Ancient Witch Hunting in Modern Times 

(a discussion addressing the persecution of midwives and birth attendants in the Modern world)

Facilitated by Ruth Ehrhardt and Lana Petersen

Birth is sacred, beautiful, primal, and real. From the very beginning of time, women—our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts—have understood this. They’ve devoted themselves to protecting and guarding the sanctity of birth. They were the original midwives.

We’re all familiar with the witch hunts of old, where wise women—many of them midwives—were demonised, hunted, tortured, and killed by the thousands.

And today, in many parts of the world, we see a modern echo of that history: the restriction, persecution, and even imprisonment of midwives, birth attendants, and birthkeepers.

Could this be a continuation of the old witch hunts?

ABOUT RUTH

Ruth Ehrhardt is the mother of 4 home-birthed children, a South African traditional midwife , Certified as a Professional Midwife in the US, the author of a book called The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour (which has been translated into 16 different languages), and a birth and midwifery teacher.

She is the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of midwives, so it seems this work was in many ways predestined from birth.

Ruth has an innate love and trust for birth, women’s bodies, and babies’ intelligence. In her teaching and work, she mainly focuses on guarding and protecting the environment for pregnancy and birth, as opposed to guiding or facilitating the actual birthing process.

TrueMidwifery.com

ABOUT LANA

Lana Petersen has been working in the birth community as a doula and birth companion since 2004. She was born at home and has birthed her 2 daughters at home and now advocates for and supports families choosing autonomous births.She is passionate about helping women reclaim childbirth as a rite of passage and sharing the wisdom and knowledge of birth to those who seek it.