The Bauhauswife Blog

"Women were made for birth and life and death. In the moment of miscarriage, birth and life and death come through us."--Kristen Swanson, quoted in an article by Angela Garbes titled "What I Gained from Having a Miscarriage" published in The Stranger, 2016 I knew in the culmination of love that night, that it had happened—that all the everything had shifted with the arrival of a tiny spark, a new beginning.  In that one electric second, you came to be, swimming into me on a wave of ecstasy. Before You, I was free—solitary and structured, focused and intent— now I’m...

It is so inspiring to encounter men who openly admit that they were scared, ignorant, and apprehensive going to their partner's freebirth…and that they sat back and supported her anyway. Successful freebirth hinges on embracing the flow of birth in all its wild wisdom, with the birthing woman at the centre of the vortex. The essential premise of freebirth and its inherent safety is founded on the understanding that birth works best without interference, and that only the woman giving birth can have any authority or insight into her own birth process.  When a person other than the mother feels authorized...

You have probably heard the narrative that suggests that restoring humanity to birth depends on “improving birth” or “moving in the right direction” when it comes to institutional policies.   In other words, “baby steps." Here’s the thing though: as I’ve been working with my partner Emilee Saldaya to create our comprehensive course, “The Complete Guide to Freebirth”, I have been reminded again of how much this approach seems to me to come from the same mindset of scarcity and subordination upon which the entire industrial obstetric approach is predicated.  The idea that it takes “baby steps” to make change,...

Midwifery has changed considerably in the past fifty years. Along with its elevated profile and legitimacy, the profession has undergone a significant shift towards medicalization.  In many cases, midwives work hand-in-hand with obstetricians and hospitals.   For some women, this is a good thing, but for others, who may be expecting midwifery to resemble a holistic, woman-centred relationship in which the mother is the complete authority (as was the case with traditional independent midwifery), regulated midwifery can present unexpected restrictions for women that may not always be made clear to them by their midwives.  Independent midwives or birth attendants may...