Hello my new friends, My name is Maria Helena, I have just entered the list and I would like to present myself. I am an Ob&Gyn from Brazil, involved with the Humanization of Birth movement in my country, and eager to interact and learn from people involved with childbirth all over the world. I work at an NGO (Rehuna) that works towards public policy makers and society in general in restoring natural birth as a woman`s choice. Brazil is a very interesting country, and I would be glad to tell you all about our achievements in the matter of childbirth One particularity is that our`s is a big country, with many different cultures and this diversity is what makes it so interesting Besides the fact that ours is a model that has become very much doctor and hospital centered in the past few years, like the US model of assistance, we still have hope that we can change and become a nation in which women can be with women. Recently we have been dueling with the need to introduce the midwifery model of assistance, bringing into discussion the direct entry into Midwifery Schools in our system of training, and still try to protect our Traditional Birth Attendants from loosing their cultural identity. This is an interesting subject and I intend to study it further in my DrPH We still have much to learn before we start off our own model of midwifery trainning in Brazil, and I hope to learn more about the Aussie`s midwifery model. I am honored to participate in this list. Thanks,
Maria Helena -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
