Midwife De-Mystifies Birth & Brings Dignity to Mums

Giving birth is one of the most all-encompassing acts a woman can experience: physically, emotionally, spiritually there’s a lot taking place and a huge amount of trust is put in the medical team present.

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WARNING: This interview deals with themes of birth trauma, self-harm and sexual abuse.

Oceane Campbell is a midwife, psychologist and author of Labour of Love, telling stories from the birthing suite that show the inextricable link between birth, respect and consent.

From an early age Oceane was fascinated by “the introduction of life”.

Each birthday her mum would tell the story of how she came into the world one evening, and what was involved in her home birth.

“[Birthing] is the most dignified thing that you can possibly do.” – Oceane Campbell

“I knew birth was a big deal,” Oceane told Hope 103.2.

“I remember thinking what a beautiful thing to trust someone [with your birth] and to be that trusted person.”

As a midwife Oceane sees woman at their most vulnerable, helping with showers, managing bodily fluids, facilitating labours’ emotional fluctuations and so much more.

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The medical expertise of a midwife is not often fully understood, which Oceane thinks is because birth is often “shrouded in mystery” and relegated to being “women’s business”.

A focus of Oceane’s career has been to reimagine the holistic care women receive during hospital and home births.

“It’s incredibly damaging,” Oceane said.

“The language we use around [birth] matters so much, and it starts with how we talk about it to our kids.

“It’s a bit the same with breastfeeding and how we hide it away so much.”

A focus of Oceane’s career has been to reimagine the holistic care women receive during hospital and home births, and push against the idea that labour involves a “loss of dignity”.

Listen to the full conversation in the player above.

“[Birthing] is the most dignified thing that you can possibly do,” Oceane said.

“I’m in awe every time I see a woman labouring and birthing.”

“Not matter what messy body fluids are around, it’s the most incredible thing that we can do [and] I want to normalise being proud of that.”

Oceane Campbell’s book Labour of Love is out now.

Listen to the full interview with Oceane Campbell in the player above. WARNING: This interview deals with themes of birth trauma, self-harm and sexual abuse.

Feature image: Book cover image supplied and used with permission.