Reclaiming Midwifery to Heal Indigenous Communities | Marinah Farrell

Today we talk to Marinah Farrell, Midwife, Activist, and Executive Director of Changing Woman Initiative, a Native American centered health and justice organization. Marinah's work serves to help indigenous peoples reclaim sovereignty over reproductive medicine, and provide safe, culturally integrated healthcare to Indigenous women in New Mexico and Arizona.

We talk about the Changing Woman initiative, the meaning behind the name, and what the organization does for tribal communities in healing through birth and midwifery. We also talk about Marinah's induction to the birth world and what led her to what she believes is her life's calling. We discuss the historical course of midwifery being overtaken by obstetrics and the resulting loss of midwifery traditions in indigenous communities. We also touch on the different types of midwives, particularly in the Americas.

We discuss cultural misalignment between birth providers and birthing people and the issues that can arise when people don't have access to birth providers from their own communities. We discuss the way that the current North American midwifery associations are still not doing much to uplift or encourage midwives of color, particularly in indigenous communities, and what needs to be done in order to help overcome the issue. We also talk about how governments shift blame to midwives for maternal mortality rates to avoid prioritizing maternal health.

We talk about restoring traditional culture to midwifery in order to strengthen the practice as a whole, as well as some of the perceptions of midwives in our modern world and how the stigma makes it difficult for traditional midwifery to regain a foothold in society. We also discuss how all women regardless of cultural origin can reach back to reclaim their ancestral birthing traditions and restore life to their own communities without appropriating another culture's roots. Finally, we discuss the nuance of trying to determine one's own roots, especially when we are separated from our roots by adoption or other circumstance, and how to approach finding the traditions that are authentic to you. We talk about way that connection to our traditional birth cultures and our foremothers works to heal individuals and communities.

To Learn More Visit: changingwomaninitiative.com

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