There is nothing more exciting than to recieve a book in the mail, except recieving a BIRTH book in the mail. I got it on Friday and had finished the book by Sunday.
The Labor of Love was written by Cara Muhlhahn, was the midwife who is shown in the movie, The Business of Being Born. It was interesting to read about her journey into midwifery and her experiences as a homebirth midwife.
Cara started her studies assisting lay midwives, went onto nursing schools and spent time working in L&D as a nurse. Cara was often disturbed by what she saw going on at births in the hospitals.
The flip-flopping of obstetrical absolutes is a disturbing trend to me. There is something suspecious about “truths” that change every few years, especially regarding a physiological process that has not changed much since the beginning of time.
She ended up going on to become a nurse-midwife and after working in a birth center eventually chose to go on her own as a homebirth midwife.
The satisfaction I get from midwifery makes it worth the high degree of dedication and sacrifice. My work takes a lot out of me. But I like the adventure that midwifery brings to my life. I like having to drop everything to answer to a higher calling, the ruggedness of hard work and the idea that when nature calls, there is no choice but to answer.
I really liked this quote. While I don’t have the same level as stress as a midwife does, I get a taste of “when nature calls” and having to respond when it does. Birth is very unpredictable and being on call as a doula is quite an adventure.
Labor of Love was an easy, enjoyable read. I think that this is a great book for doulas, midwives or anyone working in the birth field. So I am thrilled to be able to do a give away of a copy of Labor of Love on my blog!
To enter leave a comment saying why you want to win this book!
You can earn another entry by blogging about this give away and letting me know, you can either e-mail me at sheridan AT enjoybirth DOT com or leave a comment.
You can earn another entry by adding the Enjoy Birth Blog to your RSS and letting me know, you can either e-mail me at sheridan AT enjoybirth DOT com or leave a comment. (What is this? Here is a great explination in video form.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU]
You can earn another entry by posting about the give away on e-mail groups or bulletin boards and letting me know, you can either e-mail me at sheridan AT enjoybirth DOT com or leave a comment.
Good luck! The last entry will be accepted at midnight on March 21st.
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Oh, this book sounds lovely! I love to read, and — you nailed it — what better kind of book to read than one about birth?!
I’ve blogged about the book & giveaway on my blog; you’re already in my Google Reader and on my blogroll.
I will await the results with bated breath. 🙂
I would love this book because I love anything that has to do with birth. PICK ME PICK ME!
This book sounds fantastic! As a newbie student midwife, this sounds like an absolute must to read for both personal reasons as well as educational reasons. I work as a nurse on L&D, and agree — the overmedicalization of what is supposed to be a normal process is quite ridiculous! Yes, there are times when lives are saved……but medical intervention more often than not brings more interventions and ultimately, more complications. Even if I don’t “win” this book, I plan on buying it.
I would love to have this book in my collection! And who didn’t love the movie The Business of Being Born-it got my attention!
I have also included a post on my blog!
What a great sounding book. Thank you for the review. I’m an aspiring doula and I would love to read this book. I posted the giveaway to my blog (westcoastaddict.blogspot.com) and you are already on my blog roll and I also posted the giveaway to a birthing group on Facebook. Thanks.
I’d love to win a birth book. Why? I love birth, and I love to read, a perfect combo. 😉
Would love to have this book in my library, as I’m nearly finished with my CCE with Birthworks. Although if I win, I’ll hold off on reading it at first, cause I’m currently expecting another baby, too! You’re so right–pregnant women only need to read positive birth stories.
(FYI–my newest blog that is currently in the works: http://www.delightfulpregnancy.wordpress.com. You can see it now, though it’s in the construction process. Should be fully up and running in a few weeks.)
I’m a doula and childbirth educator student with Childbirth International. I am living in Turkey with my family and have a desire to help educate this country (as well as other Amreicans and foreigners here) on natural birth and be a blessing to moms and babies. I couldn’t bring my entire library here with me and am always looking out for new books about pregnancy and birth. Thanks for the offer!!
I think expecting moms need to read both the good AND the bad birth stories included in a birth like this. I am a mom who read all the books, did the prep work, had a midwife, had a (lousy) doula, and STILL had a terrible birth experience. Sometimes, things just don’t go the way you want. I think expecting moms need to know that there’s always a CHANCE you’ll be the one in a thousand that it happens to. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt, anger, and sadness after my birth, because I was convinced that none of that bad stuff would or possibly could happen to me. After all, I did everything “right.” Moms need to know what CAN go wrong, and also what they can do to reduce the risk that it will happen to them. Knowledge and information can help tremendously. So can a sympathetic ear and some support if you’re the unlucky one. I didn’t get that, and I spent two years battling trauma and depression after the birth.
I am so sorry you had a traumatic birth experience and then no support afterwards to help you in dealing with what you had experienced. There is a great resource online for moms dealing with birth trauma at http://www.solaceformothers.org/
It is an interesting balance. I don’t think it is a great idea for moms to read bad birth stories or worse watch all the horrible birth stories on TV, which show just little chunks. I think that moms should focus on what they do want. But sometimes in reading bad birth stories, that may inspire them into knowing what it is they don’t want. But to focus on the negative birth stories isn’t helpful. I think it is better to focus on the positive birth stories and educating yourself on your choices and chosing a supportive careprovider and birth location.
Do you think reading (before your birth) a birth experience similar to whatever happened in your birth would have helped you during your birth? I know that for me reading about cesareans and specifically for some reason talking about how they shave to prep you for surgery, “helped” during my first birth. It was an emergency cesarean at 34 weeks and I didn’t quite believe that they were really going to cut out my baby until they started shaving me. Then I was like, Wow, this is really happening. I think that helped somewhat.