Tag: positive birth south africa

Interviews & Conversations Projects Women I've Shot

Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Daphne Lyell

Post author By Leah
Post date February 3, 2016
No Comments on Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Daphne Lyell

The Gate-Keepers: A Portraiture Project

This is a portraiture project, documenting the “gatekeepers” of a growing movement regarding positive birth experiences in our country. My aim: to promote those who are enabling women to identify with their power and femininity and therefore normalize birth and the body.

These are their stories / anecdotes / opinions about what they do and how they see it…accompanied by my portraits and some general information on each sitter.

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Daphne Lyell is a doctor and homeopath but a midwife at heart. She’s based in Woodstock Cape Town where she shares suites with other pregnancy and birthing professionals Caitlyn Collins (midwife) and Lynne Groenewald (antennal yoga).

Daphne has been doing what she terms as “the real birth work” since April 2015 but has worked in the medical model of care from 2008 onwards.

“The beauty of seeing a women become a mother as her labour unfolds and she’s brought to the brink of her control and that moment when she lets herself go and fall into the abyss where nature takes over. The realisation that the control was an illusion.”

“Us doctors are never taught to trust mothers, to trust normal..we’re exposed to abnormal with such a strong emphasis on emergency and pathology and therefore fear driven. We’re taught to trust machines, clocks, scalpels..not mothers….I think it’s important that women understand how our system is built and why it is important for them to search for and opt for midwife led care.”

” In South Africa’s private system there is Only the care equivalent to tertiary care. Hence all women, low and high risk, get monitored by an obstetrician, that was trained in the system that handled high risk women.”

• (I invite more participants to join the project, you are welcome to email me for more information).

Tags birth in south africa, birthing professionals south africa, daphne lyell, doulas south africa, home birth in south africa, interviews with doulas, interviews with midwives, midwifery and birth conference south africa, midwives south africa, natural birth, normalizing birth, portraits of doulas, portraits of midwives, positive birth movement, positive birth south africa, pregnancy south africa, sarah meder, south african midwives, woman's issues in south africa

Interviews & Conversations Projects Women I've Shot

Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Catherine Brown

Post author By Leah
Post date January 23, 2016
No Comments on Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Catherine Brown

The Gate-Keepers: A Portraiture Project

These are their stories / anecdotes / opinions about what they do and how they see it…accompanied by my portraits and some general information on each sitter.

–

Catherine Brown is a doula with a past in the film industry. She’s been working professionally in the birthing world in South Africa for almost two years now. She works mostly on in the peninsula area.

“Stigmas around so many natural, normal occurrences of life, such as defecating, sexual arousal, nudity so often shuts a woman off from the exact process that facilitates birth. These stigmas, and the high rate of abuse, in our society stop women from opening up, in every way…”

“Lets move away from the fear-based emergency care model of birth we currently into the profound, everyday empowering process that birth is,”

• (I invite more participants to join the project, you are welcome to email me for more information).

Tags birth in south africa, birthing professionals south africa, Catherine Brown, doulas south africa, home birth in south africa, interviews with doulas, interviews with midwives, midwifery and birth conference south africa, midwives south africa, natural birth, normalizing birth, portraits of doulas, portraits of midwives, positive birth movement, positive birth south africa, pregnancy south africa, sarah meder, south african midwives, woman's issues in south africa

Interviews & Conversations Projects Women I've Shot

Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Lynda Silk

Post author By Leah
Post date January 22, 2016
No Comments on Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Lynda Silk

The Gate-Keepers: A Portraiture Project

These are their stories / anecdotes / opinions about what they do and how they see it…accompanied by my portraits and some general information on each sitter.

–

Lynda is a complimentary health practitioner who is currently undergoing doula certification. She’s worked in fine arts, theatre, television, design and advertising.
Now she utilises Jin Shin Jyutsu and family constellation therapy as her primary tools in working hands ion with her patients. She works mostly between Rondebosch and Simons Town areas and has been in her industry since 2004. She began her doula certification in 2014.

“The first time I attended a birth in South Africa I gave a stranger a lift to a hospital when she was in labour. I stayed with her because of the level of abuse and lack of real care all around her. She was terrified. What I saw during the 36 hours I was with her in the labour wards brought me to understand that we are a whole society in trauma: how can there be any chance of resolving symptoms of violence, abuse, disrespect, dominance, betrayal and brutality when these experiences are present in the most vulnerable beginnings of life”

“That wondrous intelligence that from two cells creates a whole new human being – no thinking involved at all, just an inherent intelligence at work without thought. That intelligence never deserts us, it is in every cell of our bodies, if only we could explore and trust that more.”

• (I invite more participants to join the project, you are welcome to email me for more information).

Tags birth in south africa, birthing professionals south africa, doulas south africa, home birth in south africa, interviews with doulas, interviews with midwives, Lynda Silk, midwifery and birth conference south africa, midwives south africa, natural birth, normalizing birth, portraits of doulas, portraits of midwives, positive birth movement, positive birth south africa, pregnancy south africa, sarah meder, south african midwives, woman's issues in south africa

Interviews & Conversations Projects Women I've Shot

Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Shafeeka Broderick

Post author By Leah
Post date January 21, 2016
No Comments on Positive Birth in South Africa: This is Shafeeka Broderick

The Gate-Keepers: A Portraiture Project

These are their stories / anecdotes / opinions about what they do and how they see it…accompanied by my portraits and some general information on each sitter.

–

This is Shafeeka, we met in junior school where we shared a class for a few years. I re-met her recently as she works in the birthing industry. Shafeeka is a “Soula” – a facilitator of Soul Integration sessions. She is also an antenatal teacher and massage therapist.

“I believe every woman deserves to feel supported, honoured and sacred as she embarks on this journey regardless of context or circumstance .. every baby deserves that too .. it is the deepest of pleasures to be a part of this conscious process and evolution of humanity .. one birth at a time “

• (I invite more participants to join the project, you are welcome to email me for more information).

Tags birth in south africa, birthing professionals south africa, doulas south africa, home birth in south africa, interviews with doulas, interviews with midwives, midwifery and birth conference south africa, midwives south africa, natural birth, normalizing birth, portraits of doulas, portraits of midwives, positive birth movement, positive birth south africa, pregnancy south africa, sarah meder, Shafeeka Broderick, south african midwives, woman's issues in south africa