Palestinian birth practices: Accounts from dayat (traditional birth attendants) in Palestine
This blog is a compilation of knowledge gathered from various research studies conducted by Laura Wick and others at the Institute of Community and Public Health of Birzeit University in Palestine. The research involved interviews with birthing people and dayat (traditional birth attendants) to gain first hand accounts of birth practices in Palestine.
Advocating for yourself during birth: Why informed refusal is just as important as informed consent
In birth work spaces we often talk about the importance of informed consent. Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law that a patient should have sufficient information before making their own free decisions about their medical care. Interestingly there are several different definitions of informed consent depending on where you look.
Many birth workers also speak of free consent, which means that a person is able to give consent without being coerced one way or another.
These principles of free and informed consent rely on health care professionals who provide adequate provision of information and education to the birthing person regarding the nature, management implications, options and outcomes of various choices.
We need to rethink linear time in the birth space
Linear time is the idea that time is sequential, always pushing forward and never back. This subjectivity may be considered normal, but if we look at time from the perspective of various non-western cultures, this is not necessarily the case. Within the labour ward setting, time is a finite resource that is essentially ‘running out’ the moment you you walk through the hospital doors.