Project Report
| Jan 11, 2013
October Meeting Update
By Elizabeth Droggitis | MADRE staff member
We recently received a message from Midwives for Peace telling us about their most recent meeting. We’d like to share this update with you now.
On October 23, 2012, we met to watch "Freedom for Birth", a film that highlights human rights violations related to childbirth, and calls for the radical reform of childbirth systems around the world. With MADRE’s support, we received permission from the producers of the film to add Arabic subtitles, so that all members of the group could watch and discuss the film, as it relates to our work as midwives.
The film tells the story of Agnes Gereb, a Hungarian midwife who was imprisoned for performing home births in her country. This is particularly relevant as we just received an update from Halla that the Palestinian Ministry of Health has decided to prohibit home births in the West Bank. This will of course influence Halla's ability to continue her work as a home birth midwife, and we pray to hear better news on this issue.
The rest of the meeting was spent writing about our personal experiences as members of Midwives for Peace for a chapter in a book being written about different midwifery models worldwide.
Our next meeting is scheduled for January 14, 2013. We look forward to sharing more updates with you after this meeting.
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Oct 15, 2012
Summer Meeting of the Midwives for Peace
By Elizabeth Droggitis | MADRE staff member
We’re our proud of our ongoing partnership with Midwives for Peace, an incredible project coordinated by Israeli and Palestinian midwives. Midwives for Peace is dedicated to ensuring a safe and beautiful birthing experience for Palestinian women despite the violence that surrounds them. We recently received an update on the project from Gomer Ben Moshe, our partner and an Israeli midwife:
After postponing the meeting twice, we finally got together sweating and happy, missing on some of our friends but ready to participate a neonatal resuscitation course with Lina Hury, a pediatric nurse who joined us for this purpose.
Lina gave the theoretical background for neonatal resuscitation and the new guidelines, and then we practiced with equipment and dolls which Lina brought along with her.
We all felt it was important and very useful to do this course in group of mainly midwives and nurses. We all thanked Lina very much for volunteering with us!
At the end of the meeting we gave our Palestinian sister Amina a fetal monitor which we purchased for Hala for the birthing center in Mitaloon. Amina will give it to Hala ASAP.
The next meeting will take place in October.
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Oct 15, 2012
Despite Barriers, Palestinian and Israeli Midwives Join to Defend Women's Health
By Yifat Susskind | Executive Director
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When MADRE Executive Director Yifat Susskind traveled to Palestine and met with our partner group Midwives for Peace, she conveyed your encouragement to this brave group of Palestinian and Israeli women who refuse to be enemies. Instead, this small, dedicated group is determined to work together to ensure that every woman has a safe, healthy and joyful experience of childbirth.
Yifat made a commitment from MADRE to support the efforts of the Midwives for Peace to bring together midwives and other women’s health advocates from both sides of the Israel-Palestine divide.
These gatherings offer the crucial opportunity for the midwives to share their expertise and to expand access to health care for women living under Israeli military occupation. Yet, the women who participate must overcome obstacles, including the military checkpoints and unpredictable road closures that prevent Palestinians and Israelis from gathering peacefully.
Thanks to your support of MADRE, the Midwives for Peace were successful in holding a midwifery exchange on June 13! MADRE helped cover expenses for more than two dozen Palestinian and Israeli midwives – some traveling up to five hours – to meet in Beit Jala, a small town near Bethlehem in the West Bank. There, they discussed ways to improve the quality of care for pregnant women and infants. Their discussion highlighted the importance of mother-newborn bonding, breastfeeding and shared care of infants among family members. While the midwives shared technical tips and advice from their experiences, they also discussed potential cultural barriers that they might encounter during their work.
The meeting ended in good spirits, with members holding hands and reflecting on their mutual goal of safeguarding the right of every woman to a safe birth and of peace. With your ongoing support, the Midwives for Peace will meet again in September.
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