Oh BirthKeepers…

Oxytocin opens our eyes… what I am seeing, as we await the birth of a baby, in Bali.

I don’t know where to begin to share my recent days and nights with you. Many of you are probably wondering how the Bali volcano is doing. We do have eruptions every few days, small, gentle effusive eruptions. This is good news, as it helps the volcano release pressure in the magma dome. Bumi Sehat is still sheltering 130 evacuees from the volcano’s summit. They feel safe in our village of Nyuh Kuning, about 30 kilometers from Mount Agung.

Refugee children from the summit of Bali’s volcano, sing about peace, with musician and activist, Michael Franti.

My nights and days are full of oxytocin and the work of supporting mothersbabies and their families, in Birth. People tell me to take time off. I cannot bear to disappoint the women who call on me and request my presence during their most powerful and vulnerable life experiences, when they bring their children Earth-side.

I am so sad to share some news with you… Ibu Dewa Rutini, one of Bumi Sehat’s senior midwives, passed suddenly on 11, January, 2018. Ibu Dewa died quickly and gracefully, from lung cancer. Just two months ago, she was working besides us, laughing and comforting the laboring mothers. Ibu Dewa was a fierce advocate for human rights in childbirth.

She was a midwife who LOVED doulas, mothers, babies and families. Her vision for gentle childbirth world-wide, beginning in Bali, was an inspiration. I have had messages from families in: USA, Brittan, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Holland, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belarus, New Zealand, New Caledonia and many islands of Indonesia… they all express sorrow for the loss of Ibu Dewa in our daily lives, and gratitude for the love and comfort she shared with each of them.

Ibu Dewa ~ sharing her love as a midwife and a teacher of BirthKeepers, at Bumi Sehat, Bali.

Last night Bali’s volcano made four small, gentle eruptions between the hours of 2:30 and 3 a.m. Just this morning, our midwives and doulas received three Babies at Bumi Sehat. This afternoon, as a write this love note to you, 3rd time and 1st time mothers are in labor with their babies. It is raining in Bali, the weather is warm and gentle.