- Email: [email protected]
Obituary - Sheila Kitzinger
Midwifery 31 (2015) 555–556
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Midwifery journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/midw
Sheila Kitzinger MBE: 29th March 1929–11th April 2015. Reflections on her life and the legacy of her work News of Sheila's death made many of those who met and worked with her or came across her work in her books, papers or lectures reflect on her passing and the enormous contribution she made to our understanding of pregnancy and birth. Birth guru, natural birth advocate, fighter for social and childbirth justice for women, writer, performer, birth crisis counsellor – there are many descriptions of Sheila during her life and following her death. In reality Sheila's work had many different layers, and it is natural that we will take from it what we want or what we see. But Sheila was more than her many labels, she was a powerful force who helped to change the way we support women, their partners and families as they plan for and ultimately birth their babies. The authors of this obituary to Sheila, Lesley Page and Debra Bick, were both fortunate to have met and come to know Sheila over many years. Encompassed in the powerful, intelligent, compassionate human presence and colourful personality of Sheila was a passionate personal drive to help women around the births of their babies, to ensure they were listened to and received an individualised and informed approach to their care. For example, her books on episiotomy challenged the practice and assumed benefits of a routine surgical incision, encouraging women, midwives and obstetricians to question the practice and it's application. In her work she provided an alternative perspective to what had become a mainstream view of birth over many years, namely a rather sterile medicalized view where intervention had to be routinely implemented due to the ‘weakness’ of a woman's body to labour and birth. Her work helped women and professionals reach a deeper fuller understanding of the physiology of pregnancy, labour, birth and life following the birth, in all its richness. The written words of Sheila in her many books and articles, her media communications, her lectures and workshops, her direct work to achieve justice for women, particularly those who were marginalised, came from a deep wellspring of commitment, sense of justice and knowledge, understanding and ability to analyse. There is little doubt that her academic background in anthropology was an important basis to her scholarly but popular and accessible work. Sheila's mother was a midwife, and she always described her as a central influence to her work and life. Sheila understood the crucial place that midwives play in providing woman centred maternity care, and helped many who, in the process of trying to offer effective or more innovative care, provoked opposition. In Lesley's early career in midwifery leadership, Sheila was a firm and steadfast friend, who offered intelligent guidance and emotional support when new ideas inevitably met what was sometimes very personal resistance. When Lesley became pregnant for the first time at age 46, some intelligent ‘mothering’ from Sheila provided http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2015.04.013 0266-6138/
her with the courage and confidence she needed to labour and give birth. There was much of the midwife in her. Perhaps this is the point about Sheila and her life, that as well as her prolific work and communication output, she provided direct support for women and families in crisis, as well as midwives and others being treated unfairly and sometimes unjustly because of their work to improve women's care. Many have much to thank her for. Far from a distant high priestess Sheila was very human, helping in practical, often political and direct ways. There was about Sheila such a zest for life and such a sense of fun. Sheila could perform, and perform she often did with humour and understanding. Sheila's words still resonate for many of us lucky enough to hear her speak. As Debra recalled, attending one of her lectures many years ago as a newly qualified midwife, when Sheila showed slides of the home birth of one of her grandchildren and explained how her daughter had walked around the garden during the first stage of her labour, it was difficult to consider how this beautiful birth, supported by family, close friends and a midwife, could be translated to other settings. Nevertheless it could be and Sheila's words made a lasting impression of what we could achieve as midwives working in partnership with women and their families. Choice of place of birth, continuity of carer, effective support and a calm birth environment are at the core of our care now, but this was not always the case. Sheila was famous for lying on a lecture room table flat on her back, legs akimbo, held in lithotomy to show just how ridiculous some routine practices are. Only 18 months ago, lecturing to the RCM Student Midwives conference, her walking stick against the lectern, glamourous and colourful, Sheila acted out bearing down in second stage, with all the guttural noises. What a performance. One of the core drivers of Sheila's work was to educate, and she did this constantly: specifically she was centrally involved in the development of the MA Midwifery at Thames Valley University (now the University of West London), one of the first higher degree programmes in midwifery in the UK. She also taught on the programme. Many of the early students will remember seminars at Sheila's beautiful hospitable home in rural Oxfordshire. The title of visiting professor Thames Valley University was always proudly used by Sheila. The outpouring of tributes and obituaries on the news of Sheila's death demonstrate clearly the recognition of her contribution to challenge and change our thinking about birth and our birth practices. Indeed, the woman centred UK policy for maternity services might well be traced back to her influence. During the last year of her life, Sheila's attention turned to question the care of those suffering terminal illness, the need for medical intervention and the individual's involvement in decision making.
556
L. Page / Midwifery 31 (2015) 555–556
Her approach to planning for her own death and her questioning of care for those nearing the end of their lives very much reflected her approach to birth practices, the first and the last great journeys we take as individuals. As we look back over her life and work, and forward into the future, it is clear that Sheila played a fundamental role in helping us move away from a medical view of birth, to a recognition of the sexual, spiritual, social and deeply earthy aspects of birth. Although a woman giving birth will sometimes need medical intervention, care which meets the psychological and physical needs of each individual woman remains fundamental. The issue now is to use the legacy of Sheila's indomitable spirit and intelligent work to ensure that we continue to transform maternity services so that each and every woman, her baby and family,
receive the individual, sensitive and liberating care they need. It is a legacy that we must continue to pursue.
Lesley Page, CBE, Professor President Royal College of Midwives, Visiting Professor King's College London, Adjunct Professor, University of Technology, Sydney,
Debra Bick, Professor Professor of Evidence Based Midwifery Practice, King's College London
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Midwifery journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/midw
Sheila Kitzinger MBE: 29th March 1929–11th April 2015. Reflections on her life and the legacy of her work News of Sheila's death made many of those who met and worked with her or came across her work in her books, papers or lectures reflect on her passing and the enormous contribution she made to our understanding of pregnancy and birth. Birth guru, natural birth advocate, fighter for social and childbirth justice for women, writer, performer, birth crisis counsellor – there are many descriptions of Sheila during her life and following her death. In reality Sheila's work had many different layers, and it is natural that we will take from it what we want or what we see. But Sheila was more than her many labels, she was a powerful force who helped to change the way we support women, their partners and families as they plan for and ultimately birth their babies. The authors of this obituary to Sheila, Lesley Page and Debra Bick, were both fortunate to have met and come to know Sheila over many years. Encompassed in the powerful, intelligent, compassionate human presence and colourful personality of Sheila was a passionate personal drive to help women around the births of their babies, to ensure they were listened to and received an individualised and informed approach to their care. For example, her books on episiotomy challenged the practice and assumed benefits of a routine surgical incision, encouraging women, midwives and obstetricians to question the practice and it's application. In her work she provided an alternative perspective to what had become a mainstream view of birth over many years, namely a rather sterile medicalized view where intervention had to be routinely implemented due to the ‘weakness’ of a woman's body to labour and birth. Her work helped women and professionals reach a deeper fuller understanding of the physiology of pregnancy, labour, birth and life following the birth, in all its richness. The written words of Sheila in her many books and articles, her media communications, her lectures and workshops, her direct work to achieve justice for women, particularly those who were marginalised, came from a deep wellspring of commitment, sense of justice and knowledge, understanding and ability to analyse. There is little doubt that her academic background in anthropology was an important basis to her scholarly but popular and accessible work. Sheila's mother was a midwife, and she always described her as a central influence to her work and life. Sheila understood the crucial place that midwives play in providing woman centred maternity care, and helped many who, in the process of trying to offer effective or more innovative care, provoked opposition. In Lesley's early career in midwifery leadership, Sheila was a firm and steadfast friend, who offered intelligent guidance and emotional support when new ideas inevitably met what was sometimes very personal resistance. When Lesley became pregnant for the first time at age 46, some intelligent ‘mothering’ from Sheila provided http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2015.04.013 0266-6138/
her with the courage and confidence she needed to labour and give birth. There was much of the midwife in her. Perhaps this is the point about Sheila and her life, that as well as her prolific work and communication output, she provided direct support for women and families in crisis, as well as midwives and others being treated unfairly and sometimes unjustly because of their work to improve women's care. Many have much to thank her for. Far from a distant high priestess Sheila was very human, helping in practical, often political and direct ways. There was about Sheila such a zest for life and such a sense of fun. Sheila could perform, and perform she often did with humour and understanding. Sheila's words still resonate for many of us lucky enough to hear her speak. As Debra recalled, attending one of her lectures many years ago as a newly qualified midwife, when Sheila showed slides of the home birth of one of her grandchildren and explained how her daughter had walked around the garden during the first stage of her labour, it was difficult to consider how this beautiful birth, supported by family, close friends and a midwife, could be translated to other settings. Nevertheless it could be and Sheila's words made a lasting impression of what we could achieve as midwives working in partnership with women and their families. Choice of place of birth, continuity of carer, effective support and a calm birth environment are at the core of our care now, but this was not always the case. Sheila was famous for lying on a lecture room table flat on her back, legs akimbo, held in lithotomy to show just how ridiculous some routine practices are. Only 18 months ago, lecturing to the RCM Student Midwives conference, her walking stick against the lectern, glamourous and colourful, Sheila acted out bearing down in second stage, with all the guttural noises. What a performance. One of the core drivers of Sheila's work was to educate, and she did this constantly: specifically she was centrally involved in the development of the MA Midwifery at Thames Valley University (now the University of West London), one of the first higher degree programmes in midwifery in the UK. She also taught on the programme. Many of the early students will remember seminars at Sheila's beautiful hospitable home in rural Oxfordshire. The title of visiting professor Thames Valley University was always proudly used by Sheila. The outpouring of tributes and obituaries on the news of Sheila's death demonstrate clearly the recognition of her contribution to challenge and change our thinking about birth and our birth practices. Indeed, the woman centred UK policy for maternity services might well be traced back to her influence. During the last year of her life, Sheila's attention turned to question the care of those suffering terminal illness, the need for medical intervention and the individual's involvement in decision making.
556
L. Page / Midwifery 31 (2015) 555–556
Her approach to planning for her own death and her questioning of care for those nearing the end of their lives very much reflected her approach to birth practices, the first and the last great journeys we take as individuals. As we look back over her life and work, and forward into the future, it is clear that Sheila played a fundamental role in helping us move away from a medical view of birth, to a recognition of the sexual, spiritual, social and deeply earthy aspects of birth. Although a woman giving birth will sometimes need medical intervention, care which meets the psychological and physical needs of each individual woman remains fundamental. The issue now is to use the legacy of Sheila's indomitable spirit and intelligent work to ensure that we continue to transform maternity services so that each and every woman, her baby and family,
receive the individual, sensitive and liberating care they need. It is a legacy that we must continue to pursue.
Lesley Page, CBE, Professor President Royal College of Midwives, Visiting Professor King's College London, Adjunct Professor, University of Technology, Sydney,
Debra Bick, Professor Professor of Evidence Based Midwifery Practice, King's College London