Birth Book Part 2

Peggy Vincent, Baby Catcher Chronicles of a Modern Midwife, Scribner, 2003.

Precis:
When Mom is a Midwife: It’s not very common to hear an individual tell you that their mother or wife is a midwife. Peggy’s husband and kids live a different lifestyle when compared to those of their friends. Their mom is always out on call at any time of day 365 days in a year. They can never rely on their mom for being with them at all times. Peggy is lucky to have a husband who has a flexible work schedule which allows her to attend her patients and give them all the time they need. Her kids and husband often find it weird to have a midwife as a mom since its very uncommon to find a frozen placenta in the freezer, and have a mother/wife who has daily conversations with women about their sex lives or the color of discharge they had spotted that day.

Quotes:
“Midwives are risky dinner guests.” (pg. 153)

I think it’s a tough job to keep this label upon ones self. Many people tend to lose contacts and good relations when they miss out on such functions. I know in my culture when someone does not attend a wedding or any other special occasion it is looked bad upon them. I am sure the same applies here; but Peggy has a good excuse and she is well known for obtaining a career as a midwife, so I believe that not many people give her as big of a problem as they would to a common individual.

“With my patients permission, I took ten-year-old Jill to eight births, and she soaked up the drama like someone seeing Swan Lake performed for the first time.” (pg. 155)

I personally don’t feel that it’s appropriate to have your 10 year old daughter accompany you while you help women give birth. In the culture I am from, kids at this age are not used to be aware of such a topic and I feel that this is how it should be. I don’t really have much of an explanation to why but this wasn’t how I grew up. Growing up in a community where it is common to have such topics discussed openly compared to where I am from I feel pretty awkward coming across these situations. If I were to be given such a chance at this age I would deny the offer.

“So Dad’s known as The Midwife’s Husband, and now I’m known as The Placenta Lady’s Son. Great, mom. Just great.” (pg. 157)

I think if I were in Collin’s position I would react the same way. In our society we are not used to being different from others; everybody has this urge to fit in and not stand out amongst others. In this case having a mother as a midwife is something that our society is not commonly known for. When people in the neighborhood heard about their next door neighbor being a midwife their ears stood up; this was something completley different for them. I personally wouldn’t want to be referred to as “The Placenta Lady’s Daughter” because it sounds different and we don’t use this word commonly in our society.

Thoughts:
Most of the reactions I read about from Peggy’s husband and kids were all something I would expect. I would have reacted the same way if I were to be in their position. But I realized that both her husband and kids were really supportive throughout her career. I have never known anyone who has or has had a career as a midwife, but after reading about Peggy and her family’s reactions towards her career I feel like I know all I need to know about a midwife and how she is treated by others in the family. It seems to be a job that not all families can handle. There is a lot of team support needed from all sides of the family in order to help the mother have a successful career as a midwife. There were times throughout this specific chapter where Collin and Rog minded a few things about Peggy’s career, but at the end of the day they accepted that Peggy is a midwife and that’s that. I know if I were to be in the same situation I would be forced to do the same; Even though it would be something I would need to get used to, I would have to accept it and have a positive attitude.