Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight.
Speaker 2: I'm Gillian Woodward and I'm Roger Bassic. Spotlight uses a
Speaker 2: special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people
Speaker 2: to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Speaker 1: You are a young woman living in the mountains of Kaokoland, Namibia.
Speaker 1: You are poor and pregnant. The nearest hospital is over
Speaker 1: an hour away. You cannot afford the hospital anyway. You
Speaker 1: are scared. You have never been pregnant. You do not
Speaker 1: know what to do. You are afraid you will lose
Speaker 1: your baby. You are scared you might die in childbirth.
Speaker 1: You have so many questions with no one to ask.
Speaker 1: What do you do? Who will help you? There is
Speaker 1: probably only one person who can help. She is called
Speaker 1: a midwife.
Speaker 2: Today's Spotlight is about midwives. We look at the different
Speaker 2: services they provide to pregnant women. We examine the debate
Speaker 2: surrounding midwifery. We talk about why some pregnant women prefer
Speaker 2: working with a midwife rather than a hospital. We discuss
Speaker 2: the rise in popularity of midwives.
Speaker 1: The word midwife means with woman. Until about two hundred
Speaker 1: years ago, the person that was with a pregnant woman
Speaker 1: during birth was a midwife. Midwives are even mentioned in
Speaker 1: the Book of Exodus in the Bible. They go to
Speaker 1: women's homes and check on them during pregnancy, they deliver
Speaker 1: their babies. Midwives gained their knowledge through experience. They also
Speaker 1: learned from other midwives. They had limited formal training. They
Speaker 1: did not receive much, if any pay.
Speaker 2: When the professional medical community realized they could make money
Speaker 2: from childbirth, they took control. They said midwives did not
Speaker 2: know enough to deliver babies safely. All over the world,
Speaker 2: male doctors took over the practice of childbirth.
Speaker 1: Male doctors replaced female midwives in the United States in
Speaker 1: the nineteenth century. By the nineteen sixties, ninety seven percent
Speaker 1: of births in the United States occurred in hospitals.
Speaker 2: But things began to change. The women's liberation movement became
Speaker 2: popular around the world. From the nineteen sixties to the
Speaker 2: nineteen eighties. Women pushed for equal treatment and opportunities in
Speaker 2: areas like employment and family. Midwives started receiving formal training,
Speaker 2: midwifery schools opened, midwives started gaining more respect and trust.
Speaker 1: Today, midwives in the United States and undel over four
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty thousand berths each year In Germany, midwives
Speaker 1: attend seven hundred thousand berths a year. In England, midwives
Speaker 1: attend over two hundred and thirty thousand berths a year.
Speaker 2: There are many reasons why women are now choosing to
Speaker 2: use a midwife. One of the biggest reasons is control.
Speaker 2: K Line Weaver's first baby was breech. Her baby's buttocks
Speaker 2: or feet would come out first rather than the head.
Speaker 2: Line Weaver's doctor would not allow her to give birth naturally.
Speaker 2: He made her have a cesarean section. He cut through
Speaker 2: line Weaver's stomach to deliver the baby.
Speaker 3: Line Weaver said the doctor would not even give me
Speaker 3: the option.
Speaker 1: Line Weaver said the birth process was like a bad dream.
Speaker 1: She did not feel like she was in control. For
Speaker 1: her second baby, she was determined to have a natural birth,
Speaker 1: but the doctor told her that the scar from her
Speaker 1: surgery could tear. A natural birth could damage her uterus.
Speaker 1: This could threaten her life or her baby's life. No
Speaker 1: doctor at any hospital in her area would allow her
Speaker 1: to have a natural birth, so she chose a midwife
Speaker 1: to deliver her baby. The midwife allowed Line Weaver to
Speaker 1: have a natural birth. Her child's birth was easy and successful.
Speaker 1: In fact, line Weaver said the environment was calmer than
Speaker 1: when she had her first child at the hospital. Line
Speaker 1: Weaver said, I.
Speaker 3: Am a big believer that how you are brought into
Speaker 3: this world helps shape the person that you become.
Speaker 2: By using a midwife, the mother can have her baby
Speaker 2: in the comfort of her own home. She gets more
Speaker 2: time with a midwife during her pregnancy. She may only
Speaker 2: get fifteen minutes with a doctor during a hospital visit,
Speaker 2: but she could get an hour with a midwife during
Speaker 2: a midwife assisted birth. She can have her entire family
Speaker 2: nearby if she chooses. She can have a poor birth.
Speaker 2: This is when she stays in water during the delivery.
Speaker 2: This process can make birthing easier, calmer, and even less painful.
Speaker 1: Some groups, like the Amish, prefer using midwives to deliver
Speaker 1: their babies. This special group of Christians tries to live
Speaker 1: simply and plainly. They farm for a living. They build
Speaker 1: their own houses and barns. They dress in traditional dark clothes.
Speaker 1: The Amish do not use cars, electricity, or phones. They
Speaker 1: travel by horse and wagon. They work and marry within
Speaker 1: their communities.
Speaker 2: The Amish believe that childbirth is a natural process. They
Speaker 2: think that labor should happen with as little medical care
Speaker 2: as possible. A midwife offers a woman more private personal
Speaker 2: care than a hospital setting. The midwife can visit them
Speaker 2: on their farm. It is difficult for the Amish to
Speaker 2: travel back and forth to a hospital since they do
Speaker 2: not use cars.
Speaker 1: The Amish do not have much money. Often hospitals charge
Speaker 1: more than midwives. The Amish usually have large families with
Speaker 1: eight to twelve children, Using a hospital for each berth
Speaker 1: would be expensive.
Speaker 2: Tracy Moore has worked as a midwife in Kentucky for
Speaker 2: over twenty years. She serves several Amish communities. She has
Speaker 2: attended twelve hundred berths. The Amish communities completely trust more.
Speaker 2: Some see her as part of their families. She gives
Speaker 2: them extra attention that a doctor would not have time
Speaker 2: to offer. She once cared for a woman named Laura,
Speaker 2: who might have seemed rude to others because of how
Speaker 2: she answered questions, but Moore spent extra time with her.
Speaker 2: She got to know her. She noticed that Laura suffered
Speaker 2: from hearing difficulties. Moore helped Laura get hearing aids that
Speaker 2: changed her life.
Speaker 1: Because Moore knows the Amish communities so well, she can
Speaker 1: suggest specific diet plans for each expectant mother. She knows
Speaker 1: what and how they farm, she can change her advice
Speaker 1: to make sure the mother gets enough vitamens during her pregnancy.
Speaker 2: Moore went to see another Amish woman named Edith. While
Speaker 2: visiting her, Moore discovered that Edith's daughter was severely anemic.
Speaker 2: She had a low number of red blood cells, which
Speaker 2: challenged her oxygen supply. Moore recognized that the daughter needed
Speaker 2: extra care.
Speaker 4: Moore said, by bringing healthcare into the home and understanding
Speaker 4: their culture, I was able to fit my care to
Speaker 4: their actual needs. Mid wafery carry the care to the client.
Speaker 1: Do you know someone who used a midwife to deliver
Speaker 1: their baby? Would you consider using a midwife rather than
Speaker 1: a hospital. You can leave a comment on our website
Speaker 1: at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can also
Speaker 1: find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and x You
Speaker 1: can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android
Speaker 1: or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
Speaker 2: The writer of this program was Peter Anderson. The producer
Speaker 2: was Michyo Ozaki. The voice is you you heard were
Speaker 2: from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes
Speaker 2: were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No
Speaker 2: AI or artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight
Speaker 2: programs are written, voiced, and produced by real people for
Speaker 2: real people, no matter where in the world they live.
Speaker 2: This program is called Call the Midwife.
Speaker 1: We hope you can join us again for the next
Speaker 1: Spotlight program. Goodbye,