Dear friends and colleagues the title of this post is not a joke.
Picture in one of the Spanish papers "Warning regarding the existence of cannibal midwives without training" - in the picture you can see obstetric violence in the shape of a Kristeller Manouvre (fundal pressure) still practiced in Spain.
Template for a letter/email to the president of the Spanish College of Nursing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-vfonZNCUx7kvTXUWE_Ih5FahMrUtdiMhVIyI3_ZDe4/edit?usp=sharing
I feel the need to try to share some information on what is happening in my country, Spain regarding doulas.
I have been away from any activism lately and all of the sudden my inbox was getting full with women who asked for my support and the reason was that the College of Nurses in Spain (who also represents midwives as they do not have their own) has published after three years a report called 'Informe Doulas' (Doula Report) and in it they warn about the risk to the health of mothers and babies that doulas can be. Using an extremely sensationalist and biassed manner in a report that lacks any statistics, bibliography or evidence, they go on to suggests serious things such as:
- Obstetric violence is what doulas use to keep mothers from gong to Birth in a hospital
- Doulas split families preventing fathers to take part in births
- Doulas induce women to cannibalism by making them eat their placentas
The report is so badly written that they even quoted two articles, one on induction and the other one on obstetric violence which are written by two brilliant midwives and they are quoted by stating: "things that doulas tell their clients"
Appart from suggesting that doulas do all sorts of illegal things such as attend births on their wont as pretend midwives and not pay their taxes. They also create this general paternalistic tone where everything from singing to lotus birth (which is referred to as 'the putrification of the placenta') is part of some sectarian extreme and dangerous behaviour that the "poor mothers" fail to identify and assumed as if brainwashed by the doulas).
I can't translate the whole thing as it is 25 and 125 pages of garbage (if you understand Spanish is at www.informedoulas.com) The problem is that this is everywhere in the media in Spain and the selected headlines in most of the papers talk about "cannibal sect".
As you can see the biggest issue here is the paternalistic and machist approach to birth that my country suffers, the fact that all this ignorance can be spread without question and the fact that women aren't considered not even to express their opinions its what worries me the most. The rights and choices of women are once again silenced.
Today I feel deeply embarrassed to have to share all this with you but I am mostly deeply concerned about the impact that all this has for women's choices in my country.
So please if you want to send a letter of support or issue an statement do get in touch jesusaricoy@gmail.com
Thank you for all your support and emails!
Template for a letter/email to the president of the Spanish College of Nursing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-vfonZNCUx7kvTXUWE_Ih5FahMrUtdiMhVIyI3_ZDe4/edit?usp=sharing
To sign the petition (soon in English)
https://www.change.org/p/cgenfermeria-retiren-el-informe-doulas
More information:
https://wysewomentalk.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/are-spanish-doulas-really-the-walking-dead/
http://thebirthhub.co.uk/yo-no-soy-una-bruja-nobody-expects-spanish-inquisition/