I'm giving this three stars because I love the idea of this book, and I love the format of each birth having a little story...but by the end of this book I absolutely hated the author. Why this woman was a midwife is a total mystery to me. She doesn't have compassion for women in labor, doesn't seem to like women in labor (she complains repeatedly about the greeting she gets at various houses--like the time she had to stand out in the rain because no one came to the door--THERE IS A WOMAN IN LAB More...

Okay, everyone, read this right now! Everyone! Can we pass it out in schools? And can we make every doctor in the country read it? That would help!

Peggy Vincent is amazing. Women are amazing. This book is evidence of that, as well as of how wrong-headed and competition-oriented and exploitative and ridiculous patriarchy can be when it tries to get in the way of women making babies. Story after story filled my eyes with tears, and my heart with joy and a deep feeling of proud sisterhood. But agai More...

I read the first half of this book in one day. It was fascinating to me to read a variety of birth stories while learning about the evolution of nursing/midwifery. I love reading birth stories because they are so varied, personal and interesting. Each time I read a labor story, I thought, "I don't ever want to have another baby. Those ladies are crazy. I can't believe I ever did that." Then, she'd talk about the moments after the baby was born and I'd think, "Man, I really want to have a baby."

I More...

I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I put it on my paperbackswap wishlist and finally scored a copy. It spent a few weeks perched on the corner of our kitchen table, but once I finally picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

I inhaled this book over the course of two days in April, staying up late at night to read, every once in a while stopping to re-read stories aloud to Andrew. Absolutely fascinating, this is a memoir encompassing the legal, societal, and hospital politics of the More...

I’m a little obsessed at the moment with reading birth stories. Honestly, I can’t get enough of them especially natural and home birth stories because I don’t know that many women personally who have given birth without medication. I am fascinated with the timeline, the pain, what happened, where it happened and how they handled it. Hospital and medicated birth stories are interesting too; I’m just really interested in the honest truth about the un-medicated pain all the way through and methods More...

Near the middle of The Baby Catcher, Peggy Vincent describes two births that ended in C-section; one where the mother waited too long and one where the mother didn't. For the one that ended poorly (in extreme brain damage including blindess and deafness), the mother ignored all the advice she had been given even though she had a history of fetal distress deliveries resulting in C-section.

One detail that stood out for me in both births was the activity of the baby prior to birth. The children had More...

A pregnant friend lent this to me. At 34 weeks, she listened to her heart and ditched her doctor, finding some midwives she liked much better, ladies who didn't scoff at reasonable questions about her plan. If you think hosptial deliveries (epidural, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am) are a given, this book will totally change your perception. Vincent, who spent decades catching freshly-minted human beings as they tumbled into our world, describes highly personal birth experiences, ones that reach a leve More...

What a magnificent read. Peggy held me enthralled from the first line, the first word. I read half the book in one sitting, didn't finish it sooner simply because life wouldn't get out of the way, but this is one book I'd happily have curled up on the sofa with and shut out the world. It's a celebration of life, like Anne Lamott says on the blurb, and a celebration too of womanhood, the feminine sisterhood. It's a memoir on a deeper side of women's fight for equality during the last half of the More...

Wow what an addicting read! So sad it's over, wheres the sequel? Oh wait this isn't a series ;(

I laughed out loud, cried heavy tears and learned a ton. Peggy is a wonderful writer who just sucks you right in starting with her early days as a nurse in training and then through discovering her love for obstetrics and then her desire to go into midwifery to see women having the birth experience of their choosing. This is a great read for any expecting mother, woman who ever wants children or has a More...

This book was riveting! I am thoroughly obsessed with the birth process and I love hearing stories, incredible or incredibly challenging. I read the first few chapters on the edge of my seat, stopped, and put the book down to weep profusely for the women who never had the support and the options that we have today. I believe it's critical that women today realize the path that has been blazed for them with regards to the current birthing system. And things are still changing rapidly for the bett More...

This book was great. I was hooked from page one, I started to get a little bored of all the birth stories, but they are very well written. The only reason I gave it 4/5 stars is because of the language in the book. Too much taking the Lord's name in vain, and to many F words. I realize she was "quoting" people, but really, I thought it swore way more than it needed to. It was eye opening to read about all the weird people out there having babies, but nice to read about normal people having homeb More...

The story of one woman's time spent as a nurse and as a midwife. Vincent has an engaging, friendly voice; I felt like we were friends within a chapter. The ways of thinking about and serving pregnant women have changed a huge amount since the 1960s, and Vincent documents it all from the front-line. The stories she tells are moving and sometimes hilarious, and the history she documents is fascinating.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book. The stories were very well written and many were laugh-out-loud funny. I actually found this to be a page turner and had a hard time putting it down! I wondered if the birth stories would get repetitive but I didn't find that at all - there was so much variety. Something about the author's style kind of reminded me of James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small" books... but in Berkeley, and with humans. It was inspiring and educational to read abou More...

My only issue with Baby Catcher was that it was too long and a bit rambling (and I could have done without the Bible quotes that preceded each section). Other than that, it's a lovely memoir of a midwife's life in the (sometimes supportive) (sometimes horrifyingly not) Bay Area.

I think it would be a great book for mothers to read, so that the black box of labour and birth can be demystified a bit (from the sheer number of diverse births she describes), and also presented in a light that isn't c More...

LOVED it!!!

Emotional, moving, and REAL. I deeply appreciated sharing the thoughts, feelings, and birth stories that Ms. Vincent was able to recount. Much more profound than "I laughed, I cried," my summary reaction would be more like, "I burst out in joyful laughter, smiled wryly in sympathy, scowled in scorn and disappointment, and felt my heart rip open while its pieces leaked out in tears." The author has a real gift for bringing the reader not only into her mind and heart, but into the sacre More...

A quick and easy read, this book follows the several decades of the career of Peggy Vincent who was first a nurse, and then a licensed midwife in Northern California. She delivered over 2,000 babies, mostly in and around Berkeley. Sometimes being a midwife was wonderful, empowering, lucrative and exciting, and other times it was an uphill battle against The Man, Big Insurance and women's own fear. Almost every chapter is a stand-alone birth story, which is great since she has plenty of material More...

What a lovely read during the last stretch of waiting to give birth again! I loved the more lyrical approach than Ina May--there's a story throughout the book, tying together birth stories and Vincent's own experience with the difficulties of practicing midwifery in the U.S.

The East Bay references throughout the book also kept me hooked--not just Chez Panisse and the Berkeley Bowl, but also the history of how Alta Bates became the best hospital birth center in the country (and how it still does More...

I don't typically read biographical books like this, but this book focuses on a subject I'm interested in and was a gift from a friend who shares my interest, so I read it. I'm glad I did. I found it enjoyable, and truly, I think any pregnant woman really ought to read this book, even if she's not going to a midwife for her care or has no intention of having her baby at home. The birth stories in the book give a good idea about what a woman might expect during labor, and in that way, can help be More...

In my quest for understanding childbirth better and gaining confidence towards it, I chose this book because it is so highly rated on Goodreads. In retrospect, I'm really surprised by that. The book is thought-provoking in some ways, but overall I didn't feel like I got anything out of it. Ultimately, I think I struggled because the author is very annoying, and since the book is really an autobiography, I just got sick of hearing all about her. I also felt that she distorted a lot of facts about More...

Very enjoyable midwife's memoir. Captivating homebirth stories. Interesting contrast with hospital births from her days as an OB nurse, and then as a CNM as she continued to deliver in hospital and at home. There was one brief part that I felt was a bit risque (very flamboyant father-to-be), but I just took a black marker to it.

There were many "normal" births shared. But, the births described were more likely to have drama than the average homebirth, which makes sense as they are more memorable. More...

This book completely changed my perception about the birth process. I wasn't sure I could stomach this book - much less the pain of giving birth without an epidural. Yet somewhere within these funny and touching birth stories my framework shifted.

Peggy Vincent presents birth as a natural, mysterious process that is highly unique and beautiful - something to be experienced, not simply a means to an end. In her hands, birth becomes a ritual, a celebration of life.

Baby Catcher is a wonderful book f More...

I am 7-months pregnant, so this book is very relevant to me! It was interesting to read all of the birth stories, and it made me feel inspired about women giving birth. Personally, home birth is not the route that I want to take, but it is so interesting what that experience can bring into people's lives.

Unlike other reviewers, I found the author to be quite warm and relatable. The format is easy to read, and the stories are really fun.

The reason why I am only giving it three stars is because More...

I mentioned to my friend that I loved hearing about people's birth stories, and she said that in that case, I would like this book. And she was RIGHT. I loved it. Vincent mostly just tells a bunch of the crazy birth stories she encountered working as a midwife in Berkley during the 80's. Some are scary, a few are sad, most are incredibly touching. Although Vincent has her own agenda in telling stories like this, she didn't feel all anti-doctor to me (like some books I've read)-- she just enjoys More...

I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of foul language because of the varied lifestyles of the midwife's patients, but none of the language bothered me.

I enjoyed the anecdotal form of the book, as well as all of the interesting birth stories. The book details the midwife career history of the author, Peggy Vincent, and gives an interesting picture of the situation for lay midwives v. certified nurse midwives. The book also shares a story and information on what happens in a lawsuit and the i More...

I wish I'd read this BEFORE I'd had any children, but I still loved it!!--I don't think I could tire of childbirth, and her perspective was so interesting. I still can't say I'd prefer to have children at home (who could give up Club Med?), but it was easy to embrace most everything else. I was a little disappointed that there was a bit of an agenda at the end, but I decided it was well-deserved, and it IS a huge frustration that the medical world and all other alternative health answers can't c More...

This book was delightful. The birth stories- good, bad, and ugly are very thought provoking for any pregnant woman-- even ones that aren't considering home birth or birthing with a midwife. Vincent's true passion for birth and the health and well-being of pregnant women and their babies really comes across in this book. I can only hope to be cared for by my health professional in the same manner. That being said, the ending was also a big reality check for those who travel into the realm of preg More...

Memoir seorang bidan di Amerika. Isinya didominasi oleh kisah-kisah melahirkan yang beraneka ragam dramanya. Drama karena terlalu heboh dan drama karena terlalu tenang. Reaksi kontraksi mulai dari yang teriak-teriak dan menyalahkan semua orang hingga yang cukup mengernyitkan dahi. Untunglah kebanyakan sehat-sehat walaupun ada juga yang bayinya terlalu lama tidak bernafas hingga otaknya sudah tidak berfungsi. Ada juga kisah keguguran dan bayi meninggal.
Quote tentang keguguran itu mengena banget b More...

I really enjoyed this book. Having had two natural births personally and finding pregnancy and birth very fascinating this was a great read. I have considered becoming a doula (not sure if that will ever happen) but even if I never do discussing births and encouraging friends in their plans for natural births will at least always be a "hobby" of mine.

I liked the author's honesty. It was neat to hear some history of midwives, all types. I appreciated that she didn't leave out details of difficult More...

Wonderful revealing glimpse inside the life of a midwife. Each chapter a new tale, amusing, touching.