Labor of Love: A Midwife's Memoir [Hardcover]

Cara Muhlhahn (Author), Ricki Lake (Foreword), Abby Epstein (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: December 30, 2008

Single mom, jazz singer, salsa dancer, traveler, and midwife to more than 700 babies, Cara Muhlhahn holds nothing back—in her life or in this memoir.

As a teenager, Cara’s family home burnt to the ground. That tragedy led her on a journey that would span a variety of countries and cultures. While she was in Morocco, a woman suffered from a fatal injury. Grieving the unnecessary death, Cara resolved that, next time, she would know what to do to save a life.

In this fascinating and searingly honest memoir, Cara reveals what eventually led her to support women in one of the most significant experiences of their lives. Balancing science with intuition, parenthood with her work, and sacrifice with joy, Cara shows us what it means to be alive and to live a life of purpose.

Just as readers are fascinated by Carly Fiorina’s or Elizabeth Gilbert’s journeys, they will find great inspiration in Cara’s journey to live her calling. Whether you read about her in Vogue or the New York Times; saw her in the documentary The Business of Being Born, by filmmakers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein; or are learning about her for the first time here, you are sure to be inspired by her remarkable story.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A practicing certified nurse-midwife in New York for more than a dozen years, Muhlhahn has the battle scars to prove it, in the form of piles of paid and unpaid parking tickets as well as enough emotional dings to give her plain-speaking single mom’s memoir an edge. Not the stereotypical Birkenstock-shod, granola-munching earth mother, she has nonetheless always unapologetically marched to the beat of her own drummer. From the moment she decided a life of service was her destiny, she never looked back. A series of life events seemed to send her headlong into midwifery, often in the face of harsh disapproval from many in the mainstream American medical arena. She stood her ground and demanded her propers as someone who empowers women during the crucial process of giving birth—and she was featured in Ricki Lake’s documentary The Business of Being Born. Although midwifery is beginning to enjoy greater mainstream medical approval, Muhlhahn still wants more, especially special license plates to avert all those pesky parking tickets. --Donna Chavez

About the Author

Certified Nurse Midwife Cara Muhlhahn, CNM, has been learning and practicing midwifery for 30 years, and she now runs a private practice that specializes in home delivery. Cara is featured in the documentary The Business of Being Born, which was executive produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein. Cara is the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was delivered by a midwife.

Ricki Lake is an actress, television host, and the executive producer of the documentary, The Business of Being Born. She is also the author of Your Best Birth. She lives with her two sons in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; 1 edition (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1427798214
• ISBN-13: 978-1427798213
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,416,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars I expected more... July 12, 2009

By Jennifer A. McFarland

Format:Hardcover

I wish that I could have liked this book. As a homebirth midwife, I really wanted to like it. However, I was bored reading it, found the author's tone very arrogant and the writing style lacking. I liked her in the Business of Being Born, and perhaps with a better editor, this book would have been a better read.

I also didn't like how she made it seem as though midwives who are not Nurse midwives are somehow inferior. That was the vibe I got from this book, she says several times about how she feels that her nursing training was so helpful to her as a midwife. The U.S. is one of very few, if not the only country in the world that has midwives who are also nurses. As a direct entry midwife who also has had experience working in hospitals and in doctor's offices, I can say that my hospital based training was not nearly as helpful as the training I have received under other midwives in out of hospital settings.

A midwife's story, All my Babies, Listen to me Good, or A baby catcher are better choices when reading a midwife's memoir.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Love the subject, bored by the book February 15, 2009

By Doula Mama

Format:Hardcover

The work this midwife does and the importance of her message about homebirth really made me want to like this book. That said, it took me three weeks to read it because I was bored by it and forcing myself to finish it. She is boastful in her references to herself, her writing lacks depth of character - void of all the highs and lows of life that make a book interesting, and the piece reads more like a self-congrats than a memoir. I really wish I could have loved this book because I love midwives and I love homebirth.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fulfilling her Calling with Grace! January 3, 2009

By ma2one

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The "behind the scenes" quality of the book and what it took to become a homebirth midwife with Cara's level of confidence, skill and expertise will be invaluable for years to come to all aspiring midwifes.

I knew in my heart, but did not really understand until reading the memoir that being a homebirth midwife is truly the work of only a chosen few, not many other people are willing give so much of their life in service of others, and not begrudge the enormous personal sacrifices.