Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas Austin and Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, is a world-renowned medical anthropologist, international speaker and researcher in transformational models in childbirth, midwifery and obstetrics. She is author of over 80 articles and of Birth as an American Rite of Passage (1992, 2004), coauthor of From Doctor to Healer: The Transformative Journey (1998) and The Power of Ritual (2016), and lead editor of 10 collections, the latest of which is Birth Models That Work (2009), which highlights optimal models of birth care around the world. Volume II: Birth Models on the Global Frontier, co-edited with Betty-Anne Daviss, is in process, as is Sustainable Birth, co-edited with Kim Gutschow. Robbie serves as Editor for the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (www.imbci.org) and Senior Advisor to the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction. Most of her published articles are freely available on her website www.davis-floyd.com.
In this presentation, I will describe 8 global trends in midwifery and how "the postmodern midwife" is actuating those trends. I define the postmodern midwife as one who takes an informed and relativistic approach to different ways of knowing about birth and who strives to practice autonomously. Recognizing the limitations and strengths of the biomedical system and of her own, the postmodern midwife moves fluidly between them to serve the women she attends. She is a shape-shifter, a bridge-builder,a networker, and a traveler. Through her connections with other midwives around the world, she works to create a global and increasingly
shared culture of midwifery as well as to preserve and carry forward the best of her own cultural traditions around birth.
The International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI) is a human rights-oriented, quality care initiative created by the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization and launched in March 2008. It has been translated into over 20 languages and is currently being implemented in pilot/demonstration projects in hospitals in Austria, Quebec, and Brazil, and in dozens of independent birth practices around the world called MotherBaby networks (MBnets). The purpose of the IMBCI is to call global attention to the importance of the quality of the mother’s birth experience and its impact on the outcome, the risks to MotherBaby from inappropriate medical interventions and lack of access to appropriate emergency care, and the scientific evidence showing the benefits of optimal MotherBaby care based on the normal physiology of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. The IMBCI 10 Steps set the gold standard for excellence and superior outcomes in maternity care. This presentation will describe the IMBCI and the multiple ways in which it is being put to work around the world, inspiring participants that they too can take one Step at a time to create an optimal MotherBaby Model of maternity care based on the Principles and 10 Steps of the IMBCI.
The International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI) is a human rights-oriented, quality care initiative created by the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization and launched in March 2008. It has been translated into over 20 languages and is currently being implemented in pilot/demonstration projects in hospitals in Austria, Quebec, and Brazil, and in dozens of independent birth practices around the world called MotherBaby networks (MBnets). The purpose of the IMBCI is to call global attention to the importance of the quality of the mother’s birth experience and its impact on the outcome, the risks to MotherBaby from inappropriate medical interventions and lack of access to appropriate emergency care, and the scientific evidence showing the benefits of optimal MotherBaby care based on the normal physiology of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. The IMBCI 10 Steps set the gold standard for excellence and superior outcomes in maternity care. This presentation will describe the IMBCI and the multiple ways in which it is being put to work around the world, inspiring participants that they too can take one Step at a time to create an optimal MotherBaby Model of maternity care based on the Principles and 10 Steps of the IMBCI.
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