Tree of Life Midwifery

Diary of a Midwife

In 1976, Juliana van Olphen-Fehr had her first child in a hospital. Influenced by Frederick Leboyer's Birth Without Violence, she and her husband tried to have as natural a childbirth as possible under the circumstances. However, the attending physician performed an episiotomy, not because of any medical necessity, but just because it was hospital routine. Before Julianna was wheeled out of the delivery room, her infant daughter had already been whisked off to the "well-baby" nursery. Although, she was to be the hospital's first "rooming-in" patient, Julianna was allowed to be with her daughter only when she was brought in to nurse. Her husband was not allowed to stay with her except during visiting hours, and he had to wear a mask and scrubs, whenever the baby was in the room.

Juliana's feelings of isolation and separation lead her to challenge the medical model of pregnancy and childbirth that is prevalent in the United States. Because she was born in Holland, where home birth and midwifery are the norm, she began researching midwifery alternatives and decided to become a midwife herself.

"My own experience as a mother as well as a nurse attending hospital births taught me that there is a need for change in our birthing system...And that is why I have written my story." --p. 7

The resulting Diary of a Midwife follows Juliana's training, apprenticeship, and midwifery practice in West Virginia. If you are considering having your child in a hospital, it is a very sobering read.

Ultimately what is revealed through this personal account is the dehumanization that results when a healthy woman is treated as a patient and a healthy baby is treated as a product.