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The Antenatal Clinic at Gombe: Jewel of the Savannah
by Robert H. Glew and Dorothy J. VanderJagt
The risk for maternal morbidity and mortality is high in sub-Saharan Africa for a variety of reasons, including preeclampsia, malnutrition, and lack of adequate prenatal care. This article describes a visit we made recently to the Antenatal Clinic at the Specialist Hospital in the town of Gombe in northeastern Nigeria that is staffed by a team of nurses. The clinic provides care to pregnant women residing in the town and the surrounding rural area. Approximately 150 pregnant women are seen each day at the clinic. One day a week the clinic serves as a well-baby clinic where checkups and infant immunizations are provided. In addition to a physical exam, pregnant women who attend the clinic have their blood pressure measured, urine tested, and hematocrit determined, and are given iron or vitamins such as folate and vitamin C as needed. Educational programs are also offered to the women on topics which include nutrition, hygiene, delivery preparation, and breastfeeding. The Antenatal Clinic stands as evidence of the ability of progressive and enlightened governments in underdeveloped regions of the world to provide preventive care to pregnant women.
Accepting the Challenge
by Connie Bach
Doing doula training in Romania is an out-of-the-box experience. We are separated by far more than six thousand geographic miles. Cultural differences, standards of care, and availability of resources are just a few of the obstacles we face when we step out to make a global difference. This article provides reflections on the experience of bringing doula training to a society whose philosophies and birth practices are entirely different from our own. It also addresses the spiritual fulfillment that comes when we rise to the challenge of walking in our destiny.
Supporting the Breastfeeding Mother Through Postpartum Depression
by Nancy Roberts
Supporting the mother who is nursing her infant and finds herself in the midst of postpartum depression has unique considerations that she deals with on a day-to-day basis. It is important for the health care provider to know what these issues are so this mother can effectively receive the appropriate kind of support she deserves.
To view this article (in pdf format), click here.
Shedding Light in Brazil
by Debra Pascali-Bonaro
Arriving, on invitation, to train doulas in Brazil in early 2003, the author found a highly receptive environment. Professionals from the Health Ministry, physicians, midwives, hospital administrators, breastfeeding specialists, and regional government officials openly expressed support for doula care. Within a couple of months of the author's visit, continuous care during labor and birth had been incorporated into the national priority to improve maternal-child health -- as publicly announced by the country's president.
What Four Unmedicated Births Did for Me
by Jodi Bubenzer
Why Be a Postpartum Doula?
by Jan S. Mallak
This article is about why the author feels the reader should consider being a postpartum doula even though the title suggests otherwise. It combines personal history, professional suggestions, and special revelations of someone with almost twenty-five years of experience in the birthing field. Benefits for clients as well as doulas are also discussed.
Elective Primary Cesarean Birth: Issues for Educators
by Cheryl Coleman
The issue of elective primary cesarean birth is raising passionate comments, reviews, and calls for more research in medical and nursing literature. In the meantime, the clients attending childbirth education classes are looking for unbiased information on the primary issues of this debate. This article reviews these issues as presented in the medical and lay literature. The issues are presented along with the medical ethics and research that we have to date so that educators can provide current, evidence-based information to the clients they serve.
Nutrition News
by Davorka Monti
Nature vs. Supplements: The Controversy Surrounding Vitamin D
Research Review
by Dale King
Cesarean Delivery and Antepartum Stillbirth
Political Issues
by Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam
Non-Maternal Nursing: Historical and Contemporary Overiew
Family Focus
by Susan S. Bartell
On Becoming a Mother: The Psychological Journey
Becoming a mother psychologically is a complex journey for which most women are unprepared. It includes reflections upon a woman's own childhood, as well as her sense of her own competence and ability to nurture a baby. She is required to reevaluate her friendships and she is forced to see life through the constant fear of loss. Her own identity is brought into question and she must form a new sense of who she is in her own world.
Educator's Corner
by Cheryl Coleman
Teaching Cesarean Birth
Certification Update
The Cochrane Library: What's New and Noteworthy
Audio Visual Review
by Margery Simchak
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