-2/)

Download my App - [Birth Breathin](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/birth-breathing/id1295854733?mt=8)g

SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube Channel.

Follow me on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/thevirtualmidwife/) and Instagram

#thevirtualmidwife 

[Join me in my group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevirtualmidwifecafe/)where I do regular live updates and check in calls, adding tips, tools and valuable information for pregnancy.

In our society it is a miracle if a woman gets to adulthood without taking on the belief that childbirth is inherently painful. We have been taught this since a young age. It’s the way childbirth is portrayed in the media, and it’s reinforced in all of the horror stories that people love to tell us (particularly when we are pregnant).

One reason our beliefs are so important is because we all suffer from a cognitive bias called the ‘confirmation bias’. This bias causes us to preferentially seek out information that supports our underlying beliefs while also ignoring or misinterpreting information that would disprove those beliefs.

Because of this, two people with differing beliefs can experience the same exact scene in very different ways. Behind the scenes, our brains are subconsciously on the lookout for information that supports our beliefs. This information will jump out at us, while the contradictory information we may not notice at all.

The stronger the belief, the more biased we become. When you believe that birth is going to be painful, dangerous, frightening or hard, your brain will set to work in the background, trying to find evidence that this is true.

Unfortunately, the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight or flight response, doesn’t differentiate between real and perceived threats. Sometimes fight and flight response does succeed in completely stopping the labour, but more often than not, the result is a long and slow labour with painful but ineffective contractions. And so the self-fulfilling prophecy is complete. 

The fearful mother searched for evidence of danger (why did that machine beep? Why did the midwife make that face?), the ‘evidence’ she found caused her autonomic nervous system to activate fight or flight mode, her labour became painful and she was proven right.

But it doesn’t stop there either, this woman will now share this experience with her friends, cementing their negative beliefs about birthing and setting them up for the same vicious cycle of fear, tension and pain.

By contrast, the mother who has worked on her beliefs and has confidence in her ability to birth will be seeking out any evidence that birth is safe and manageable. The evidence she finds will help her to relax and stay calm and focused, and her birth will be much more pleasant.

This is why it is essential to take the time to examine beliefs and critically assess whether they are based on sound reasoning or not. Identifying unhelpful or limiting beliefs is the first step in the process, and once this is done , begin to replace those with more accurate and helpful alternatives.

The effort put into this preparation is well rewarded when you can fully relax into birth and avoid the pain of a fearful birth.

Reducing fears about childbirth is a highly effective way to reduce pain and improve birth outcomes. While physical preparation helps immensely with stamina and strength, in my view it is the emotional preparation that has the most impact on how childbirth is experienced by the mother, both physically and psychologically.

What is an expectation? 

In the case of uncertainty, expectation is what is considered the most likely to happen. An expectation, which is a belief that is centered on the future, may or may not be realistic. A less advantageous result gives rise to the emotion of disappointment. Wikipedia

What is a belief?

Belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case with or without there being empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty. Wikipedia

If you would like to spend some time getting deeper into your own beliefs and expectations about birth and creating a realistic, relevant and powerful birth plan WITH all the tools and techniques to make it happen PLUS the back up plan (because birth is unpredictable and there are factors that are out of your control) then [LET'S CHAT.](http://thevirtualmidwife.setmore.com/)

Re

Shereen Zarroug and Eleonora Fornelli have a vision "to be the catalyst that makes the UAE the leading country in the world with the highest rates of positive birth and parenting experiences as a result of increased and on going support, education and respected choices" ! 

In this interview they share their respective birth stories, how they came to be birth professionals and their mission to spread awareness and strengthen relationships and trust with medical professionals resulting in collaboration and partnership, through open communication with hospitals and maternity units on holistic and gentle birth practices. 

Of course this resonates deeply with me and I love connecting with women around the world who are bring their strength and resources together to be the change we want to see in the birth world. 

You can find out more about Shereen and Elenonora at [Belly Baby Mom](https://www.bellybabymom.com) and they also have a [podcas](https://www.bellybabymom.com/podcast)t so make sure you subscribe.