Spiritual Midwifery [Paperback]

Ina May Gaskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1990

The classic book on home birth! The first section details the experiences of parents and midwives during the birth experience. The second seciton is a technical manual for midwives, nurses, and doctors. Includes information on prenatal care and nutrition, labor, delivery-techniques, care of the new baby, and breast-feeding.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ina May Gaskin is one of the Founders and the current president of the Midwives' Alliance of North America. She is a powerful advocate for a woman's right to give birth without excessive and unnecessary medical intervention.

Her clinical midwifery skills have been developed entirely through independent study and apprenticeship with other midwives around the world. Ina May and fellow Farm midwives were instrumental in the development of the rigorous Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) certification process.

Ina May travels internationally on speaking engagements and networking with other midwives and midwife alliances. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Book Publishing Company; 3rd edition (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913990639
• ISBN-13: 978-0913990636
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Midwifery
  • #89 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Obstetrics & Gynecology

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for first time mothers April 9, 2000

By "sankarmdevin"

Format:Paperback

This book gave me so much confidence in my abilities to give birth naturally! I was a nervous first-time mother-to-be, but wanted to make a serious attempt at natural childbirth due to all the complications associated with epidurals and the like. I read my mother's copy from cover to cover and filed all the wonderful details away for use during my own labor. I was born in the 70's, and found the hippy langauge a little amusing, but brightly descriptive and calming. I like being talked to as a person who has a mind of her own, not someone who cannot make decisions of her own free will, as some other birthing books tend to do. I recommend this book highly to all new mothers that I meet. The message that you are completely capable of giving birth to the child living inside you with little or no intervention, aside from real emergencies, is an invaluable one, and all the actual recounts put you in this frame of mind. Ina May and the midwives in this book create a loving voice in your head that stays with you when you need it the most. With no fear tactics, either! What a novel idea... And I also have to add that I used tons of the information given to aid my labor, and it all worked, at various levels. It gave me the confidence to labor at home for the majority of the first day, and by the time I went into the hospital I was already 7 centimeters dialated, much to my surprise. I gave natural birth to a healthy baby boy the next day. Everyone's labor experience is different- I just wanted to share my real-life labor that was made significantly better by this book.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars hippie terminology, but excellent information January 4, 2000

By Andrea Crowley

Format:Paperback

When I first read this book, I must admit I was put off by the hippie language, and the way they referred to contractions as "rushes", which are an interesting sensation that requires all of your attention. I thought, who are they trying to kid? Despite my initial reaction, I have grown to love this book. If you can ignore the groovy hippie language (if it bothers you), this is a super book, chock full of consise information for both pregnant families and midwives. The language is plain, no "medicalese", and the information is sound. The book was written about The Farm, an intentional community started in Tennessee in the 1970's. When the women of the Farm started having babies, some women became midwives to serve them. Learning from experience and some helpful doctors and texts, they have had excellent results with maternal and infant health. Their statistics are better than any hospital I know of, as far as maternal and perinatal mortality. The book is half birth stories, and half information for parents and midwives. I recommend it for both consumers and midwives.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for EVERYWOMAN! July 14, 1999

By Marion VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I bought this book in 1975 and have read it many times since. To the Florida reviewer: Being "stoned" during labor is not about drugs, it's about being divinely, serenely aware of the life force! This book is so much more than a book about having babies. It's about living life moment by moment; it's about loving your children; it's about being here now. I wish every man and woman in America would have to read this book before they had a child. It's life changing!