As a midwife, one of the things people most often say to me is "you're so lucky: you get to play with babies every day".  Of course this brings to mind visions of what this "play" actually looks like--moans, sweat, and always so much blood. And yes, in the end I sometimes do get to run a finger over a soft, downy baby head while the mother basks in her oxytocin-glow of victory.  But if all goes to plan, my interaction with babies rarely goes much beyond that. If you are a midwife, who you really love is women .   I have been a woman for over forty-six years now, I have four sisters and three daughters, and have worked with women and heard their stories for twenty-five years.   And today I want to tell you something I have learned about women: Women rise. They do.  They can get out of a bloody birth pool, rinse the sweat off, laugh, and nurse their newborn.  They heal their bruises, find a way out of the abuse, and start a new life.  They c...