Hello and welcome to My Body, My Baby.
This website has been created to serve two purposes.
Firstly it has been written to provide information and education to women of childbearing age; regardless of their;
- culture,
- ethnicity,
- skin colour,
- country,
- language,
- sexual orientation,
- relationship status,
- size, or
- shape.
(At this point we would like to say that the authors of My Body, My Baby are required to use licenced images in this site. However, stock photography sites do not offer much choice when it comes to photos of non-white women, same sex couples and a more voluptuous body shape. This being the case, we wish to acknowledge that the photos used on this website do not necessarily show the diversity we so strongly embrace. While the women shown on this website all appear healthy, we acknowledge that healthy comes in many shapes, colours and sizes. We would also like to advise that while some care providers look like movie stars, the majority are normal people. We welcome photos and stories from women who would like to share their version of healthy. Please go to our community page to send them our way.)
Back to the information….
As midwives it is our duty and responsibility to provide quality education and care to women across their entire birthing experience. It is a vital aspect of what we do, but at times it can be very challenging providing this education. This is often due to the systems and limited resources we have to work with.
What has been provided for you here is basically “what every midwife wished you knew when you walked in the door”. While we cannot always give you this information in person, it is here as a guide – for you to educate yourselves about anything and just about everything to do with women’s health issues, pregnancy, labour , birth and the next few days. Links have been provided if you need further information. What isn’t here is probably being written as you read this; but in the event we’ve missed something please let us know and we’ll get right on it for you.
Evidence-based practice and woman-centred care are the founding principles of midwifery practice. The information provided on My Body, My Baby reflects the most up-to-date research and evidence about any particular aspect of your journey.
This is important, no doubt.
But what is more important is how we use this evidence in our practice and how you use this information to educate yourself. A woman who has done her homework and knows to ask her questions; who knows her rights, and the meaning of informed decisions and consent – those are the women that enable us – as midwives – to provide truly woman-centred care.
Standing with a woman and developing trust; backing her up when she’s vulnerable, is so much more effective when she has an idea of what she does and doesn’t want for herself and her baby……and in this case the saying is so true…..
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Please use this information to make sure than even in your most vulnerable state YOU are working from a position of power.
After all it is your body, and your baby.
The second reason this website was created was in response to a gap in the research. There is much we still don’t know about pregnancy and birth. Research is happening all over the world about different aspects of why things happen the way they do…..but that is part of the problem. So many people are studying so many different things, that it is almost impossible to compare one set of results to another, or one country to the next – and to join the dots.
So, please allow me to introduce you to my Ph.D….
In order to collect the information we need and get it all in one place and one format (what we need to do to reduce the gap in the research), a new survey tool has been designed. This survey tool is accessible through this site. Click here to access….Connecting it with a site such as this allows us to kill two birds with one stone – we get to provide you with the information we know you are looking for; and if you choose you can return the favour. In this way we hope to build one of the biggest self-reported databases on women’s reproductive health and outcomes world-wide; and in the process a global community of women, working together to get to the bottom of the big issues.
To participate in this research you will need to become a member. Membership is free, and you can remain anonymous if you wish.. On joining you will be directed to a set of short surveys. Answer them all at once; answer them at your leisure – its completely up to you. You will also have access to the members only information pages. These pages relate to the surveys you fill in for us. The surveys ask questions about your health, your lifestyle and diet, and – if pregnant – your birth. These have been designed to be very simple, quick to complete, and straightforward. They are designed this way so that anybody, regardless of their language or literacy level, can participate in the research.
As data comes in and results start to show, the general findings will be posted on the My Body, My Baby community page……
Click here to join now and help us to research pregnancy and birth outcomes for women worldwide.
Janelle McAlpine
MMRes BA (Human Bioscience) BMid
Registered Midwife