
This text might include affiliate hyperlinks. These opinions are our personal. In the event you purchase one thing, we might earn a small fee, serving to us maintain our content material free to our readers. ❤️
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | Audible
In previous centuries, ladies (midwives) have been those who supported and attended ladies throughout labor and childbirth. It wasn’t till the nineteenth century that male physicians began surpassing midwives in maternity care and dominating the childbirth trade as a result of drugs and superior expertise. By 1951, 90% of births came about in hospitals with physicians,1 and it elevated to 99% by 1969.4 Nevertheless, midwives have been capable of improve their training, with the choice of turning into Licensed Nurse Midwives, and extra individuals are beginning to study the advantages of getting a midwife.
In 2013, 90% of the births in the USA have been attended by physicians and 9% by midwives.2 And information exhibits that in 2021, 12% of all births have been attended by a midwife. Fortunately, the variety of births attended by midwives and the variety of working towards midwives have elevated lately.3 We consider in a future the place there’s collaborative care — docs and midwives supporting ladies by being pregnant, beginning, and postpartum. One physician, Dr. Darrell Martin, believes on this concept as effectively and talks to us extra about this subject.
Who’s Dr. Darrell Martin?

Dr. Darrell Martin is a gynecologist and a devoted healthcare advocate with 4 a long time of experience in ladies’s well being. His dedication to affected person care and selection propelled him to testify earlier than Congress, championing the rights of Licensed Nurse Midwives and advocating for sufferers’ freedom to pick out their healthcare suppliers. A standout second in his profession was his fervent help for nurse-midwifery in Nashville, Tennessee, showcasing his dedication to advancing the career. Moreover, Dr. Martin takes nice pleasure in having performed a pivotal function in additional than 5,000 births, marking a legacy of life and pleasure he has helped convey into the world.
What Did We Focus on?
On this episode, we chat with Dr. Darrell Martin about midwifery and the 5 key roles of midwives in making a secure birthing surroundings. Listed below are a number of of the questions that we lined in our dialog:
- How did you develop into obsessed with ladies’s well being, midwifery, and affected person rights?
- Please give us a quick clarification of what a midwife is. What does their function embody within the context of childbirth?
- In your opinion, how is the function of a midwife totally different from an OB/GYN in relation to childbirth?
- Please inform us in regards to the 5 key roles of midwives in making a secure birthing surroundings.
- How do you consider midwives contribute to a constructive birthing expertise for people and their households?
- What are some frequent challenges or misconceptions that midwives face of their observe?
- How do you see the function of midwives evolving in the way forward for childbirth?
My Ideas
It was a pure delight chatting with Dr. Martin about midwifery care and his beliefs about ladies’s care and childbirth. Listening to about his expertise was transferring. I so respect his advocacy for ladies to have a selection concerning their care. His ardour, perseverance, and dedication to evidence-based, patient-centered care are resulting in significant change.

His guide “In Good Arms: A Physician’s Story of Breaking Limitations” is so much about this subject. It’s his story a few man’s dogged pursuit of higher, safer, extra collaborative healthcare for ladies and the immense challenges he and his colleagues have been compelled to beat. Dr. Martin is a doctor who dared to query the norms of his career and advocate for a extra inclusive, respectful strategy to ladies’s well being. For his work, we’re extremely grateful.
Dr. Martin’s Sources
Thanks for listening to this episode! Observe us on our podcast Instagram web page @thebabychickchat, and tell us what you assume and if there are some other subjects you’d like us to cowl. Cheers to midwifery and secure, lovely births!!
We hope you discovered this episode useful. In the event you did and loved it, please subscribe to our podcast, Chick Chat, and depart us an trustworthy overview. Hyperlinks beneath!