02 Community Midwifery: Earth-based Birth: When babies come in disasters, low-resourced or other less-than ideal situations

Speaker :- Ruth Ann Colby Martin

Facilitator:- Endah Sulistyowati

Abstract:- Community midwifery plays a vital role in supporting safe, respectful, and physiologic birth across diverse settings, including disasters, humanitarian contexts, and low-resource environments. In less-than-ideal conditions, midwives and birth attendants must adapt care practices while maintaining safety, dignity, and autonomy for birthing people and families. This presentation introduces the Five Cornerstones of Birth Work, a practical framework outlining essential elements for supporting birth in any context. Drawing from community-based practice and childbirth response training, the session examines the role of midwives in promoting physiologic birth and continuity of care amid environmental, systemic, and material constraints. Emphasis is placed on the minimal yet critical supplies, skilled support, and environmental factors needed to facilitate safer, more empowering birth experiences in crisis and low-resource settings.

Check the time in your location here https://bit.ly/VIDM26-session-02