Book Review

Spiritual Midwifery
by Ina May Gaskin
Review by Bonnie Barker

Spiritual Midwifery, Fourth Edition, by Ina May Gaskin is just the book for anyone interested in midwifery-either in being one or for hiring one to assist a birth.

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It includes over 200 pages of inspirational stories told in the point of view of mothers, fathers, and midwives alike. The tales are rich with 70's language and 70's photography. It sets a bright, calm tone for the rest of the book.

There is also advice on how to care for yourself during pregnancy, including a small but adequate section on nutrition. I really appreciated that no undue importance was placed on consuming animal products, and advice to vegans was in the spirit of information, not of warning. Also in this chapter was an interesting little section directed to the husbands, on the "care and feeding of pregnant women." Too cute. I'm not even pregnant and I made my husband read it.

I have to say, the one thing I found most useful and interesting was what boils down to step-by-step instructions for delivering a baby. I would buy the book for this alone. This part is extremely detailed, as in any question you have will almost certainly be answered. A few examples: You will learn how to determine presentation and perform an external version, correct shoulder dystocia, and assign an apgar score. There are many pages dedicated to delivering breech babies and multiples. Also a good chapter outlining and illustrating sewing up tears or episiotomies, as well as clamping and sewing off torn or cut arteries. Really, there is not room in this review for all the things I loved learning from this book. Planning a homebirth or not, this is information everyone should know. You will feel more secure just having the book to reference in case of something unforseen happening. This book also tells you what supplies to stock for your birth, and how to use them. The best how-to birth manual I have read.

In reading Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin, I feel more prepared with having a midwife assisted homebirth, which is the plan for our next child. I look forward to having this resource for any questions or concerns about the pregnancy and birth, and also to being able to peruse the stories at length for encouragement. Highly recommended.

Order Spiritual Midwifery Now!

Bonnie is a stay-at-home-mom, who also consults part-time as an environmental engineer. She enjoys experimenting with new vegan recipes and organic gardening. She lives in scenic St. Clair, Michigan with daughters, Abigail and Grace, and husband, Earl.

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