Photography: Martine de Kluiver – studio PHOTOlief and Esther van Geenen
Midwifery in the Netherlands focuses mainly on white heterosexual couples. It is high time for a different sound, says obstetrician Djanifa da Conceicao, mother of Yuna (4) and pregnant with her second. Her inclusive handbook was recently published Redemption Mother.
Janifa (35): “Did you know that the skin measurement of babies in the Netherlands to detect jaundice after birth is less reliable for babies with a darker skin color? Because the skin meter only responds much later with dark skin, they are often treated too late. This can simply be prevented by not doing the test via the skin, but via blood.
However, many pregnant women of color do not receive that information. Not necessarily because of the care provider’s unwillingness, but because he or she is not always aware of the reliability of certain results for different skin colours.
Obstetrics
The interest in pregnancy and babies was not in my blood. It wasn’t until I was 23, when I didn’t know which way I wanted to go with my education, that I discovered through the TV series Private practicea spin-off of Grey’s anatomy about a women’s clinic, the subject of obstetrics. I was instantly hooked.
In 2017, I bought myself into a midwifery practice in South Rotterdam, where we assist about 25 women per month. There I discovered that birth care in the Netherlands is not as accessible and equal as we might think.
“Maternity care in the Netherlands is not at all as accessible and equal as we think”
Parents with a non-Western background and people living close to the poverty line have poorer birth outcomes. More premature births, more stillborn babies, more miscarriages, more babies that are too small. This partly has to do with lifestyle, but also partly with the accessibility of information and the fact that you have to pay for extras such as a lactation consultant, doula or childbirth courses. So no equality.
The birth system in the Netherlands is built around the educated white pregnant woman. But it is not universal. Some people just need different or a little more help and information to know what their choices are and to achieve the same good birth outcome – although that is of course not always feasible.
Equal start
If we in the Netherlands believe that all children deserve an equal start, we could start by improving the accessibility of maternity care.
For that reason, three years ago I started posting videos on social media, mainly YouTube, under the name VerlosMoeder. We have over 24,000 subscribers. There is now also a podcast. So that information about getting pregnant, pregnancy, childbirth and the first year with a baby is free and understandable for everyone.
My husband Edson helps behind the scenes, especially editing the videos. He is a director and recently won a Golden Calf for the series disaster flightabout the Bijlmer disaster. He can also be seen regularly in my films, but our division of roles is clear: I am a full-time midwife, he is a full-time filmmaker.
My good friend Debbie Kartadiwirja also works hard behind the scenes as a copywriter and content marketer on the platform, on which I also talk about my own experiences as a mother and the role of partners in pregnancy and parenthood.
Read also – Mothers with a migration background talk about raising children of color in the Netherlands >
For all parents
My book Redemption Mother I wrote alongside all that, in just over a year. During my first pregnancy – I am now heavily pregnant with my second – I missed a step-by-step plan from getting pregnant to the first year with a baby, for all parents. So: how does a menstrual cycle work, but also: what are intestinal camps and when do you start solid food with your baby? In addition, I treat ailments such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, because not all pregnancies go smoothly.
With my book I want to offer all that practical information in one bundle. And especially as diverse as possible, because I did not recognize myself as a woman of color in any book that was on the market in the Netherlands. In addition, I focus Redemption Mother on different family forms and how you can become pregnant within them – via insemination or a germ cell donor, for example.
“We give away a digital copy for every book sold”
I have the foundation with my publisher Call to Action called in life. With this, we give away a digital copy of the book for every book sold to someone who can put it to good use, but who cannot afford it financially. Healthcare providers, including midwives, can recommend these people. Yes, it is also quite a purchase, 35 euros, making a book is expensive. In this way I want to make it accessible to everyone.
Djanifa with her husband Edson and daughter Yuna.
Solo practice
Recently I started a solo practice in North Rotterdam. Exciting, but better to combine with our place of residence. After my maternity leave I will start working there. Yuna completely understands what is going on. Then she takes the Doppler out of my bag and asks, “Mommy, can we listen to my baby sister?” She knows what an ultrasound is, how childbirth works and is very busy with the arrival of her baby sister.
Nice: my colleague and friend Marjolein, who also got Yuna, accompanies me during my pregnancy and I accompanied her. I have colleagues who experience their own pregnancies more anxiously because they know what can go wrong. But I myself am calm and level-headed; thanks to my expertise, I know that misery is relatively rare.”
Djanifa hopes to contribute to (more) equal care in the Netherlands. Knowing more? VerlosMoeder, the handbook from child wish to minimens, Djanifa da Conceicao, Lev. books, € 34.99 verlosmoeder.nl
2023-08-04 11:37:30
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