May 5th - Stories of Oregon's midwives

 

This journey does not seem difficult when I take it on. I am simply trying to invite doctors and midwives who were part of the home birth movement in the 1970's and 1980's to an event on May 5th; to tell their stories, see old friends and have a good time.

It is not simple.  We have scattered and many are no longer in practice.  People got wounded along the way or felt that they lost their voice.   I try to listen and am amazed at what I do not know.   After so much struggle, many have moved on to other careers and interests.

I am also trying to write a timeline of important events.  I try to grasp the forces at play in the 1970's and how they impacted birth and what the response was and how it all shifted and changed and what has come out of all those back woods births in the middle of  the night in free clinics and communes and urban homesteads.  What do I hold in my heart still and how does it lead me still?

If you read this and have a story to tell come on May 5th to the Central Lutheran Church.  Bring photos and important items.  We'll open the doors at 6:00 and start story telling at 7:00.  Please pass the word on.

In April, I am going to a remote community in the Philipines.  My daughter in law is from the Philipines and I am supporting her friends organization.  I know they will all teach me so much even as I try to offer something in exchange.   I consider what it means to be a community of midwives the world around s I collect these Oregon stories.