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Showing posts with label midwife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midwife. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Female Circumcision, Birth and The Midwife
Female circumcision may be a foreign concept to those of us born in the United States, however in many countries throughout Africa, female circumcision is considered a right of passage. A large percentage of young girls are circumcised every year. My purpose in writing this blog post is not to pass judgment on rituals of which I have no experience and little knowledge, but to share some insight into this practice from a midwifery and birth worker prospective.
I just watched a video showing the vaginal delivery of an infant born to a Gambian mother who experienced female circumcision! The mother has no clitoris and a great deal of scar tissue that actually shortened her vaginal opening. The scar was well healed, however the anatomical changes that occurred as a result of the circumcision made for a complicated birth of her baby girl. Although this is not a common issue that we as midwives in the US encounter, it is possible that throughout the course of one's midwifery career you may experience this. I serve a diverse population of women of color including women from the continent of Africa.
There are some practices that the MD used during the birth that I do not approve of but again, I am not going to elaborate on them as that is not the focus of this post.
What population do you serve? As a midwife, would you be able to serve a woman who has experienced this ritual without judgment?
I just watched a video showing the vaginal delivery of an infant born to a Gambian mother who experienced female circumcision! The mother has no clitoris and a great deal of scar tissue that actually shortened her vaginal opening. The scar was well healed, however the anatomical changes that occurred as a result of the circumcision made for a complicated birth of her baby girl. Although this is not a common issue that we as midwives in the US encounter, it is possible that throughout the course of one's midwifery career you may experience this. I serve a diverse population of women of color including women from the continent of Africa.
There are some practices that the MD used during the birth that I do not approve of but again, I am not going to elaborate on them as that is not the focus of this post.
What population do you serve? As a midwife, would you be able to serve a woman who has experienced this ritual without judgment?
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