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EDITORIAL
ISSUE ONE MARCH 2000
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Hello, and welcome to this the first issue of Womb, the magazine for midwives and mothers. In this issue, I wanted to introduce readers to the areas which we will be covering, and also to solicit new work from authors who write in our genre.
Womb is non-profit making, it's here to be read and to be contributed to by the people who matter when it comes to pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Rather than being purely an academic journal, or purely a magazine for women, it is aimed at covering all the issues related to motherhood from women's perspectives. In the future we shall be including articles on feminism, aspects of midwifery and also midwifery education. There will be regular features on complementary therapies in relation to pregnancy, birth, motherhood and infant care. We shall also be setting out to demystify obstetrics so that all women can understand every aspect of the care they receive whilst pregnant and during and after birth. However, the key feature of Womb will be birth stories, and stories related to motherhood, which we hope you, the readers, will provide. These will be factual, and will allow us all to share our experiences and hopefully to realise our shared roles, whatever our professional faces may be.
The magazine is also available in hard copy, from
Joat Publishing, but as yet will not be very glossy. It is about getting our voices heard, and perhaps changing the way women as mothers and midwives are seen, in society, in the media, and within obstetrics. Any woman becoming pregnant cannot avoid contact with obstetric protocols, standards and methods, even if she opts for midwifery led care - because all maternity care is governed by obstetricians, by the medical establishment, and women, not matter how well qualified, unless they too join the medical model, are never given much credence within this arena. We hope that Womb will go some way towards changing this.In this issue, which as a pilot issue is shorter than usual, you will find a lengthy piece on Active Management of Labour, an obstetric protocol which affects all women having their first babies. I would welcome feedback on this subject - birth stories in particular of women who have had their labour 'speeded up' by various methods. You will also find a couple of birth stories, an article on the practicalities of breastfeeding , and some fiction. Anything of a similar ilk will be considered for publication, but please, new authors, send in anything you think might be relevant. Student midwives - send in your academic work - it could be very useful for us, plus you'll get your name in print. We also want midwives' stories - your experiences, anecdotes, things that made you laugh, things that made you cry. These are the stories that don't get heard outside of labour wards, and plenty of people want to hear them.
I hope you enjoy this magazine, and that you will tell your friends, tutors, colleagues, clients etc about us.