Birth & Midwifery in Bulgaria
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND PRACTITIONERS

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Some of the following sites may not be in English; an online translator may be useful.

Birth Situation Room Report

• Midwives Have Few Rights in Bulgaria [1 April 2009]

Midwifery Today Country Contact*

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Toni Kalushkova hopes to set up her own pregnancy school. She graduated my midwifery education in 1988 in the Medicine College of Varna. After that she worked as a midwife for 12 years, consulting and helping with pregnant women. After reform in the Bulgarian health care system in the year 2000, Toni lost her job. She and a colleague operated their own health care center for nine years. Toni tells us, “In our country the midwife cannot have self practice, but must be working with a doctor. Pictures from our breast feeding action can be seen on my website: www.happymumsbg.com” She would be happy to hear from others about working on such projects.

Birth/Midwifery/Doulas

THE WAY OF THE DULA—First Bulgarian doula
DONA International: Dulas in Bulgaria—Dulas for the course of Debra Pascali-Bonaro in Bulgaria
Estestveno—patient organization in support of natural birth and parenting
Rodilnica—support and information about birth

Parenting/Breastfeeding

National Association of Breastfeeding Support
La Leche League: http://lalechebg.com
www.happymumsbg.com—Childbirth Classes
www.mamita-bs.com/content.html—Childbirth Classes

Education

Midwives Have Few Rights in Bulgaria
[1 April 2009]

Here in Bulgaria, we do not have the same rights as elsewhere around the world. I mean the right of “self-practice.” For a long while the government has avoided passing laws that allow this. Only the doctors are allowed to look after a pregnant woman, take care of her and assist in delivery. The basic college education required for midwifery is at a high level, but the job is not so interesting because we cannot have our own business in the terms of self-practice. Midwifery is unbelievably poorly paid, which is also one of the main reasons that young people are not interested in the profession. There also are not enough opportunities for further education and advancement.

Methods like Bradley, HypnoBirthing, Lamaze, Perinatal Psychology and others are unknown here. This situation harms pregnant women. Parturition is allowed only in hospitals and the women go there knowing nothing and, most of all, with fear.

— Tony Kalushkova
Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria