Midwives & Doulas

Lay of the land for midwifery care and licensing in Hawaiʻi  Image based on the work of Carol Gautchi, who is a Traditionally trained and licensed Midwife on the Washington Peninsula who developed and presented the framework for Classical Midwifery Care in the image above.  The Midwifery Model of Care Midwifery Care is: A women-centered approach which perceives  Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum as an optimal state of Wellness with unique physical, spiritual, emotional, nutriti

We explore the different types of doula, acronyms, and finding and interviewing a doula Families guide to Doulas What is a Birth doula? A doula is a woman experienced in childbirth and knowledgeable of hospital procedures. Doulas provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support during labor—from massage to aromatherapy, to continuous reassurance and coping techniques for the mother and her family. A birth doula generally meets with you before the birth to d

We explore what a midwife is, acronyms for midwives, and finding and interviewing a midwife. Families guide to Midwifery What is a Midwife?  Midwife is a healthcare provider who specializes in caring for women during their pregnancy, labor, birth and throughout their childbearing years for routine care. They are trained to support normal physiologic childbirth as well as to recognize and intervene when things extend beyond the scope of normal. Attending laboring women, they t

A threat to reproductive justice anywhere is a threat to reproductive justice everywhere. SisterSong  defines  reproductive justice as "the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities."  The continued terrorist attacks on the Palestinian people, the historical and current violence against Jews in Israel and around the globe, and the hate crimes that have increased as a

Pacific Birth Collective board member and pale keiki Kiʻi Kahoʻohanohano and cultural practitioner Laulani Teale are in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations with the Center for Reproductive Rights. They presented a report on the human rights violation involving Hawaiʻiʻs criminalization of traditional midwifery among other issues involving the maternal healthcare crisis in the United States. For history on this topic, please read here. Kiʻi and Laulani are working alongs

As of July 2023 the State of Hawai'i has mandated Midwifery Education through programs that are not accessible to Hawai'i Residents meaning that we have no Native Hawaiian Licensed Midwives in the entire state. Additionally they have denies access a nationally recognized Apprenticeship Training Pathway which would help local women to become midwives and access midwives in their own communities.    In the January 2023 Legislative Session:   HB955   and Companion bill  SB1047

By Mariah Strong, PBC Board Member This poem was inspired by the life-long work of my mother, who is my deepest inspiration and teacher. My mom has served families on Maui for over 40 years as their ally and midwife in autonomous birth. She has birthed her eight children at home, with fellow midwives, her friends and family, into water, or into her own hands. She has welcomed her grandchildren in the same way, with the same values. Her life work has been to hold space for bir