Birth Essentials

Exodus 1:15-22
Shiphrah & Puah, the Hebrew midwives

The first act of civil disobedience recorded in the Bible was committed by midwives.

Let me tell you their story.

In Exodus 1, we meet Shiphrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives living under Egyptian oppression. Pharaoh, afraid of the growing Hebrew population, gave them a direct order: kill every Hebrew baby boy at birth.

These midwives said no.

They defied the most powerful man in Egypt. They risked their own lives to protect the babies they were called to serve. They looked Pharaoh in the face and lied to him, telling him the Hebrew women were too strong, too vigorous, that the babies were born before the midwives could even arrive.

And because of their courage, an entire generation of Hebrew boys lived. Including Moses, who would eventually lead his people to freedom.

The Bible says: “So God was kind to the midwives… And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” (Exodus 1:20-21)

God honored their courage. Their defiance. Their protection of life in the face of authoritarian power. Thousands of years later, midwives are still fighting. Not against genocide, thank God. But against systems and policies that try to control how, where, and with whom women can give birth. We fight for a woman’s right to choose homebirth when it’s safe for her, informed consent instead of coerced interventions, bodily autonomy in birth spaces, access to physiologic birth instead of routine intervention, and the freedom to birth without unnecessary interference. We stand between families and systems that don’t always have their best interests at heart.

Just like Shiphrah and Puah, midwives today protect families’ rights to make their own choices about their bodies and their births. We push back against policies that restrict birth options. We advocate for informed consent when providers pressure unnecessary interventions. We honor women’s autonomy even when it’s countercultural. We believe that families, not institutions, should be the decision-makers in birth. This is sacred work. Not just catching babies. But protecting the fundamental right of families to choose how they bring their children into the world.

Shiphrah and Puah set the standard thousands of years ago: midwives serve families, not systems. We protect life and honor autonomy, even when authorities tell us otherwise. And just like God honored those ancient midwives for their courage, we trust that standing for families’ rights is exactly where we’re called to be.

“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.” - Exodus 1:17

Charming Hispanic painting called 'La Partera' or 'The Midwife' by Victoria De Almeida.

It's very apt that the midwife is standing in the doorway. Midwives archetypally stand at thresholds....ushering in the baby from one world to another....guardian and safekeeper of the woman and family.

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,
She led from the front and they hated her pride,
They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,
They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,
When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,
So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,
They told her they'd listen, then covered their ears,
And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,
And she listened to all of it thinking she should,
Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,
But one day she asked what was best for herself,
Instead of trying to please everyone else,
So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,
She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,
She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,
And she told them what she'd been told time after time,
She told them she felt she was never enough,
She was either too little or far far too much,
Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,
Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,
Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,
And she stopped...and she heard what the trees said to her,
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.

By: Becky Hemsley

Dad made the catch!

We received this incredible photo from this mom's birth photographer. What a great shot! We love to see dad catching baby.
Congratulations to mom on her second VBAC!

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month!

~ Aug 1-7 World Breastfeeding Week (Theme: Protect Breastfeeding: A shared responsibility)
~ Second week in Aug: Native Breastfeeding Week (Theme: Nourishing our future)
~ Third week in Aug: Asian Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week (Reclaiming our traditions)
~ Aug 25-31 Black Breastfeeding Week (Theme: The Big Pause)

It's World Breastfeeding Week!
Aug 1 - Aug 7, 2021

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Kiki is intrigued by this little baby!

Watch: Baby boy and his mother fascinate Kiki the gorilla at Franklin Park Zoo Kiki had her first son in the fall.