SPIRITAL MIDWIFERY

by INA MAY GASKIN

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New softcover book, 480 pages, 4th edition published 2002.

The 4th edition of the classic book on home birth that introduced a whole generation of women to the concept of natural childbirth. This edition has even more amazing birthing tales, including those from women who were babies in earlier editions and stories about Old Order Amish women attended by the Farm midwives.

Spiritual Midwifery also contains new information about the safety of techniques routinely used in hospitals during and after birth, information on postpartum depression and maternal death, and recent statistics on births managed by The Farm Midwives.

From the amazing birthing tales to care of the newborn, Spiritual Midwifery is still one of the best books an expectant mother could own. Includes resources for doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, birth centers, and other organizations and alliances dedicated to improving maternity care at home and in hospitals.

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.

About the author
Ina May Gaskin and her husband Stephen founded the famous intentional community known as The Farm in Summertown Tennessee in 1971. There, she and the midwives of the Farm created one of the first out-of-hospital birth centers in the United States. Standards of birthing at the Farm are modeled to the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Several family members and friends are commonly in attendance and are encouraged to take an active role in the birth.

Ina May is one of the Founders and a past president (1996 to 2002) 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. She has lectured and continues to lecture at midwifery conferences and medical schools all over the world. She is also the author of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and wrote the foreword to Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Australian author Sarah J. Buckley.

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Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin