What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you.
Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, th... read full description
Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, th... read full description
reviews
Dec 17, 2009
Sharon
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This book made me think about pregnancy and childbirth in a whole new way. The author is a midwife and one of the founders of The Farm commune. She talks about creating a culture where women aren't afraid to give birth, and consequently don't experience labor as a painful, negative experience. The book has interviews with over a hundred women who tell their birth stories, many of which are exhilarating.
That said, it's important to take the book with a large grain of salt, especially More...
That said, it's important to take the book with a large grain of salt, especially More...
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Nov 20, 2011
Kristin
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Ina May Gaskin has got to be the wisest woman alive. I try to soak in everything she says because it all makes perfect sense, and it's all so empowering. I think a major complaint about this book is that it repeats some things from other books she's written. It's true, but the stuff she repeats bears repeating. There are women (like me) who need to hear these things as often as possible.
In addition to being informative and enjoyable, this book also saved me from completely losing my mind a More...
In addition to being informative and enjoyable, this book also saved me from completely losing my mind a More...
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Jan 11, 2009
Judith
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I swiped this from Frances at the recommendation of her sister-in-law. The first half of the book is real-life stories of women who had home births or births with midwifes and the second half of the book contains the more scientific studies of Ina May Gaskin.
The book was beautifully printed and really organized well. There were lovely pictures of births and babies and midwifes-very retro and dated,but cool.
What I liked-the honesty of the women's accounts of their births. The More...
The book was beautifully printed and really organized well. There were lovely pictures of births and babies and midwifes-very retro and dated,but cool.
What I liked-the honesty of the women's accounts of their births. The More...
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Aug 27, 2008
Danielle
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So, as far as useful information goes, this book pretty much said the same thing as The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, except without the same amount of research backing it up. Still helpful, but not especially new. Plus, she used the terms "Much more likely" or "much less likely" a lot, instead of giving the actual statistics as Goer's book did.
Another downside of this book was that it was a little too "Rah, rah, rah, women's bodies can do anything!!" More...
Another downside of this book was that it was a little too "Rah, rah, rah, women's bodies can do anything!!" More...
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Jul 03, 2008
Justin
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A lot of information on the professional merits of midwifery, so I admit skipping some chapters for the time being to learn content more directly related my partner's pregnancy. I will continue to read the birth stories, though I only needed a dozen of them or so before I wanted to hear what she actually had to say (this may partially be because I am a male reader who's brain learns slightly differrent that the target audience). I will read them all before my first child arrives. I believe th
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Jun 19, 2008
Rachel
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Don't worry, this isn't an announcement. A friend from work is passionate about midwifery and has been talking to me about her experience having her children at home, and she referred me to Ina May's books to learn more. Ina May is the nation's most famous midwife. She lives on a hippie commune in Tennessee and has been helping all of the women in the commune to give birth naturally since it was established in 1971. She's a bit too hippie-ish for my taste, and it had some photos in it that I did
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Feb 07, 2008
Kristen
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this is a really good book that a patient recommended to me when I told her I was REALLY WORRIED about actually giving birth. I was so scared/freaked-out about the whole labor and delivery thing. she said she felt the same way and had read this book & it made her realize that childbirth is what our bodies are MEANT to do & it made her feel so much better. she also warned me "a lot of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt" and some of it was a little out there (like the orgasmic del
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Jan 15, 2009
Rachel
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I just had my monthly midwife appointment and she lent me this awesome book. It's got everything, including a section on orgasmic birth. I find it refreshing to read something so real that attempts to turn our stereotypical hospital birth routine upside-down.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a compilation of birth stories from lots and lots of women; many will make you cry with joy. The second part reflects how Ina May's Farm community achieves such low caesarean More...
The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a compilation of birth stories from lots and lots of women; many will make you cry with joy. The second part reflects how Ina May's Farm community achieves such low caesarean More...
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Dec 03, 2008
tope
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The birth stories in this book give a realistic but nevertheless inspiring and encouraging perspective on what natural birth can be like. I found this book more accessible than Ina May's first book on childbirth, _Spiritual Midwifery_, which is one of those books you can tell was written by a communal living hippie in the 70s (liberal use of "far out," "telepathic," "psychedelic," etc.). The _Guide_ includes many more stories than the earlier book from women who w
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Jan 20, 2012
Holly
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This is the holy grail for natural childbirth.* I had read and heard so much about Ina May Gaskin by the time this book was finally available at the library that I felt like some weird superfan. After finishing the book today, I fully embrace my superfandom. I admit it: I'm a Gaskin groupie.
The one thing I would change is to flip the order of Part I and Part II. Part I is over 100 pages of real women's labor and birth stories, most of which took place at The Farm (the TN commun More...
The one thing I would change is to flip the order of Part I and Part II. Part I is over 100 pages of real women's labor and birth stories, most of which took place at The Farm (the TN commun More...
Aug 04, 2011
Rachael
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The first half of the book is filled with positive (and maybe a little weird) birth stories. It is good to read birth stories that aren't just about "how terrible" it all is. I sort of got tired of reading the birth stories (some were a bit strange for me) and I skipped to the 2nd half. I have been reading a lot of "natural birth" books and info lately and this one was well put together. I especially like reading about the history of childbirth. So many things/ideas made sens
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Mar 09, 2011
Robin
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Does liking this book make me a hippie? Probably. But it may say more about our culture than me if I'm branded as a hippie for wanting a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). I don't think I'm terribly radical, but if you check with a couple of doctors in the Baltimore area, they might say otherwise. And that’s a pretty sad comment on certain geographical regions of our country.
It can be a bit lonely – searching for VBAC/natural childbirth stories, even among my group of what I More...
It can be a bit lonely – searching for VBAC/natural childbirth stories, even among my group of what I More...
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Oct 07, 2010
Becca
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I really liked how this book made me feel empowered about the process of giving birth. As I am pregnant for the first time, I have been trying to educate myself about the process of giving birth because I feel that the more knowledge I have, the better prepared I will be. This book is unique among the birth help books that I have read in that the first part of the book (roughly a third, perhaps more of the total) is birth experiences as written by women, and not the author. Ina May Gaskin doe
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Sep 25, 2010
Liss
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In a way this is just an updated version of Spiritual Midwifery. The first part of the book contains a number of birth stories; however, where Midwifery's second part was primarily a source book for midwives, the second part of Childbirth is more an outline of differences between the midwife approach and the obstetric approach.
I found chapter 3, Part Two, "The Pain/Pleasure Riddle" most interesting. Particularly enjoyed a story shared from Dr. Grantly Dick-Read's book Childbirth Without Fear More...
I found chapter 3, Part Two, "The Pain/Pleasure Riddle" most interesting. Particularly enjoyed a story shared from Dr. Grantly Dick-Read's book Childbirth Without Fear More...
Aug 14, 2010
Bri
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Well, I am pregnant! About 3 months along and this was the first (and probably one of the very few) books I picked up that goes through the whole experience. Ina May Gaskin is one of the women who put midwifery back on the map in America--in large part because of the statistics she was able to generate at her midwife practice located on The Farm, a commune she runs with her husband. I liked this book a lot. The first half of the book is birth stories, all different types of experiences are c
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Aug 05, 2010
Monica
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This book is considered by many to be the gold standard for people who want to approach childbirth as a natural life event. Ina May is credited with starting a movement toward trusting women's bodies and empowering women to educate themselves about the birth process--not just blindly putting their health and the health of their child in the hands of the medical system. I enjoyed this book because Ina May is experienced and revered in the eyes of families looking to give birth naturally and with
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Oct 25, 2009
Jennifer
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The midwife lent me a whole stack of books (and is always pushing me to take more), but so far the only one I've read cover-to-cover is this one. And I'm wishing I'd read this before I had Jefferson.
Roughly the first half of this book is birth stories. Almost all of them are midwife-assisted births at The Farm, a village/commune in Tennessee, mostly just in homes without a lot of special equipment. Very few of the births had to be transported to the hospital, though those are represe More...
Roughly the first half of this book is birth stories. Almost all of them are midwife-assisted births at The Farm, a village/commune in Tennessee, mostly just in homes without a lot of special equipment. Very few of the births had to be transported to the hospital, though those are represe More...
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Aug 08, 2009
Rebecca
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My daughter's birth was amazing. Labor was not painful-- it was too big for that. More like getting hit by a tsunami, over and over. The whole intense experience was deeply invigorating and actually GAVE me the energy I needed to cope with the first couple of difficult weeks with a new baby.
When I've confessed to other moms that birth was SPECTACULAR, they're incredulous. How can something so painful, so medical, so dangerous be anything somebody could enjoy, especially without any d More...
When I've confessed to other moms that birth was SPECTACULAR, they're incredulous. How can something so painful, so medical, so dangerous be anything somebody could enjoy, especially without any d More...
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Aug 08, 2009
Kristen
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When I was only 7 weeks pregnant with my first child I knew if I wanted to have a natural childbirth I would need to learn as much as I could about the process so I could build my confidence and also become an advocate for myself and my baby. This is the first book I picked up, and the main message I took from it was how to trust- trust in the abilities of your body and trust that a midwife can care for a pregnant woman in a very special and unique way. This book gave me the confidence to real
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Jul 06, 2009
Natalie
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Walter and I decided to try a home birth with our first child and this was the book that gave me the comfort and confidence that we and more importantly I could do it!
It gives a great argument for natural child birth, midwives and birthing centers. And discusses why America is nearly alone in the world in it's habit of delivery in hospitals and it's gross overuse of c-sections.
I am no extremist here. When our second attempt at a home birth when south, we delivered our 9 lb. so More...
It gives a great argument for natural child birth, midwives and birthing centers. And discusses why America is nearly alone in the world in it's habit of delivery in hospitals and it's gross overuse of c-sections.
I am no extremist here. When our second attempt at a home birth when south, we delivered our 9 lb. so More...
Jul 03, 2009
Courtney
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Written by one of those rare midwives who commands respect from the United States' mainstream medical community, Gaskin's statistics speak for themselves. In the US, a country with Cesarean rates around 20%, Gaskin and her team of midwives have miraculously assisted more than 2,000 births with less than 2% resulting in Cesarean, forceps, and vacuum deliveries combined. The main "secret" to their success, while outlined in detail throughout the book, appears to hinge on their commitme
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Jun 23, 2009
Megan
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Definitely expanded my view of the childbirth process. She presents a side of childbirth that isn't what you generally see in the media or hear about from your friends. The most valuable take-away for me was a historical perspective on childbirth--that the medical model of childbirth is relatively new, and that obstetricians' training is based on pathology, not necessarily regarding childbirth as a natural process but as a series of problems to be solved medically.
It was worthwhile to More...
It was worthwhile to More...
Feb 18, 2010
Rachel
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This was a great book. Barring a few "interesting" ideas, I really enjoyed the information presented in it. I'm sure that I'm a bit "prudish" in some of my ideas of childbirth, but this book opened up my mind to different experiences and there were a great many things in it that I whole-heartedly agree with. Particularly the pain and fear that we Americans seem to be indoctrinated with about childbirth. I honestly believe that if you go into an experience expecting something
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Jan 10, 2009
Eileen
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If you really, really, really want a natural childbirth in a birthing center or at home this is a good book for you. Personally, I will be giving birth in a hospital. This book uses scare tactics to decrease medical intervention. While I agree that it is best to have an uncomplicated, natural vaginal birth, it doesn't always happen that way. Going into it with that specific plan is great, but I think women need to realize it doesn't always work out this way. I plan to go without pain meds for as
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Apr 20, 2010
Elizabeth
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This book is in a nutshell...inspiring. Ina May is credited with revitalizing the modern midwifery movement. While this book is billed primarily as being informative for all pregnant woman, I found it particularly useful for someone like myself that is concerned with avoiding a c-section and curious about natural birth (but also think the book would be useful for someone who does not elect to use a midwife or try for a natural birth, for example providing questions to ask your doctor). 1/2 of
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Sep 28, 2011
Kyleigh
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This is a great book for women who want to have a positive natural birth experience. Gaskin provides wonderful stories followed up by seemingly well-researched practical information. The book is full of inspiring stories and you-can-do-it attitude. As Gaskin herself states, this is not always easy to find in the language our society uses regarding birth.[return][return]At times I felt as though Gaskin was talking to a fellow healthcare professional (or trying to convince me to become one). F
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Oct 27, 2009
Hayden
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This is a hippie birth book I really liked. Ina May is a major midwife guru. She's been running a place called The Farm outside of Nashville for decades, where approximately 7 billion babies have been born without C-section, episiotomy, vaccum, forceps, etc.
The book starts out with a lot of birth stories, which were interesting. The stories made me glad I'm seeing midwives, but not necessarily sorry I'll have an epidural available, as most of the stories contain a line similar to More...
The book starts out with a lot of birth stories, which were interesting. The stories made me glad I'm seeing midwives, but not necessarily sorry I'll have an epidural available, as most of the stories contain a line similar to More...
Apr 27, 2011
Meredith
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Written by Ina May Gaskin, the most famous and most respected midwife in the United States, who is responsible for reclaiming the almost extinct practice of midwifery during the mid-20th Century, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth advocates a non-medical, woman-centered approach to birth and emphasizes the mind/body, physical/mental/spiritual connection. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is a good read for any woman interested in natural childbirth.
Ina May's views are at odds with the Indus More...
Ina May's views are at odds with the Indus More...
Nov 27, 2009
Claire
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I am so excited to give birth now! Not that I think it's going to be a bed of roses, but I look forward to the whole experience. There is just something about knowing that I can have this incredible experience that half (or more) of the population will never have that thrills me! The first 1/3 of the book is mothers telling their different birth stories. The rest of the book is Ina May's guide to childbirth. I know that the word "empowering" is kind of a buzz word right now, but r
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Aug 09, 2009
Awallens
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What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you.
Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing
women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model
of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on ever More...
Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing
women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model
of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on ever More...
