Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: I read this during my last few weeks of pregnancy. I highly recommend the book, it was wonderful, but read it after you give birth. While many of the stories were happy ones, there are one or two sad ones and at nine months pregnant I had a hard time emotionally with the happy ones, I was a wreck with the sad ones! I've read a lot of women's birth stories, but this book is not just an accounting of the events of the births she attended (as so many birth stories are) but a really compelling read. Peggy Vincent is a wonderful storyteller and she really captivates you with her tales of catching babies while being mauled by the family cat or on a rickety boat during a storm. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Makes me want to give birth at home
Review: I am the mother of a 10 month old and pregnant again, so naturally this book's subject interested me. I couldn't put it down after starting it! It is interesting, informative and persuasive. Never before had I seriously considered a home birth, but if I lived near Peggy Vincent, the author, and she was still in business, you better believe I would go straight to her. The stories she tells paint a beautiful, not scary, picture of birth. They made me laugh, some made me cry, and all made me proud to be a mother. I would recommend this book to every mother, daughter, Obstetrician, and woman I know (I would recommend it to men if I thought they would "get it" and not be freaked out).

Rating:
Summary: It gave me some context
Review: The great thing about the stories in Baby Catcher is that they gave me some context for understanding labor and delivery. Before reading this book I only vaguely understood what they were. Peggy Vincent gives the reader a midwife's view of more than a dozen labors and deliveries. Although each birth is unique, some very helpful patterns emerged. I am grateful for having this vicarious experience and I will use it to decide whether to attempt a drug-free delivery.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down!
Review: I loved this book! It has wonderful stories from an experienced midwife. for Midwives, students, and birth junkies...this book is funny, sad, and empowering at the same time. For expectant parents....it is funny but also shows that birth can be a wonderful experience if you have those around you that are supportive. With humor and grace this book ushers in feelings of, "I can do this" because everyone else did....This is a great book that I just couldn't put down!

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, informative, and inspirational!!!!
Review: I love to read. I also hate to read. I love to read good books. I hate to read a bad book. Unfortunately if a books doesn't hold my attention during the first 1/3 of the book it never gets finished. Lets say I have quite a few non-fiction books that never got read. I read this book by Peggy Vincent within two days. I can't praise it enough. It made me laugh and cry like no other book I've ever read. It was also so encouraging that it made me wish I were a midwife. This is a must read for any mother, father, mother or father to be and any doctor who delivers babies and actually wants to do it right!!!

Rating:
Summary: Joy-filled Journey
Review: I have not yet had a baby (I'm 30) but hope for one (or more) in the next few years. My husband is not yet as eager as I am, so while I wait for us both to be ready, I've been reading books on pregnancy, birth and parenting. This book was wonderful! I started reading it one night before bed and thought of it all the next day and couldn't wait to get home and finish it. I was facinated and deeply touched. Honestly, I wept a number of times. Not just a tear or two, but head-in-hands crying. Peggy has had an amazing journey and I loved how she wove her own life and experiences into wonderful vignettes of patients, colleagues, family members and friends. Well written and very honest. What an inspiration!

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Summary: Finally, natural childbirth from someone I can identify with
Review: I have been looking for a book about natural/gentle childbirth written by someone more like, well, me. I am not really a hippie (although I am a wanna-be, admittedly), I do not use crystals or herbs for healing, I don't hate the modern world with its technology and such, and neither does Peggy Vincent. She provides a very grounded view of natural childbirth, and is not afraid to point out the flaws in herself, and in what she sees others doing in the obstetrics arena. She is just very real, and she provides TONS of information about childbirth in a way that is totally NOT textbook. For those "unenlightened" ladies like me out there, trying to learn all I can about the best way to birth a baby, this is one of the most trustworthy books I have read. Thank you, Peggy!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I read this book with in 24 hours of purchase. I just could not put it down. I am facinated with birth, and I am a labor doula. The way Peggy describes her births, and the births of others is wonderfuly insitful. I can't wait to pass this book along to friends in my birthing circle. And I can't wait to read it again and again! If you are pregnant, a doula, a midwife, or any kind of birth attendant I suggest you read this book, and take it all in. Thank you Peggy for a beautiful look into the mistery, and "the joy of it"!! Thank you so very much!

Rating:
Summary: Vincent shares her experience with depth, wit, & excitement
Review: This book is sooo interesting. Peggy Vincent started as a nurse in the sixties, and became a childbirth educator, a mother, and a midwife in a very exciting time. She recounts many births she attended, each with its own timeline, beauty, and of course some humorous circumstances. She recalls how doctors, hospital beaurocracy, lay midwifery, and womens' trust in their own bodies all create a revolution in childbirth. Peggy Vincent had the unique perspective as a pioneer nurse-midwife who not only witnessed policies being shaped, but led the charge in the Berkeley area. A great read for those interested in the history and revolution of childbirth ... or anyone, for that matter. My husband got hooked a few times during some of the more intense birth scenes. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I came across the book while browsing at the bookstore and I'm so glad I did. Childbirth has always been a special interest of mine, and I also believe, like Peggy and other midwives, that birth is normal not a medical problem. I had a wonderful natural birth myself 2 years ago, and am looking forward to another one in 6 months. I couldn't put this book down! I laughed and cried. I loved the way it followed her entire career experience. I've considered being a midwife myself, so it was very interesting to read something from the midwife's point of view. Of course, the variety of birth stories are fun to read too!