Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material

Product Information

Since the early 1980s, she has been an internationally known speaker on maternity care independently and for the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), [1] lecturing throughout the world to midwives, physicians, doulas, expectant parents and health policy-makers. She has spoken at medical and midwifery schools in several countries and at both the Starwood Festival and the WinterStar Symposium, discussing the history and importance of midwifery.

It's an interesting read but I enjoyed Ina May's other book and Penny Simkin's "The Birth Partner" book more. I'd recommend this if you were more interested in learning about the midwifery movement or wanted to be involved in childbirth care. This is the second time that I've read through Spiritual Midwifery, and I enjoyed it just as much this time around. The birth stories are incredibly touching, even to someone who doesn't have children and has no intention of getting pregnant any time soon. There is a certain hippy-dippiness to this book that is to be expected, and the language can be hilariously dated and a little off-putting at times, for example everyone seems to be getting high together off of experiences and having telepathic moments with one another. Sometimes you have to just put the book down and giggle -- but that aside, the information imparted is conveyed beautifully, and you really come away with the understanding of how influential The Farm (are they a cult?) has been in the practice of modern midwifery and even within the hospital system. No one could deny that Ina May Gaskin is a pioneer and a feminist. Her words are well-worth reading, and the stories captured in this book are touching and teaching in turn. This book is essentially a collection of stories from the 70s? about births. There's greater romance than I'm telling here, because the book tells the story also of how this collective of midwives grew from Ina May to a raft of 'disciples' who lived in housebuses in a large community together and served the greater community. According to Carol Lorente (1995), the work of Gaskin and the midwives might not have had the impact it did, if it hadn't been for the publication of her book Spiritual Midwifery (1977):The Gaskin Maneuver, also called all fours, is a technique to reduce shoulder dystocia, a specific type of obstructed labour which may lead to fetal death. Gaskin introduced it in the U.S. in 1976 after learning it from a Belizean woman who had, in turn, learned the maneuver in Guatemala, where it originated. In this maneuver, the mother supports herself on her hands and knees to resolve shoulder dystocia. [14] Switching to a hands and knees position causes the shape of the pelvis to change, thereby allowing the trapped shoulder to free itself and the baby to be born. Since this maneuver requires a significant movement from the standard lithotomy position, it can be substantially more difficult to perform while under epidural anesthesia, but still possible, [15] and can be performed by an experienced delivery room team. [16] Recognition [ edit ] All-Fours Maneuver for Reducing Shoulder Dystocia During Labor, The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, May, 1998. After graduating from Marshalltown High School, she attended the University of Iowa and obtained her Bachelor's in English literature. [2] She then joined the Peace Corps for several years and had the opportunity to be an English teacher in Malaysia. She returned to the United States and received her Master's of Arts from Northern Illinois University. [3] Before The Farm [ edit ] She makes a lot of pronouncements such as: We have a very low incidence of post partum depression here on the Farm. We've never circumcised a male baby on the Farm.

My Kindle notes turned from "ugh" (the Buddhist monk rolling around in the pink baby blanket... a photo of a wise older man in a white coat and stethoscope punctuating a story about God helping out midwives) to curses when one mother says that she, her husband, and Ina May "prayed" over a blue, motionless baby while someone ran to get Ina May's husband, who did some goddamned CPR to finally start saving that kid's brain function. The "spiritual" aspect I was a bit surprised by. Any familiarity with Ina May and "The Farm" definitely gets you plugged into the hippy vibe especially since their caravan and commune rose in the 60s and 70s. But, the mention of spirituality is also in reference to a more traditional belief in god. Surprisingly, Ina May's husband was a minister and the leader of the commune. They and the rest of the people on "The Farm" strongly believed in god, mentioning praying, the miracles of god, and the like. I don't recall any specifics (ex, Jesus isn't mentioned) so it comes across as more of a general belief but it definitely makes its presence in the read.Induced and Seduced: The Dangers of Cytotec. in Mothering, July-August, 2001. Retrieved: 2006-08-26. Laura found this first edition (1975) at the flea market next door. How could we turn this down? It's the first hand account - told by the mothers and fathers and midwives - of about 200 of the 372 births (thus far) on a giant culty hippie baby making farm in Tennessee. Followed by instructions for prenatal and neonatal care for parents and midwives. The hippie slang is unreal. A good example: Top 6 Books of 2011 | International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region". Archived from the original on 2018-04-18 . Retrieved 2018-04-17. A Summary of Articles Published in English about Misoprostol (Cytotec) for Cervical Ripening or Induction of Labor, 2005-09-05 Retrieved: 2010-01-22. When many Americans think about giving birth, the main thing they think about is the pain involved. The fear and anxiety that the anticipation of pain that childbirth can bring often makes the last weeks of pregnancy, as well as the birth itself, a negative experience for many women. However, Ina May Gaskin believes giving birth without fear can make the entire experience of labor and birth a more positive one. Ina May Gaskin is one of the foremost midwives in the U.S. Her ideas about the fear of giving birth have to lead to a drastic change in the way many women and their caregivers or partners approach to birth, so that fear isn’t the primary feeling that accompanies it. Tips To Experience Less Fear During Labor and Birth

This book was autobiographical on how "The Farm" came to be, how and why Ina May ended up in a midwifery role, and the things she and her midwifery partners learned along the way.I do appreciate that Ina May Gaskin has helped improve the way childbirth can happen in America. The ongoing theme that childbirth takes the time it takes is extremely resonant to me, after a doctor rushed my first birth (she complained so I could hear it twice that my 20-hour labor, precisely on my due date, was making her late for other appointments, before deciding I "needed" a vacuum extraction). And as a woman-centered story of Vietnam-era counter-culture, I suspect I could enjoy this book immensely. Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, is founder and director of the Farm Midwifery Center, located near Summertown, Tennessee. Founded in 1971, by 1996, the Farm Midwifery Center had handled more than 2200 births, with remarkably good outcomes. Ms. Gaskin herself has attended more than 1200 births. She is author of Spiritual Midwifery, now in its fourth edition. For twenty-two years she published Birth Gazette, a quarterly covering health care, childbirth and midwifery issues. Her new book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth was released 4 March 2003 by Bantam/Dell, a division of Random House. She has lectured all over the world at midwifery conferences and at medical schools, both to students and to faculty. She was President of Midwives' Alliance of North America from 1996 to 2002. In 1997, she received the ASPO/Lamaze Irwin Chabon Award and the Tennessee Perinatal Association Recognition Award. In 2003 she was chosen as Visiting Fellow of Morse College, Yale University.