Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta

This book is very interesting reading, even if you're not expecting a baby. Gaskin gives a little of her own history as a midwife and goes into some detail about the history of midwifery, especially in the United States. As an RN, mother, and childbirth educator, I thought I knew more about midwifery and obstetrics than I did. Gaskin's book gave me a whole new perspective. Mainly, physicians/obstetricians are trained as surgeons to deal with birth problems. Most of them never have a chance during training to observe a natural, un-medicated childbirth, so they go out into practice expecting the worst, that most deliveries will require medical intervention. Common sense would tell us this couldn't be the case or the human race would have died out long before the development of modern science, but I and many of my peers have bought into the belief that hospital births are the "safest." Gaskin makes a good case that for healthy mothers and babies this may not be true. Although her opinion is admittedly biased, she presents plenty of facts and published evidence to support her position and is pretty convincing.Another reason this book would be of interest to a general adult audience is that Gaskin examines the politics of childbirth. Even though I grew up during the women's movement of the 70s, I was not aware of how negatively pregnancy and birth were viewed by many of the movement's early leaders nor how this negativity may have influenced a generation of young women. As a business person in the 80s and 90s, I did watch childbirth become an important loss-leader and/or profit center for many hospitals and saw the rise and fall of all the birth centers in my community, as well as the opening and closing of the nurse midwife program at the state university. I understood the profit/loss and cost containment principles at work, but not the larger societal impacts these changes would cause. Gaskin makes a strong case for continued consumer support for midwives and birth centers, for the good of women and society, for better health and stronger communities. Perhaps healthcare reform will provide some momentum for this trend.The women's stories included in the book are inspirational. I only wish there were more, or an entire volume of just the birth stories. The personal accounts of joyful, painless or almost painless births were truly eye opening and made the strongest case for natural childbirth. So many women I teach are really terrified of giving birth, even or especially those with prior experience; I wish they all would read some of Gaskin's mothers' stories to learn how empowering and wonderful childbirth can be. I wish I had read them before having children. In fact, Gaskin makes the whole childbirth experience sound so wonderful, it almost makes me want to run out and have a few more babies.I would highly recommend this book as good reading for anyone, an inspiration for anyone who's pregnant, and a requirement for anyone working in obstetrics, labor and delivery. It only presents one point of view, so it's not the only reading I would recommend, but it should be on every reading list.

Ina May is truly an inspiration, ahead of her time and a wonderful storyteller. In this book, she explains in detail the history of midwifery and obstetrics and when one understands the history of it, one understands why things are as they are now. I especially love the part where she explained about physicians are trained through the 'illness model' whereas midwives uses the wellness model, which makes so much sense that they have a better understanding and respect for natural physiological birth. And this respect and understanding is why in countries that practices midwife-led maternity care, e.g. the Netherlands, the maternal mortality is extremely low. It's just good sense. It definitely gave me a profound respect for midwifery. As opposed to countries with physician-led maternity care, (and this is not to condemn the physicians, as I understand now it was because of how they were trained), the maternal mortality is much higher, mostly due to unnecessary medical interventions. They would fare much better if they joined forces with midwives.One other key point she adressed was about manipulated studies eg the Pang and Wax study; manipulated to influence the masses and the professional community. In effect, convincing women and physicians alike that birth is inherently dangerous and in need of interventions. It made me realize that the people behind the ethical boards are human after all and can still have evil n greedy intentions. It truly is an appaling study and the same goes to the many routine practices in obstetrics that is not evidence based. In addition, I am also horrified to learn the products aimed at women and the effects which had been detrimental to their health. These products include silicone implants, hormonal contraception amongst many others.Lastly, I am love with the concept of Ina May's The farm. It is an awe-inspiring community and amazed with the birth stories which is so full of oxytocin that is shared by the author. It gives the reader a glimpse of how varied but still natural birth can be. The rate of intervention at the farm is nothing short of remarkable and should be emulated by hospitals everywhere. Personally, it makes me want to be a midwife because of their awesomeness.In conclusion, this book lives up to its title and it empowers women to do their own research and take their birth back; to trust their own bodies and their ability to birth and how much it really matters for the child and to the mother as well, as a good birth experience is invaluable to the mother's wellbeing and affects her journey of motherhood greatly. A good birth equals to happy mom and baby and this equals to a happy family unit and subsequently a happy community. As Ibu Robin Lim says "Peace on earth begins with birth".

Good information here about why it's important to give birth naturally.

if you want to read just one book by ina may,i think this one really puts together many of theconcepts presented her other books in a interestingand relevant way, both personally and politically..ina may has a great perspective, and writes withhumour, encouragement, and a pleasing flow.

Ina May's new book is a manifesta setting out the philosophy of natural birth, and therefore nothing that has not been said by wise women (and men) countless times before. The value of this work is its comprehensive, detailed, and clear presentation of the information, such that surely no rational human could disagree. It is a scientific celebration of what nature has achieved and what women are capable of.The first chapters set the subject in its global context, and birth stories are scattered through the text to remind the reader that while these are global, political issues, they have personal, individual impacts.I have learned about the cultural loss of breastfeeding knowledge, and it makes a sad kind of sense to me to be reading the same description of society's attitude to birth: the loss of skills among health professionals and the consequent loss of positive birth stories. This cycle will be perpetuated and added to, and will spread beyond the US increasingly rapidly, as we lose touch with and confidence in our own bodies.Ina May Gaskin discusses the role of feminism in driving an `escape' from pregnancy and motherhood, a push towards equality between men and women instead of a celebration of the important differences between us. Why should power be measured only in masculine terms and defined by the choice NOT to do something? Ina May's positive, empowering feminism offers a far wider range of choices.` It seemed crazy to me to take on the belief that the human female is the only mammal on earth that is a mistake of nature... it's our minds that sometimes complicate matters for us. (p.23)'She quotes Simone de Beauvoir describing the pregnant women as inciting fear in children and contempt in young people, ensnared: "life's passive instrument." De Beauvoir, the great feminist intellectual, writes as though she believes what men have said for centuries about women's bodies: that we are disgusting, inefficient, and inferior to men (who cannot, normally, grow or feed babies); and seems unaware that historically speaking, medical men who profit from managing birth have had personal and financial interests in telling women that it is a dangerous and painful process, that requires the presence of a qualified doctor. Again the parallels with the unethical practices of formula manufacturers undermining women's knowledge of and confidence in breastfeeding are clear.Some of the practices resulting from this basic assumption of women's inferiority and ignorance are barbaric, and many persist in 21st Century western healthcare. The book describes a bleak outlook for maternity care and motherhood in a world where politics and economics are everything. Yet the short-termism of the idea that labouring women must be cured or rescued from themselves costs far more in terms of money, life, and quality of life. How can this be an acceptable situation?I was struck by the anecdote in which a couple kissed to raise oxytocin levels and aid relaxation and the progress of labour. It helped me to think about the way I talk to antenatal groups about the role of oxytocin in breastfeeding. And also of the way the idea of sex to bring on labour has been reduced to the role of prostaglandin, when everything about it promotes skin contact, eye contact, and a feeling of well-being. In this, I find yet another example of the big picture being reduced to one male-orientated detail.I was aware that birth in the US was highly medicalised, but the details and the implications of that, as clearly laid out by Ina May Gaskin, are horrifying and depressing. At the same time, the positive birth stories are affirming, empowering tales, a contrasting picture of the good that is possible when women are informed and respected.

This woman / author is amazing. She completely changed my views on childbirth

Good book!