Politics

Stop Getting Ahead of Yourself

April 28, 2021

The Truth About Gestational Diabetes
A Miscarriage Story
That time I had a freebirth at the Hospital
Now Trending:
We're Maryn + Margo

We are mamas and birth workers who decided to do birth differently– and bring others along with us. We are kind, fun to work with, and great at (lovingly) calling people on their bullshit. With 12 children and 20 years of midwifery between us, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way, and Indie Birth is our space to share it all with you.

hello,

Grab our free guides!
Free Doula Mini Course
The Student Midwife Primer

“My name’s XYZ and I’m from XYZ. I’m really interested in becoming a midwife after being a doula for a few years now but have some questions regarding taking the course here. Would I be able to receive clients here in XYZ? Which countries accept the credentials of this course?”

We get emails like this CONSTANTLY! I’m talking many a week. Can you imagine how many midwives we would have on every block, in every neighborhood, every city, state and country if all of these women just learned to be midwives now, and figured out the legal stuff later? Because if we had a groundswell of trained midwives, and a growing demand for independent midwifery, it would be quite hard to stop us all.

It is not illegal to learn midwifery. In most places it is not “illegal” to attend someones birth either. Many places have criminalized the use of the word “midwife” because they have decided they own it though, that is true. But the more important questions, that really should come before these questions of legality and credentialing and legitimacy are…

1. What kind of midwife do I want to be?

2. What kind of midwife does my community deserve?

*And a bonus question – when will the women say enough is enough and demand that the choice of birth attendant is theirs ALONE to make, outside of government influence and meddling?

Jumping to the legal part seems like it makes sense from our dominant paradigm, but actually it is putting the cart before the horse. If you feel called to be a midwife and to serve women in birth, shouldn’t your first question be about how you want to actually show up and do that? How to embody that role? How to learn those skills and become what you want to be?

​​Not “what am I allowed to become” and then work backwards from there, no!!!

This is the euro-patriarchal bullshit we are taught in school. That we have to retrofit ourselves to this sad, boring, meaningless box they have built for us.

If you are asking about attending the Indie Birth Midwifery School, to learn independent, heart centered, authentic midwifery, and you come at me with the legal question first, this is where I will point you.

Start at the beginning. Look inside. Figure out your own truth before you start asking about how to fit into the mold. Those big legal questions are important to grapple with at some point too, but not first. First, do your due diligence and ask yourself. Who are you? What do you want? Sit with that for a long time, and when you have an answer, see what questions come next.
​​​
And if you need help unwinding some of this for yourself, please check out or mini-course which is available as a “pay what you can” offering called The Beginner’s Guide to Radical Midwifery.

+ show Comments

- Hide Comments

add a comment

  1. […] If you are like many aspiring midwives, you may have already spent quite a bit of time stewing in questions around legality, safety, what ifs, and feelings of fear and anxiety (and you aren’t even a midwife yet!). I wrote a post about how that is really getting ahead of yourself, with some tips that you can read here. […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

so hot right now

Meet the duo behind Indie Birth

We are mamas and midwives who decided to do birth differently– and bring others along with us. We are radical, fun to work with, and great at (lovingly) calling people on their bullshit to help move us all towards a new more beautiful world. With 12 children and over two decades of midwifery between us, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way, and Indie Birth is our space to share it all with you.

Read Our Story

Margo and Maryn

Taking Back Birth Podcast

Listen now

The Podcast

Visit the
Swag Shop

Shop Now

The Shop

More Amazing Resources

Indie Birth Private contract association | Terms of membership

Want the latest tips, resources, and success stories (with some ancient wisdom sprinkled in) sent straight to your inbox?

Indie Birth offers radical midwifery perspectives and resources for powerful birthing women and aspiring birth workers. We provide educational courses, inspirational content, and coaching.

SEND Us A NOTE >

Head to the blog >

@Indiebirth >

follow along 
on Instagram: