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Birth stories shared from a midwife is one of my favourite kind and this podcast is definitely right up there as it shares a deep rich tale of how passionate midwives can be in serving women. Hannah Dahlen probably knew from the first moment she witnessed a birth as a young teen living in the middle east that midwifery was in her bones. The roots of Hannah’s story runs right into the core of the wounded feminine, Hannah, a white female growing up in the middle east saw and felt what many women were subjected to in their basic human rights and reproductive decisions. These experiences have created the women she is today, tireless work as a feminist midwife, her advocacy and skills are here to better the outcomes for women, birth workers and their decisions. From where she sits amongst all her work in policy shifting, education, research, and public speaking, there is a mother, and there is her story. Hannah’s story shows, honour, love and guidance, for beyond all the policies and research here is a woman that has experienced life and loss, with love around this, Hannah shows the deep meaning in this podcast, she is a true advocate for women and shares a story with an open heart.
Hannah as a baby and her Mother in Yemen
The story begins in Yemen, Hannah is only a small toddler and recalls being in the clinic with her mother (the local midwife at the time) & veiled women reaching into her playpen, she remembers her play toys being kidney dishes and spatulas. At 12 years of age Hannah describes a birth that she witnessed as an experience that changed everything for her, the baby was a girl, and the baby was not wanted, for at this time female babies were not conducive to a male determinant culture. Hannah recalls holding this perfect little baby with the dawn breaking over the middle eastern skies, hearing the first call of prayer being announced and wondering how something so pure to life be downgraded as a second class citizen. The mother of the baby knew that if she kept producing girls her husband would find another wife and she would be subjected to a life of harsh service . Holding this cascade of emotions Hannah at that moment in life birthed her self as the feminist midwife, the baby was named Hannah and as her dear mother, was deemed to be a victim of her own unfortunate circumstances a destiny that will offer no care or love.
Hannah and her best friend in Yemen
Yemen still remains one of the most dangerous places to have a baby currently Yemen is in the midst of war and famine and statistically there is 16 women in every 1000 will die in reproduction. According to Hannah this is not because ultimately of care, this is because girls are still being married off as young as 8. Young and undeveloped, women are still invisible and without voice.
This fire will not go out of the feminist midwives heart and her story follows…
Hannah left Yemen at 15, her very best friend was married off and lived the destiny of her birth circumstances, Hannah talks about meeting her many years later and speaks of harsh life that she had endured. Hannah’s mother worked in the dockland’s of London, being an original cycling midwife very similar as the popular series Call the midwife. Hannah grew up knowing that women had babies, and thats what women do!
In the UK Hannah became a nurse, then finally a midwife. She come to Australia very confident with her skills and set her first post in Auburn NSW. Things were working great, yet Hannah wanted more skills in high risk birth and all that surrounded that. She got her transfer to a major hospital, this gave her the skills but created a very interesting fear for Hannah about birth. Realising this was not aligning and not serving her purpose, Hannah led her self into education placed her intent into the public realm of advocacy. Yet her deep relationship with the women is what she missed so with four other midwives Hannah formed Midwives from Sydney and Beyond this has now grown to 7 midwifes in the area.
The podcast heads into Hannah’s own birth journeys from maiden to mother. Hannah had no doubt in her mind that she wanted to have a home birth. In 1998 she was pregnant and 2 weeks overdue and this is where Hannah learned her first lesson coming into mother, that being, she could not control this. She laboured at home happily then the waters broke, Hannah describes it like lava, as it was meconium rich. Her first daughter Lydia was born into Hannah’s arms with a hospital transfer, and retained placenta Hannah still felt very empowered, supported and in the right space for this.
Three years later with her second baby Hannah was planning another home birth, labouring at home again, something come up from the midwives that suggested that Hannah needed to go to hospital, Hannah recalls locking her self into the bathroom not wanting to come out and after finally convincing her, doing the transfer and another long labour at hospital Hannah’s son Luke was born via cesarian section. Luke, 2 days later died with complications. Hannah talks here about her journey into finding what the complications were. This journey went with her into her next pregnancy to Ethan. Hannah with the same worries knew that something was not right. This story looks into a rare genetic condition that has odds of 10 million to 1. As you listen to this hard time of their lives unfold Hannah describes the gifts that both her boys gave to her and Ethan’s gave her a redemptive experience that she was not to carry the guilt and blame for her losses. This journey for Hannah continues.
The beautiful women of Midwives from Sydney and Beyond
Hannah talks about having a vision of a fat chubby girl that was there waiting to come into their lives. They continued their pregnancy journey again and on a blue moon Hannah become pregnant! Hannah got pregnant with her first daughter Lydia on a full moon, both her boys died on a full moon so Hannah knew that when she become pregnant on this blue moon that this was the fat little chubby baby! All you can do is make something beautiful out of these lessons says Hannah and this is where her work extends now to healing families though loss and grief.
Two weeks over due with Bronte, Hannah wanted another home birth, yet things arose during the process and Hannah describes how she was supported the whole way and was in charge of the decision process. Bronte was born via cesarian section surrounded by love. She recalls the first moment she heard her cry… The same midwives had been present through out all of Hannah’s births and she talks again about the importance of a relationship with a midwife.
This story unfolds further with Hannah describing where she is today in her journey as a feminine midwife… We talk human rights in birth, mothers even in our culture that are living with trauma, grief and damage. Hannah describes having the greatest job in the world, being a part of falling in love… And then we hear of her first birth she experienced as a midwife!
What a honour to hear of such a journey, I felt right there with Hannah as she grows into her elemental being. This can only be known and can only be shared by being open. From this story comes growth and healing. Hannah I show my deep and honest gratitude…
Photo: Holly Priddis
From Hannah –
“Where ever you go in the world, you will see women that are not seen as important, given voice, value and equality. You will see, in this society, it will never be as progressive, enlightened and productive as when we give voice, quality and regard to women.“
“Ironically, even though women are incredibly liberated, women are also incredibly bound and repressed by the fear that we have”.
“We are as a society full of unrealistic expectations of what its like to be a mother.”
“To not have a relationship with a women is unsafe for midwives and unsafe for the women. When you really know the women, birth will ‘happen.”
” Women teach you 90% the text books will teach you 10%.”
“We complicate birth… Womens bodies are perfectly capable if we set up a trusting safe environment for them do it”.
Resources:
BirthTime Documentary (in the making): https://www.facebook.com/birthtimedoco/
Human Rights In Childbirth – India Conference: http://www.humanrightsinchildbirth.org/event/india-2017
Australian College of Midwives: https://www.midwives.org.au
Midwives of Sydney and Beyond: http://www.midwivesatsydney.com.au
Connect with Hannah Dahlen:
Website: http://www.hannahdahlen.com.au
Dr Hannah Dahlen is a Professor of Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney. She has been a midwife for more than 20 years. Hannah is also an executive member of the Australian College of Midwives, NSW Branch. She has researched women’s birth experiences at home and in hospital and published extensively in this area.
Biography
Professor Hannah Dahlen is a leading midwifery researcher in Australia. Her research interests fall under two major themes: 1. Keeping birth normal, which includes research into birth positions, perineal comfort and trauma during second stage, birth experiences of first time mothers at home and in hospital, use of NSW and National perinatal data to look at maternal and perinatal outcomes in different models of care and place of birth, physical activity and obesity from the perspective of women and health professionals, and vaginal birth after caesarean; and 2. Health service/policy development, which include three recent publications (online 2010) regarding the submissions to the National Maternity Services Review around homebirth, birth centres and freebirth, the development of a midwifery initiated oral health service for pregnant women, service engagement and outcomes for infants and their young mothers, analysis of media depictions of midwives obstetricians and birth and the use of doulas in the health service.
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