Spiritual Midwifery

I rate this book a 10. I would and have encouraged others to read it. I personally thought I was open-minded to the alternative choices of the process of birth yet this book expanded my vision and thought-process of the event of pregnancy and birth even broader. Anyone considering the art of midwifery or doulaship usually is holistic in nature. These people are the ones I would most consider suggestion of the book. It most broadens the mind in the area of holistic treatment as well as catches the reader off guard from our current stylistic approach to birth as well as everyday living both socially and intimately.I learned many things from this book about birthing, about living, about thought process, about God's provision, about intimacy with one's mate and their involvement in birth and much more. The one thing that stands out is loose lips on your mouth means loose lips between your legs. That may be a vulgar way of putting it but when speaking of birth it is not. Technically it is not the vaginal lips that will be loose but rather the cervix but it gives the correct implication; looser = easier delivery. Another lesson is no complaining! This was a hard concept to swallow in that I am a) pessimist and b) knowledgeable first hand on the pain of childbirth. Ina May gives details of birth experiences on the precision of the birth changing in correlation to complaining verses positive attitude/environment. There is much more detail that I learned and intrigued me to learn and some of them are: the detailed anatomy of the pelvis, holistic treatment of many common conditions such as thrush, yeast infection, low iron, cramps, swelling, the encouraged participation of the husband, and most importantly that it is NATURAL and OKAY to want to have a birth the way one wants!I only disagreed with the supernatural spiritual aspect of the book. The spirituality of emotions and perceived surroundings and actions were all very informative and educational. The spirituality of beliefs from beyond that effect us here I looked over or replaced them with my own beliefs using discernment where needed.

....This book brought me the courage and strength to have two natural births.... I essentially enjoyed both pregnancies solo, although, I never felt alone. I always felt like I had the experience's of all those strong women and the loving aura of each of their births tucked into my collective conscious. The birthing memories of all the women throughout the ages who've been giving natural births, beginning in caves, came through to me in their stories. The words in this book sent me strength, support and calm assuredness. If they could do it, so could I!My story: I had my babies in remote southern oregon. So remote that the midwife wouldn't commit to my care. I went through my pregnancies with no prenatal care, Lamaze, etc, and few other woman to talk with. Instead, I had and a handful of books, namely: What to Expect When Your Expecting, and SPIRITUAL MIDWIFERY. (I did go to clinic a few times to have my vitals checked, as per recommendation by the WTEWYE book, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc). On the day that labor started, we drove to the hospital, walked in and I said, " Im having a baby". They assigned me to the doctor on duty that day. Both births were lovely. We went home the next day. My children are 16 and 17 this year.My advice, from my own experience, not found in a book: In the days before the labor starts, your body will begin to ramp up energy you will need for the birth and days after. It will be tempting to use that energy to fly into maximum nesting mode, or hike across town or rearrange the furniture in the whole house,etc, but resist, you'll want to be awake and strong for the birth. I didn't understand that for my first birth, and I used up this special energy all weekend, falling into bed exhausted at midnight Sunday. I immediately felt contractions and was convinced that my baby would come in hours, so we drove to hospital, by then I was so tired that I couldn't really muster up the strength for the strong contractions needed to guide the baby out. The labor went on for 23 long hours, and a pinch of pitocin in the last hour(so no, not 100%natural). For my second birth, I conserved energy towards the end. My labor pangs began, again, as I laid down in bed after a long day. I decided to get a little sleep before going to hospital this time. To my surprise, I slept through the night. This happened again the next night, and by the third morning, I woke to labor pangs and felt refreshed and ready to have a baby. In I went to the hospital and within hours I had an easy birth and a big bouncy baby boy! (And the aura in the room really did turn purple, just like one of the stories in the book says it did for her!)

This is my number one recommendation for expecting parents, a read that I think the men can really get into also, or that couples can read together. For me it was invaluable, the honesty and details of the many birth stories interwoven with the wisdom of Ina May helped me more than anything else I read when it came time to birth my babies.

Gute Gemeinschaft

No saben cómo me ayudó este libro. Incluso en trabajo de parto use muchas cosas que leí en este libro lo cual pensé que iba a ser imposible y no iba a recordar nada. Es cierto que debemos regresar a los partos naturales dentro de lo posible y entender cómo funciona el cuerpo con la mente de la mujer.

A bit hippyish- but great to get you in a positive birth mindset (especially the birth stories). Love Ina Mays books.

Un libro fantástico y muy especial. Creo que Ina May trajo este libro al mundo con el mismo amor y respeto con el que ha traído a cada uno de los bebés a los que ha ayudado a nacer.

This book was originally written in 1972 by a midwife, who is a lifelong advocate for, and practitioner of natural childbirth. It contains dozens of birth stories, most are uplifting but a few are sad. The book also contains sections of helpful information for the parents as well as information and instructions geared towards the midwife including development of the baby, examining the pregnant mom, instructions for normal and difficult births, and lists for supplies. It is written in easy to understand plain English and profusely illustrated with photos, drawings and diagrams. The language and photos in the book are a product of its time - the early 70’s - and as such it uses fun “hippy” words and phrases throughout.As a new doula, I found the book to be inspirational because it is so totally different from the modern allopathic approach to pregnancy and birth in the hospital, and its use of pharmaceutical drugs and interventions. The more natural approach of keeping the parents, especially the mother, calm and in a loving state of mind makes the labour and delivery so much easier. The midwives in the book turn the pregnancy and birth experience into a wonderful and spiritual event by maintaining a loving supportive environment for women while giving birth by the use of simple techniques such as encouraging cuddling, “smooching” and loving during labour or the “rushes” as they call the contractions.The philosophies in this book are what I plan to use in my own practice as a doula. From qualities of love, acceptance and gentleness, to the more mechanical things to do to help the mother, such as encouraging her to keep her lips loose to help to loosen the lips of the vagina. And little phrasings to tell her such as, “things are progressing as they should”, “don’t worry, there is lots of room to stretch down there”. “Don’t think of it as pain, think of it as an interesting sensation that requires your complete attention.”I loved this book. I found it informative and inspiring in its illustrations of how wonderful an experience natural childbirth can be.***This review is an excerpt from a project that I completed for my doula course***