Jesusa Ricoy Olariaga

There is a campaign trying desperately to protect independent midwives continuing to work in this country. There is a demonstration planned for the 25th of March. In this case the pressure on midwives comes in the shape of insurance. In other countries it is a matter of legislation while in others still, ignorance. But all the cases around the world that I know of, namely the Albany Midwives in the UK , Agnes Geréb in Hungary , midwives in America refusing to accept licenses, etc.. . have a common ground, namely, that midwives ultimately protect the interest of women and their choices in birth as well as their freedom. If they were to go or are absorbed by a patriarchal, industrial approach to birth, our entire birth culture goes with it. I come from Spain where rapid economical growth offers an easy view into what losing a culture of birth and its experienced midwives means. In my country birth now, in general, is seen as pathological, where women are forced to lie down, are...

We know there is obstetric violence in many hospitals around the world today. It is a branch of violence against women. In fact, it is violence, full stop.I have never experienced obstetric violence at first hand. I have had three amazing births with three amazing midwives, the first at a London hospital and the last two at home.I am Spanish and even though I moved to the UK twenty years ago remain very connected with my own country and a great part of my matriactivism is involved in trying to change the birth situation in Spain. This is not an easy task. To give some recent examples of the attitudes that currently govern birthing practises in Spain and the problems facing those attempting to initiate positive change, I list the following:Despite understanding that the relationship between obstetricians, midwives and women in Spain was far from a healthy one, the biggest evidence of this for me recently was the publication in SEGO (the Spanish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetrici...