After reading this book, I will never look at midwives, childbirth, or my body in the same way again. This honest, authoritative memoir, by a woman who started her career as an obstetrical nurse, liberates women from the embarrassment that starts in adolescence with a budding female anatomy.
In her memoir, she presents the miracle of birth and shouts aloud those things that some of our mothers could only whisper and blush about. Immersed in bodily fluids up to her elbows, Peggy checks a cervix as naturally as a mechanic checks the oil. She demonstrates that, regardless of differences in race, belief, life style, or age, birth is a celebration of life. She welcomes each new soul and stands in awe at nature's magic--birth.
The writing is warm and welcoming, with a storyteller's enthusiasm and a savvy eye for the humor and irony of every situation. Peggy crafts a must-read for every woman who ever thought about childbirth. Men will discover...they'll gain insight into the intimate world of women and the men who stand with them. A truly strong debut book that fills a remarkably empty niche on the bookshelf....
I love reading about other women's birth experiences, and the view from the midwife was both informative and emotional. While I would never attempt a home birth due to known cardiac issues with my children, it made me wish that I could have had the experience. A balanced view of the home birth experience, without condemning those of us who have to opt for the hospital birth.
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Although I am a strong advocate of midwife assisted home birth, I probably wouldn't have bought this book myself. That would have been my loss. My wife had borrowed it from our midwife, and I had run out of things to read, so I decided it would be a good way to pass the time.
Mrs. Vincent's story is not only the story of herself, but it is the story of midwifery in the late 20th century in general. The early portion of the story, chronicling her time as a nursing student in the early 60s when natural childbirth was not at all accepted, serves as a pretty good summation of the things that my wife hated about our first daughter's hospital birth, and the reason we chose to have our second at home. In short, the ideological conflict between midwifery and hospital birth is this: Mrs. Vincent and those like her believe each labour should be treated as normal unless some serious complication presents itself. Obstetricians see labour as an inherently dangerous medical condition requiring their intervention.
We follow the author through her career as she becomes a certified nurse midwife, gets privileges at a prestigious Bay Area hospital, and develops relationships with patients and doctors along the way. This also gives us a fascinating and humorous glimpse at the way American culture has changed over the last 40 years. For whatever reason, home birth seems to attract a greater percentage of unusual people than one might find in a random sample of the population. They're all here: people who have pets at their birth, recovering drug addicts, hippies making the transition to suburban yuppie life, families with complicated emotional dynamics.
The stories of individual births are great, and many are very uplifting, but the book as a whole is something of a downer. This is due to the time of its writing. In the early 90s, after many years of phenomenal gains, home birth had a dark period as the ability of midwives to secure malpractice insurance was severely constrained. Mrs. Vincent's own story provides a particularly tragic example of this. Thankfully, the situation has improved a point she makes in a brief epilogue.
The book also has a few helpful appendices indicating what supplies one ought to have at a homebirth, cost studies of midwife assisted vs. physician assisted birth and so on.
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I have been looking for a book about natural/gentle childbirth written by someone more like, well, me. I am not really a hippie (although I am a wanna-be, admittedly), I do not use crystals or herbs for healing, I don't hate the modern world with its technology and such, and neither does Peggy Vincent. She provides a very grounded view of natural childbirth, and is not afraid to point out the flaws in herself, and in what she sees others doing in the obstetrics arena. She is just very real, and she provides TONS of information about childbirth in a way that is totally NOT textbook. For those "unenlightened" ladies like me out there, trying to learn all I can about the best way to birth a baby, this is one of the most trustworthy books I have read. Thank you, Peggy!
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As a student midwife and mother of three homebirthed babies, I have read every book out there regarding birth. Peggy's book is such a delight! What I love the most is that she imparts so much information and wisdom, not through preaching or lecturing, but through storytelling. Any one of the chapters could stand alone as a short story. It is equally compelling as a memoir and as an informative birth preparation resource. It is destined to become a classic in a genre glutted with how-to and how-not-to birth opinion pieces. Peggy embodies a concrete sense of trust in the birth process. As readers we can take that trust on as our own, since we feel that we are experiencing every birth right there with her! This would be very valuable reading for any expectant mother (or father!)
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An extremely useful reference for safely caring for the sick or the elderly. Practical suggestions for everything from eyedrops to incontinence, including excellent illustrations of techniques and equipment. I've recommended it to several people.
