Elizabeth Pridgeon

 
Gail Johnson is the sort of woman every Belizean woman wishes to have around, for her valuable knowledge used to support natural birthing practices.  Having lived and worked in the US and Canada most of her life, Gail chose to semi-retire to Belize three years ago, and has made remarkable inroads into our national health service since her arrival.  It is quite an achievement to reach the status of ‘Nation Builder’ for native Belizeans, and even more so for a relatively recent immigrant to the country, but seemingly effortlessly, Gail Johnson has become more than deserving of the title.

Childbirth is not something widely discussed outside of pre-natal groups and women’s support groups, and outside of the immediate family unit.  Yet with a population growth rate ranked 50th in the world, and far above all of our regional neighbours, it is undeniable that pregnancy and childbirth are issues that are affecting more and more Belizeans every year.  An over-riding concern among several medically-knowledgeable groups, Gail included, is that childbirth education is not widely available to the average Belizean, and thus informed decisions relating to pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care are hindered.  Gail does all that is within her power to avert this pattern, through educating, training and providing midwifery assistance whenever appropriate.  Gail is perhaps Belize’s most vocal advocate of natural childbirth techniques synonymous with evidence based care, aptly termed by herself as the “Midwifery Model of Obstetrical Care”. 

For years, Gail has considered childbirth as a perfectly normal bodily process as opposed to an ‘illness’ or a situation requiring treatment or cure.  As a Certified Professional Midwife and a Licensed Midwife, Gail is well qualified to disburse information on natural childbirth techniques, and this she does with remarkable stamina, despite the hurdles confronting her.  Gail was optimistic towards the potential for natural birthing techniques in Belize, due to our relatively small health budget, and even smaller allowance designated specifically for maternity care; due to the high cost of medical procedures such as caesarean section delivery, chemical and physical induction of labour, episiotomies, fundal pressure application and anaesthesia, Gail assumed that natural birthing would be the preferred method of childbirth in Belize.  The rhetoric of this theory is in place, with the Nurses Council of Belize conducting numerous workshops, including on “Evidence Based Care” which refers to widely accepted theories of ‘successful’ childbirth and care.  Although one theme of this theory, the promotion of breastfeeding, is widely adopted by medical professionals throughout the country, other aspects of childbirth options are still severely underdeveloped within our health service.  This, Gail believes, is due to our propensity to follow in the footsteps of our “Big Brother”, America, where the ‘Medical’ approach often overshadows the ‘Midwifery model’.  Gail’s greatest concerns are that the most standard common practices relied upon in Belize are based on misnomers and are apparently ignorant to the increasing body of evidence that shows the danger of procedures such as episiotomies and C-sections, the invalidity of the majority of reasons for inducing labour, and the absolute necessity of having a ‘support person’ present during the birth.  Most experts agree that several past approaches adopted by ‘western’ medicine (including the promotion of formula milk as opposed to breast feeding) have now been disproved, and Belize is in the prime position to learn from the mistakes of others, as opposed to mimicking them.  But this kind of realisation can only occur through continued promotion of ‘Evidence Based Care’ which takes perseverance and motivation on the part of medical advisors. And so, despite her ostensive ‘retired’ status, Gail continues to promote the ‘Midwifery Model of Obstetrical Care’ in Belize; she acts as a doula (a supporter), a montrice (a facilitator), and a midwife during childbirth to various Belizean clients, and she also performs the role of a childbirth educator and a woman’s peer counsellor to different audiences throughout the country.  Years of experience as the ‘Midwife Without Borders’ (an apt take on Medicines San Frontiers), a self-help clinic manager, a pain relief expert, a public speaker and a woman’s advocate, not to mention a thrice President of the North Texas Association of Midwives and member of numerous other medical committees, means that Belize is in good hands.

And despite the uphill battle that Gail faces, being a lone voice in a choir of ‘orthodox’ medical advocates, she humbly states that “I cannot abandon my calling, so I help when and as I can”.  And it is little wonder that people all over the world seek the assistance of Gail and her ‘appropriate technology’ approach to midwifery.  Even her family seems to reflect her childbirth success, as she is a proud mother to five, grandmother to eleven, and great-grandmother to four!

Never one for negative sentiments, Gail commends Belize on its success as a relatively young nation over recent decades, and sincerely hopes that obstetrical care will evolve in the coming years – the changes and improvements of which she looks forward to both observing, and contributing to.  Gail is a remarkable person, who has spent her entire life using her knowledge to support her peers.  I, for one, can think of no person I would rather have deliver my baby than Gail Johnson – Belize’s finest delivery.

Gail Johnson is a keen advocate of the Midwifery Model of Obstetrical Care, and is usually willing to present to interested parties, and to advise individuals.  She can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or via P O Box 251, Corozal Town.

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