Spiritual Midwifery

this classic is a must-read for pregnant women- especially those who, like me and most pregnant women, hear lots of birth horror stories and find themselves in need of positive accounts. ina may gaskin in known throughout the world for her impressive midwifery skills and for her superb outcomes over the years in helping women give birth on her commmune in tennessee. ( )

My husband and I were of divided minds on this one. I was able to get past the sort of hippie-go-lucky language and tone of the book to the meat of it--namely, that childbirth is a wonderful natural process that can go much better for the mother when she is surrounded by supportive individuals who are acting on her behalf and the baby's in a personal way rather than in a institutional, impersonal, intervention focused hospital. Obviously if a woman feels cared for and relaxed and at ease, anything, including childbirth would be easier to get through. My husband could not, however, get over the hippie nature of the book. While the book did not convince me to have a home birth, it did reinforce my intuition that the female body is made for birthing and that the focus of childbirth should be to support the body in doing what it normally does on the bodies' time table and in a way that works for that particular mother, rather than trying to hasten events with multiple medical interventions that carry with them side effects that may prolong labor and endanger the mother or child. The book is a collection stories from various individuals at a commune with topics concerning miscarriage, childbirth, postpartum depression, c-section, breach births etc... It's worth reading if you are unfamiliar with childbirth and would like read something that is insightful but not medical in an institutional way. It is female/human ability focused without being totally against medical interventions when they are needed; it just has the point of view that they're used far more than needed. ( )

This book has some very helpful material. It would almost be a "mandatory-take-with" in case of cataclysmic emergency--because I think a person could follow instructions to help with most birthing situations.

It's a little raw. Lots of nudity. Does a woman *have* to be naked to have a wonderful, natural birth? (NO, I wasn't, mine was great:)

Also, can't believe with all the info the author must know about birthing, she still has so many women (in the photos) laboring and birthing on their backs. So counter-intuitive. ( )

This book is divided up into thirds: birth stories, information for the parent, information for the midwife. This makes this book is fucking cool no matter who you are--someone interested in a very interesting cultural moment, an expectant parent, or someone (like me) who wants to take babies out of ladies for a living.The other incredible thing about this book is that it really lays out to you, technical manual style, everything you would need to know to pinch-hit for a midwife, if not get started in midwifery yourself. Popular books these days don't really trust the public like that anymore (Ina May says "consult your friendly doctor" quite sparingly) and it's refreshing and exciting. ( )

Don't let the hippie language throw you. This book is a fantastic way to prepare yourself for a normal birth. Hundreds or real stories. The only criticism I have is that the book gives you the impression that you will want to be all lovey dovey with your sweetie while in labor, I must say after 3 labors I don't want my husband to touch me at all in labor. Everyone is different. ( )