Later in this week you will have accomplished six months of pregnancy, meaning "so long, second trimester!". This kind of freaked me out. Common perception is that second trimester is the happy fun time of pregnancy, in between morning sickness and whale-like hugeness. But one of my livejournal friends had this to say about it:
I never really minded the third trimester, it has its own magic to it. You kind of become SO pregnant that it just consumes you, you can't not think about it. The anticipation is so fun and agonizing and the mix of wanting it to be over and meet this person so badly, yet knowing that you will sometimes miss them being inside, it's just all so much. There's nothing else in life to compare it to.awe :)
I threw Margaret Jones on here to represent the surprising number of midwives who were accused of witchcraft. I mean seriously this could be its own category. I could have added Walpurga Hausmanninor Agnes Sampson but their pages have more to do with witchcraft than midwifery so I chose not to clutter up the list too much.
Midwives were smart, popular, powerful women... just the kind that puritans in the 1600s were uncomfortable with. The banished Anne Hutchinson wasn't accused of being a witch, but she did gain a lot of her popularity by being a good midwife, and was punished.
Birthing babies hundreds of years ago was dangerous. Some people believed that if a midwife lost too many mothers or babies, it was because she was killing them as part of an evil pact with the devil. Others believed that if a midwife kept too many mothers or babies alive, it was because she was using magic gained through some evil pact with the devil. Either way a lot of them met with unfortunate ends.
It's just sad to me that throughout history, so many people who've helped women or advocated to improve our health have met with resistance and personal attacks. We don't accuse midwives of being witches anymore, but plenty of them have had to work really hard to improve things for us.
And there's one thing I'll always remember: when I gave birth to Jo in my hospital's birthcare center, my mother told me "You should be very appreciative of women who fought for places like this." I gave birth in my own room, equipped with a comfy sofa for my husband to sleep on, a bathtub to labor in, and a bassinet so our new baby never had to leave our side. The medical equipment and monitors were quickly swept away after the drama of childbirth and we were pretty much in a hotel for the next 24 hours. It was very different from the experience mom had in 1980 having me, where they forced every woman to spend days in the hospital and breastfeeding relationships were thoughtlessly sabatoged by the rigid nursery schedule. And it was DEFINITELY different from my grandmother's experiences in the 50s, where you woke up in a hospital with a four-day-old infant you were told was yours! I am grateful.
This week's articles
Month Week Day Article 5 26W,0D 182 Lina Medina 6 26W,1D 183 Too Young to Be a Dad 6 26W,2D 184 Pitocin 6 26W,3D 185 Margaret Jones (Puritan midwife) 6 26W,4D 186 Stephanie Daley 6 26W,5D 187 Bloody show 6 26W,6D 188 Infant massage
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