Book Review: Pushing for Midwives

Aug29

Book Review: Pushing for Midwives: Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement
by Christa Craven
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Temple University Press; 1 edition (October 28, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1439902202

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Mainstream feminist groups have been slow to recognize the right to reproduce along with the right to be free from reproducing. A focus of the second-wave women’s movement was shaking off motherhood as what solely defined womanhood. So perhaps there has been a reluctance to watch over the process that makes women mothers. –Jennifer Block quoted in Pushing for Midwives

Framed as a health policy concern, Pushing for Midwives assesses the homebirth movement and midwifery activism in the context of the reproductive rights movement. The focus of the book is on legislation in Virginia, but is still of relevance and interest to activists from other states. Craven also tackles complicated topics that are often ignored in homebirth and midwifery texts, addressing issues of race, privilege, and socioeconomic status and the impact on access to care. She also takes a solid look at issues of political and religious diversity within the homebirth activist community.

Written in a densely academic style evocative of a dissertation, Pushing for Midwives, became tedious and dry in places and took a long time to finish reading. The very narrow focus on Virginia, while still applicable to other states, became tiresome by the final chapters.

I particularly enjoyed Craven’s exploration of the history of consumer activism in midwifery as well as the consideration of homebirth in the larger context of women’s health activism. I appreciated her exploration of the feminist movement and how it has historically neglected issues of birth advocacy and reform, while also looking the current relationship between feminism and midwifery activism, particularly how birth advocates choose to self-identify. Women’s health activists and midwifery advocates will likely find a lot of food for thought in the pages of Pushing for Midwives.

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Disclosures: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Amazon affiliate links included in book title and image.

Book Review: Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart ~ A Midwife’s Saga

Aug17

Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart: A Midwife’s Saga
by Carol Leonard, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-615-19550-6.
Bad Beaver Publishing, $15.00, 363 pages, soft cover.
www.badbeaverfarm.com

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

This memoir by experienced New Hampshire midwife, Carol Leonard, is a wonderful read. It is funny, compelling, exciting, and sad. I think it is the best midwife’s memoir I’ve ever read!

Spanning 13 years (1975-1987), the book represents not just her personal experiences and birth stories, but also chronicles the development of independent midwifery in New Hampshire and the birth of MANA and its emergence as an international presence.

Leonard is an engaging writer with a flair for the dramatic. The style of the book is present tense, so you get a sense of actually “being there” and the book reads with the pace of a novel.

The many birth stories in the book are riveting. She has her share of close calls and complications, as well as tons of strong, inspirational births. Her love of the work and of the women she serves shines throughout and I got a strong sense of the author as a deeply passionate and committed woman.

The book opens with her own birth story in a hospital in 1975, her only child, and chronicles her development into a midwife (a fascinating sub-story in the book is of the changes her local hospital goes through to make their maternity unit more mother-friendly). Be prepared for a sad ending.

The birth stories shared each represent an event or lesson learned. Leonard is a busy midwife (you get a sense in the book that she doesn’t have much time to take care of herself!) and she attends many births in her years of service. The births detailed here are carefully chosen for impact and purpose. (Side note: as an LLL Leader, I was saddened that her one experience with LLL [in the book] is a bad one).

More than a collection of birth stories or midwifery musings, Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart: A Midwife’s Saga, is a personal journey, as well as a spirited account of a larger journey occurring in the midwifery profession.

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes

Review previously published at Citizens for Midwifery

Amazon affiliate link included in book title/image.

Book Review: The Blue Cotton Gown

Jul29

Book Review: The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife’s Memoir
By Patricia Harman
Beacon Press, 2008
Hardcover, 290 pages
ISBN: 978-0807072899

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Patsy Harman is a CNM in West Virginia. She runs a busy women’s health practice with her husband Tom, an OB-GYN. Though obstetrics was once a rewarding part of their practice, they’ve stopped attending births due to unaffordable malpractice insurance rates. In addition to tales from the office, this compelling narrative follows Patsy through struggles with the IRS, fears over potential lawsuits, family complications, and uterine cancer. Since I usually come from a consumer advocate’s perspective, it was very interesting to have this intensely personal look at the other side of the coin—the deep fear obstetric professionals have of lawsuit.

The author told me in advance that this is not a book of birth stories, “it is about women giving birth to themselves.” This is true—there are almost no birth stories in the book (and in one of the few there is, I was surprised to read that the mother was induced with misoprostol!). However, this is actually what gives the book its absorbing edge. In it, you get to see another side of midwifery—the “with woman” side that extends before and after pregnancy and childbirth. This is a side of midwifery that I haven’t yet seen explored in memoir format and it was incredibly engaging. Patsy’s clientele are women who have STDs or yeast infections, who need pap smears or well-woman exams, or who need a pregnancy diagnosed, but her care for them goes beyond the physical. The women’s lives are complicated, as is her own. Some of the stories are very sad and others are uplifting. If you are looking for birth stories, look elsewhere, if you are looking for a skillfully written and emotional look at the practice of nurse-midwifery and its dominating role in a woman’s multifaceted life, you will find a treasure in The Blue Cotton Gown. As it came to an end, I found myself wishing for Part Two.

Read my review of Patsy’s other memoir here:

Book Review: Arms Wide Open: A Midwife’s Journey

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Disclosures:

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Amazon affiliate link included above (in title and image)

This review was previously published at Citizens for Midwifery.

Book Review: Birthwork

Jul27

Birthwork
By Jenny Blyth
Reprinted 2007
Softcover, 460 pages
ISBN: 0-9757610-0
www.birthwork.com
Reviewed by Molly Remer, MSW, ICCE, Talk Birth

From Australia, comes a gorgeous and unique book called Birthwork. It is such an amazing and compelling read that it took me a very long time to write my review—it is difficult to describe such a remarkable book. I have never read another book like this. It is truly extraordinary. Subtitled “a compassionate guide to being with birth,” Birthwork was written for all birthworkers–anyone who works directly with birthing women (midwives, doulas, nurses, childbirth educators, physicians…).

This book covers issues of a range and depth I’ve never before seen in a birth text. Subsections include titles like: touching vaginas, respect and relationship, dipping in and out of the birth milieu, group dynamics, conflict, birth culture, loving presence, birth is sacred, trauma release, letting down in the pelvis, and stresses and stretches of childbearing. This is just a sampling of the amazing, comprehensive range of topics explored in Birthwork. I particularly enjoyed sections on directed breathing and “dynamic anatomy in labour.” The book delves into a lot of the emotional and psychological elements of being in a caregiving field and also covers physical components as well.

The book includes lots of questions to ask yourself to increase self-awareness, understanding, and personal development and also exercises to try/explore. Some of the questions are difficult to answer and require you to take a deep look at your motives and ideas about doing birthwork.

The photographs are stunning and there is gorgeous cover art (front, back, and inside). Birthwork has a spiritual component that runs throughout—sort of an Eastern philosophy—that might not appeal to all readers.

The book includes sources and a glossary of fields of care, but no index and no resources sections. It is an expensive book, but so very worth it!

Birthwork is deep and intense. I usually read very quickly and this book took me several weeks to finish because it needs time and space to soak in and be absorbed. Truly a phenomenal read!

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

This review was previously published at Citizens for Midwifery.

The Spirituality of Birth + Book Giveaway: Birth on the Labyrinth Path

Jun20

I’ve been experiencing a fun trend in the books I’ve been reviewing lately—many new resources are being published with a shared theme of approaching birth from a spiritual perspective. There are resources now available for women from a variety of spiritual backgrounds, all honoring and respecting pregnancy and birth as experiences uniquely connected in an embodied way to the numinous and sacred, in whichever manner we choose to name it. I recently finished a class for my doctoral program and the subject of my final paper was “A Thealogy of Birth,” in which explored the sociopolitical, cultural, religious, and personal relevance of birth from a thealogical (Goddess-oriented) perspective.

I just reviewed The Gift of Giving Life which delves into the divine nature of pregnancy and birth from a Christian (specifically LDS/Mormon) perspective.
I then pre-reviewed the upcoming book Embodying the Sacred, which is written from a Catholic point of view.
And, earlier in the month I finished reading a gorgeous book with a non-specific spiritual perspective: Sacred Pregnancy
In the past, I also reviewed the book L’Mazeltov, which is written specifically for Jewish parents-to-be.

All of these resources are amazing and I’m so glad they’re available for pregnant women.

Now, I’m excited to offer a short review and a giveaway of another new book, this one written from a pagan perspective. Published by Pantheos Press, Birth on the Labyrinth Path is written by Sarah Whedon and focuses on “Sacred Embodiment in the Childbearing Year.”

My mini-review from Goodreads is as follows:

I really enjoyed this short book about pregnancy and birth from a pagan perspective. The reflections on the embodied, spiritual nature of pregnancy and birth were wonderful. It is very positive and reinforcing and contains great thoughts like this one: “A body that is curvier than it was before, maybe bearing stretch marks or scars from surgical procedures or tearing, maybe producing milk, is a body that bears the signs of delivering a human being into this world. We may mourn our smooth, skinny, unmarked maiden bodies, but at the same time we can celebrate the beauty of our storied, productive, and strong mama bodies.” Whedon also quotes this lovely passage regarding the connection pagan women might feel to the Divine: “I am the holy mother; . . . She is not so far from me. And perhaps She is not so very distinct from me, either. I am her child, born in Her, living and moving in Her, perhaps at death to be birthed into yet some other new life, still living and having my being in Her. But while on this earth She and I share the act of creation, of being, and Motherhood” (from Niki Whiting, “On Being a Holy Mother” in Whedon, p.)

I also shared some lovely quotes from Birth on the Labyrinth Path in my recent post on Birth Culture.

*********The giveaway is now closed. Ellen was the winner!*********

I’m also pleased to host a giveaway of a Kindle copy of Birth on the Labyrinth Path for one lucky winner! To enter, just leave a comment sharing one of your own thoughts or favorite resources about the spirituality of pregnancy and birth. The giveaway will run through next Wednesday (6/27).

Book Pre-Review: Embodying the Sacred

Jun20

Book Pre-Review: Embodying the Sacred

By Peg Conway

Reviewed by Molly Remer, MSW, ICCE, Talk Birth (http://talkbirth.me)

This week I was excited to have the opportunity to review a new book, not yet released. Publication is anticipated within the next couple of months and I will re-post then with the actual cover image and pricing details.

Embodying the Sacred is a beautiful new book with roots in the Catholic faith. It seeks to answer the questions, “how does birth connect with faith? How can we speak of it in religious language that lives up to the intensity of giving birth? How can spirituality be a resource for childbearing? And why are the churches, deeply concerned for the unborn, so silent about normal childbirth?” The book helps pregnant women build their “spiritual birth bag” through cultivating their inner resources and their embodied connection to spirit.

Written clearly and with a lyrical and intimate style, the book contains a variety of reflections, prayers, and activities to help women make a personal connection with their sense of the divine and sacred. Something I found particularly enjoyable about the book was that not only did the author touch on the labyrinth as a metaphor for birth, she includes literal, purposeful labyrinth walks in the suggested activities for expectant mothers.

Embodying the Sacred speaks to the chord of the holy and sacred in all pregnant women, but readers should be aware that it uses language and prayers strongly rooted in the Abrahamic religions and uses predominantly masculine imagery and language for God. Women from a variety of faith backgrounds will find material to connect with in the book, but may find it necessary to substitute or modify the prayers to suit their personal beliefs and practices.

Pregnant women who are intrigued by the idea of building a spiritual birth bag and who are ready to dig deep and to go beyond the scope of traditional pregnancy and birth books will find a rich resource in Embodying the Sacred.

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Book Review: The Gift of Giving Life

Jun18

Book Review: The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth
Authored by Felice Austin
Authored with Lani Axman, Heather Farrell, Robyn Allgood, Sheridan Ripley
ISBN: 9780615622521
542 pages, softcover
http://thegiftofgivinglife.com/

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Written for women who wish to delve into the divine nature of pregnancy and birth from a Christian perspective, The Gift of Giving Life is co-authored by several childbirth educators and doulas who are also members of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) church. The book is rich with the stories and experiences of dozens of LDS women who share their birth stories and reflections. These additional stories are sprinkled throughout the body of the text, making it very easy to read and “digest” in small sections. The stories represent a wide breadth of experiences—I anticipated many of them to gloss over the difficult parts of pregnancy and birth, but they address both the nitty-gritty, challenging aspects and the transcendent. I especially appreciated that women’s experiences with pregnancy loss and baby loss are integrated throughout the book rather than relegated to a specific subsection. A helpful touch is that stories dealing with loss are indicated with an awareness ribbon symbol, so that if a reader does want to avoid these stories, she is readily able to do so.

As a non-LDS woman as well as someone who does not identify as Christian, I did encounter many segments that had little relevance to my own experience of or interpretation of the world. For example, it was startling for me to come across repeated statements that seemed to hold a literal view of “Satan” as a real entity holding some kind of power or control over people. That said, I was impressed with how deeply and solidly integrated the text is with the spiritual teachings of the LDS faith. For women who wish to permeate their pregnancy and birth experiences with an intimate and intricately woven connection to Christian theology and scripture, The Gift of Giving Life is a faith-based treasure.

As I noted in my recent interview with one of The Gift of Giving Life‘s co-authors, I am fascinated by the concept of Heavenly Mother and really enjoyed the sections of the book that touched on the relationship with Her. I also enjoyed the book’s explanation of Eve’s pivotal choice in the Garden, which was very meaningful framing of the event in a way that was completely new to me.

The Gift of Giving Life has much to offer both to pregnant women and to birth professionals. It will likely have most appeal to those with LDS connections and to members of other Christian traditions who are familiar with scripture and wish to apply these messages to the childbearing year.

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Book Review: Sacred Pregnancy

Jun4

Sacred Pregnancy
by Anni Daulter, MSW
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (May 1, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1583944448

http://www.sacredpregnancy.com/

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Sacred Pregnancy is absolutely gorgeous! Seriously, it is one of the most appealing books I’ve encountered in a long time. The photography is breathtaking, the layout is lovely, and the colors are beautiful. It is a very visually nourishing book to hold and encounter. A combination week-by-week guide to pregnancy and personal journal, Sacred Pregnancy covers a lot of ground from basic pregnancy information and fetal development to making a special birth necklace. There are sections on exercise, nutrition, blessingways, forgiveness, nesting, sisterhood, naming ceremonies, and much, much more.

Two of my favorite points from the book, the first from Ina May’s foreword:

“In discussions in which the sacred nature of pregnancy and birth is brought up, the answer often presumes that anything that would revalue the sanctity of birth would automatically put babies in danger. Nothing could actually be farther from the truth.”

And the second from the author, Anni Daulter:

“Women are born gifted! They can birth babies for heaven’s sake. This is a magical and joyous event and something that, even though the medical community can tell us how it works, is incredible in so many ways. The fact that you can create a human life, carry it in your body, and birth it into existence is just so unbelievably miraculous that there are hardly words for it” (p. 129).

Sacred Pregnancy would make a delicious, nurturing gift for any pregnant woman wishing to dive deep into the experience of her pregnancy and into conscious birth preparation. Just beautiful!

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

DVD Review: Expecting More

May25

DVD Review: Expecting More
Prenatal exercise program
Two disc set, 230 minutes
$39.95
Daily Sweat, 2011

http://sarahaley.com/about/expecting-more/

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Fun, energetic, and challenging, Expecting More is a prenatal exercise program developed and hosted by prenatal fitness expert, Sara Haley. Developed and filmed during her own pregnancy, Sara created Expecting More out of her desire to offer a prenatal fitness experience that is vigorous and more fast-paced than the routines typically offered by prenatal exercise videos. Offering lots of encouragement to stay “sexy and strong” during pregnancy, the DVD set of two discs includes six different workouts:

Synergy: Create SYNERGY within your body by alternating between Sara’s signature cardio and strength exercises.

Sweat Sport: Discover your inner athlete as you execute sports drills in a cardio session with modifications for all stages of pregnancy.

Sweat Funk: Embrace your sexy pregnant body as you get your FUNK on with hot dance cardio moves.Sweat Strong Down: Sculpt your body DOWN on the floor in a safe and effective way that supports your core and your baby.

Sweat Strong Up: Stand UP and sculpt your body in all the right places to keep you sexy and strong during your pregnancy.

Salutations: Designed to sooth and calm, you’ll breath, stretch, and move with this expression of good will to your baby and your body, your SALUTATION.

The Salutations portion is clearly inspired by both dance and yoga and is based on standing exercises that are less vigorous than the other workouts on the discs, but still very lively and movement oriented. Expecting More is led by a cute, contemporary fitness trainer with a pleasant voice. During some of the workouts, two additional women perform modified versions of the exercises in the background so that it is easy for women with different needs to follow along. I appreciated that the DVD contains lots of reminders about the importance of listening to your body. Expecting More presents exercise as a fun and engaged time to be close to your baby and to pay attention to your body and I feel like this approach contributes to a healthy, active attitude towards giving birth as well.

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this DVD for review purposes.

Book Review & Giveaway: The Wisdom of the Healing Wound

May15

The Wisdom of the Healing Wound: A New View on Why We Hurt & How We Can Cure Even the Deepest Physical and Emotional Wounds
by David Knighton M.D.
Paperback:216 pages
Publisher: HCI; 1 edition (June 1, 2011)
ISBN-13:978-0757315619

www.wisdomofthehealingwound.com

Reviewed by Molly Remer, Talk Birth

Written by a vascular surgeon who specializes in working with and healing nonhealing wounds, The Wisdom of the Healing Wound is a book addressing the many types of wounds we all experience in our lives: physical wounds, psychological wounds, and spiritual wounds. After discussing the mechanisms of healing, types of wounds, and the value of wounds, David Knighton moves into an explanation of strategies to help yourself heal, caring for scars, getting help, and lifetime healing. I especially appreciated his explanation of how we have both physical and emotional “skin” and that in a relationship there is a “relationship skin” that envelops both people (i.e. a mother and her baby). In various ways that emotional skin can become damaged, rough, thick, or thin, just as our physical skin can be damaged.

Some of the stories/case studies of the wounds experienced and shared in the book are difficult and disturbing to read about (particularly sexual abuse), so be prepared for that.

From the press release:

Dr. David Knighton has some remarkable insights about wounds and our ability to heal ourselves. “We’ve all been wounded,” he writes. “But, paradoxically, wounding is probably our greatest stimulus for health. As we heal, we grow.”

A leading expert on wound healing, Dr. Knighton delves even deeper into the mystery of human nature with his new book The Wisdom of the Healing Wound: A New View on Why We Hurt and How We Can Cure Even the Deepest Physical and Emotional Wounds. (Health Communications, Inc.)

“The goal in working with wounds of any kind — from the physical to the emotional to the spiritual — is to restore structure and function,” Dr. Knighton says. “That is the healer’s role. Ultimately, The Wisdom of the Healing Wound is about being human — about living fully as body, mind, and spirit. More importantly, it is about the powerful, transformative, and often surprising ways we can heal and thrive in the face of our wounds.”

“Life is full of wounds–physical, emotional, and spiritual. The wounded psyche and spirit heal in much the same manner as physical wounds,” Dr. Knighton explains. “It’s what gives the book a universal appeal.” People in 12-step recovery groups, people facing surgery or who have physical wounds that are slow to heal, people with emotional trauma or PTSD, military and abuse victims and the healing professionals who work with all these types of wounds are sure to see the usefulness of The Wisdom of the Healing Wound.

While not specifically intended for birth professionals, I think those interested in helping women process birth trauma as well as anyone working in a helping profession would find nuggets of wisdom and healing in this book.

You can also listen to a talk from the author here.

***Giveaway is now closed. Shawna was the winner!****

I also have one extra copy of The Wisdom of the Healing Wound to give away! To enter, just leave a comment telling me what type of wound you’re interested in healing/learning more about! Giveaway will close one week from today (on May 22, 2012).

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.