Midwifery Today Community

 Has anyone done the volunteer apprenticeship through Midwives for Midwives in Guatemala? I'm an aspiring midwife (I'll be at the Eugene pre-conference next month and hopefully the Farm's Midwife Assistant workshop this April) looking to meet up with some midwives and mamas in central america while I'm there this summer and this program sounds wonderful. If you've done something like this or are interested in it, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Kindriver, I am really looking forward to reading the responses.  I would really like to know more about volunteering and apprenticeships outside of the U.S.  I am wondering too if anyone knows if NARM is going to change their requirements for the number of births to be restricted to the U.S. in the near future.  I believe, that as it stands you can still count births done abroad towards your number count?  I am planning on the pre-conference in Eugene too...hope to see you there!

 Thanks tinyinkling,

I'm not sure.... To be honest I wasn't even thinking about the count... I was just hoping to get the experience of observing, if nothing more. I haven't been blessed with the chance to see a live birth yet, so I'm far from any primary/catching priviledges... I wish :) I'm just hoping to find a midwife down there who'd like to share some of her life with me for a little while.

See you in Eugene!!!

ethat sounds lovely!  ah...i sometimes long for the days when i could just pack a bag and head off to places unknown...  i hope it works out for you, i imagine that you must be able to find a midwife or clinic that might need a midwifery assistant.

see you in eugene!

 Hello Tinyinkling~ 

Did you end up finding a midwifery apprenticeship abroad?  make it to Guatemala?  I am looking into my options that way myself and would be curious what you have discovered along the way. 

 Hi Joleen,

I ended up doing a 1 month internship with Mercy In Action in The Philippines last spring. It was an incredible experience that solidified my desire to work as a volunteer midwife in developing nations. If you'd like to hear more about my experiences, I'd be happy to share with you :)

Presenlty, I've just applied to The National Midwifery Institute and I've been researching where to go next... possibly Haiti, Mexico, or Africa.. if you're interested in finding volunteer opportunities, maybe these links will help you in your search:

www.mamababyhaiti.org

www.africanbirthcollective.org

www.casamidwifery.com

Good luck!