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

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The way a culture treats women in birth is a good indicator of how well women and their contributions to society are valued and honored.”

The author herself seems to be very particular about what she wants from clients and seems to put a lot of the burden on the laboring woman to "be nice," and I don't believe that that's necessarily the energy that works for everyone

Gaskin, Ina May (1987). Babies, Breastfeeding, and Bonding. South Hadley, Mass.: Bergin & Garvey Publishers. ISBN 9780897891349. OCLC 15860611. Lorente, C.W. (1995). Mother of Midwifery: Ina May Gaskin Hopes to Birth a Local Movement of Midwives. Vegetarian Times, Special Women's Health Issue, July 1995. A Summary of Articles Published in English about Misoprostol (Cytotec) for Cervical Ripening or Induction of Labor, 2005-09-05 Retrieved: 2010-01-22.

This has been, and still is, a very important book for pregnancy. Ina May's desire to change the way we think about birth is admirable. Step one to preventing PPD is to find time to sleep after giving birth, no matter how euphoric you feel.”My midwife recommended I read this to prepare for my second birth, citing positive birth stories. But I must read too much between the lines. Gaskin's own extremely premature baby died, apparently never seen by medical professionals, as Gaskin diagnosed him with "probably" something or other.

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 Ina May Gaskin has been a longtime teacher of midwifery and is the author of ‘Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth,’‘Spiritual Midwifery,’ and ‘Birth Matters,’ among other titles. She is recognized as an authority on mother-led birth who caters to what the mother needs to have a positive and healthy birth. To get a better understanding of giving birth without fear, we recommend reading her books on Childbirth and Breastfeeding! She was featured in Salon magazine's “Brilliant Careers” in 1999. [1] Gaskin's book Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta was named one of the International Planned Parenthood Federation's Top 6 Books of 2011. [17] A study of home births assisted by the midwives of The Farm (Durand 1992) looked at the outcomes of 1,707 women who received care in rural Tennessee between 1971 and 1989. These births were compared to outcomes of over 14,000 physician-attended hospital births (including those typically labelled as high risk) in 1980. Comparing perinatal deaths, labor complications, and use of assisted delivery, the study found that "under certain circumstances (low risk pregnancies), home births attended by lay midwives can be accomplished as safely as, and with less intervention than, physician-attended hospital deliveries.". [8] Significance of her work [ edit ]I have felt incredible energy and life force through my body, and I have really been reborn a happier, healthier, and more confident person. I have learned I can choose to focus on the darker side or the lighter side of all that is around me. I choose the lighter side and have the discipline to keep it up.” While the first half of the book is accessible to everyone, the second half of the book reads more like a how-to manual for midwives and seems less relevant to anyone not interested in being a professional midwife or doula. It is interesting though and is basically a medical manual of the woman's body, the baby, and goes into the nitty-gritty medical details of it all. Only rarely do doctors in training have the opportunity to sit continuously with laboring women for hours. Most are taught to intervene in the normal process so often and so early that they have never witnessed a normal labor and birth.”

When avoidance of pain becomes the major emphasis of childbirth care, the paradoxical effect is that more women have to deal with pain after their babies are born.” 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): a b TEDx Talks (2013-07-16), Reducing fear of birth in U.S. culture: Ina May Gaskin at TEDxSacramento, archived from the original on 2021-12-21 , retrieved 2019-04-25Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”