Midwife Valda Tamane: After 44 years, every baby is treasure
Midwife Valda Tamane, who has worked in maternity wards for 44 years, talks about how the profession has changed and shares her observations about birth patterns. Her experience suggests babies are often born during full moons and storms.
While birth rates in Latvia have been declining and young people increasingly postpone having children, life continues to begin daily in maternity wards. Midwife Valda Tamane, who has spent 44 years in the profession, shares insights from her long career.
A changed role for fathers
Valda recalls that in her early years as a midwife, men were not allowed into the delivery room at all — fathers often first saw their newborns only days later, through a hospital window. Today, a partner can be present even during the birth itself, a shift that has also transformed the midwife's own work.
According to Valda, a midwife now often works not just with the woman but with the whole family. Many men sense their partner's needs well and know when a touch, a reassuring word, or simply quiet presence is needed — such support is a great help to the midwife. At times, however, the man himself becomes highly anxious, making the midwife's job harder since she must attend to both. There are also cases where the woman becomes so exhausted or withdrawn that she no longer responds to the midwife's instructions — in such moments, the partner is asked to step in and relay what she needs to do.
Nature's influence on birth
Over her many years, Valda has noticed a link between natural phenomena and the frequency of births. She says babies are more likely to arrive during a full moon or when storms are raging. She attributes this to humans being part of nature, with childbirth being one of the most natural processes — one that cannot really be controlled or influenced. During a strong full moon or a storm, the ward typically sees more women in labor, and on some nights several babies may be born at once.
While Latvia as a whole tracks how many children will be born this year, inside the delivery room, Valda says, such numbers lose all meaning — what matters is simply one woman, one family, and their baby. After 44 years in the profession, the midwife offers a simple conclusion: every baby is treasure.
