Rating: 
Summary: Good news: vibes are real
Review: I think I'm the first _man_ to review this book. In a way that's kind of sad, but hey, I don't mind going first, fellas. Besides, I've reviewed just about everything of Stephen Gaskin's I could find, and it's about time I reviewed Ina May's book.And here in Ohio we've got a Mennonite midwife named Freida Miller who's doing time in prison. Why? Because she saved the life of a birthing mother by giving her prescription medication without a license. Worse, she's not even in prison for dispensing the meds; she's in prison because she refuses to reveal the name of the doctor who _gave_ her the meds in the first place. This displeases me and causes me to question the legal and pharmaceutical establishments even more than I already did, which is a lot. So consider this review my little blow for the revolution. Ina May Gaskin wrote the book on midwifery -- four times, in fact, as the fourth edition of the book was published in 2002 and it gets longer every time. The new edition is updated with the usual stuff, including yet more stories from the parents and midwives at the Farm (including some stories from the babies, now all grown up, who were the subjects of the _original_ stories) and a new preface by Ina May. And if you're reading this page, you don't need me to tell you that it's the bible of practical midwifery. What you may _not_ already know is what a spiritual book it is. Of course the title is _Spiritual Midwifery_, but some readers may be inclined to write that off as hippie jargon. As other reviewers have noted, there is some hippie jargon in the book, but I don't think you should read "around" it or "past" it. You should read _through_ it; it's part of the point. The medium really is sometimes the message, and this is the appropriate language for the concepts Ina May wants to lay on you. What Ina May wants you to know, what she and the midwives at the Farm have successfully shown for thirty years and counting, is that birthing really is (or can be) a sacrament and that _how we be_ has a profound effect on _how we birth_. As Stephen remarks somewhere, the Farm midwives have successfully demonstrated that _vibes are real_. This is good news and it's important to more than birthing mothers -- even to more than women. I don't mean to minimize the importance of the practical midwifing aspects of the book, either; it's just that I didn't read the book for that reason myself. (I was present at the births of both of my children, but they were born in the hospital as my wife preferred.) The thing is, Ina May and Stephen are good people. In fact they manage to be both kind _and_ competent -- a difficult trick and one that I certainly haven't mastered myself. And there are lots of other good people represented in this book, in the stories and in the pictures. (The folks in the photos look like folks you'd want to meet. If you look at them right, you can actually see their souls.) So this review is partly to help spread the word about midwifery and partly to help spread the word about these good people. Vibes _are_ real, it _does_ matter how we be, and don't let anybody tell you any different.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent calmer for first or fifth time mom
Review: I was given this book when I was pregnant with our first child. Not being able to attend Lamze nor having any close friends that had yet had children, this book did much to acquaint me with birthing and pregnancy in a gentle and welcoming way. It includes some valuable information on the actual birth process but always with a reverent and positive outlook, even when relating some of the things that go wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Very hippie/free love era
Review: I wasn't really pleased with this book. It was "far out". In the furthest sense of the word! There were women who were talking about being stoned during labor, and the use of "pet names" for various anatomy was a little much. The language is very 60's. (And this is supposed to be the revised for the 90's version!) There is some good factual information, but nothing that can't be found in other books.
Rating:
Summary: Must have birthing manual for future moms!
Review: I''ve heard my share of horror and "birthing is a torture" stories from my family and friends. I did not want it to be such. Also I wanted to have an unmedicated birth (Bradley method). Our instructor suggested reading Ina May's books. I'm so glad I did! I read both, Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I loved them! They encauraged me, gave me trust in my body power and I let my fears go. The books were my birthing manual. I mooed (just like Ina May suggested) during the contractions and it made the more bearable and helped me focus on relaxing my body. Though my labor was really long It was and amazing and wonderful experience. Ina May is absolutely right: birth is spiritual and captivating experience. I cannot wait to experience it again.
(New) mom to Gabriel turned a birth junkie
Giedre
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book!
Review: In a world of technology driven childbirth, this book brings us as women back to the ultimate knowledge: that we have always known exactly how to give birth. Trust your body, trust your baby; trust birthing. Women helping women give birth affirms this basic truth. Get this book!
Rating:
Summary: a really groovy book
Review: Ina Mae learned midwifery on the job, and did a great thing with it. Most obstetricians would/should be envious of their very low rate of interventions and their ability to trust women's bodies. The groovy language can get in the way for some people but the message is strong and clear. Good supplemental reading for people who want a safe and empowering birth
Rating:
Summary: Keep prospective
Review: Ina May Gaskin is wonderful and inspiring. After reading and rereading this book that provides, by the way excellent educational information about childbirth, I was firmly set to have my baby "naturally". I did not have anything to fall on when after 18 hours of labor and 3 of them at 9 cm I was whaling for an epidural.
It is an excellent read, but remember, that this is just one viewpoint, and even if you had an epidural or a c-section, most important thing is that you are alive and so is your baby. So some other books too.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent work by a leader in the home birth movement
Review: Ina May's well-deserved reputation for excellence in midwifery is evident in this excellent work on birth as it should be, not as it is in the cold, CRUEL world of a hospital. Every mother AND father to be should read this book. The review below, by a father, says it all better than I could!
Rating:
Summary: Should be a MANDATORY Ob/Gyn Read for all Medical Dr's
Review: Incredible information! Spiritual Midwifery displays everything needed to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and homebirth. The most pictorials of ANY book I've ever read on the same subject. Truly this is a Homebirthing Bible =)
Rating:
Summary: Empowering Book! Tired of labor horror stories? Read this!
Review: Like it says in my title, this is a great book filled with empowering stories of beautiful, natural childbirth. This book has a lot of stories in it that shows that childbirth does not have to be a medical procedure and can infact be a wonderful experience. If you have doubts about your capacities in labor, read this well before! Heck, if you want to just read some great stories, read this! You will have a great time reading it!
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