I'm taking a little diversion away from the midwifery stuff to let you all know I. AM. A. FEMINIST.
I've never ever seen the word as 'dirty', as 'man-hating' or even 'unequal'. I was brought up in a household where feminism was an empowering word.
My first experience with feminism was with my mother. A working mother with five children and a husband away in the military. She is strong, educated and my female idol. We always had books in the house such as 'Fat is a feminist issue' and we were encouraged to think about how we as women were going to influence the world - I am one of four girls, one of them being my identical twin sister.

Midwifery, to me, is the most feminist job a woman could possibly hold. For the purpose of this post, I'm looking at female feminist midwives, although I am aware there are plenty of fantastic male feminist midwives in the world.

For women, we have always been pigeon-holed into working in more of a 'caring' profession, and certainly midwifery can be seen as this. Unfortunately many people (read: men) have the disadvantage of not being in this amazing secret woman club of being a feminist midwife.

We empower, advocate, actively promote healthcare policies that benefit women, support the normal physiology of the female body and support women in a life changing moment of their lives. We are in an extremely powerful position.

As a feminist speaking out and advocating is a core characteristic of who we are as women in today's patriarchal society. Not just in our country and culture but across the world, as childbirth isn't limited to one group of women.

So if you've ever questioned if you are a feminist ask yourself:
Do I care about the woman I'm caring for? Especially her legal and ethical rights?
Do I as a woman, respect the decision this woman is making about HER body?
Do I understand that women across the world are still having decisions made for them by men?
Do I want to be paid the same as men doing the same job as me?
Do I want to be respected the same as a man who works in healthcare?

Then, yes. You are a feminist.

Now go put it on your twitter bio.

Further Reading on Feminism

Article:
Why Midwives should be Feminists
Walsh, D., Christianson, M. and Stewart, M., 2015. Why midwives should be feminists. MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, 25(2), pp.154-160.

Blogs:
Feminist Midwife - feministmidwife.com
Everyday Feminism - everydayfeminism.com
Adios Barbie - adiosbarbie.com
The F Word - thefword.org.uk/blog/

Books:
How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran
Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay
We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Men explain things to me... and other essays. - Rebeeca Solnit

Ruth x

twitter: @ruth_stmw
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