Book Review: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

For those of you who don't know, Ina May Gaskin is considered one of the pioneers of midwifery in the United States (and really, North America). In a time when midwifery care was not the standard of practice in North America, she and her friends taught themselves to help women give birth naturally without (for the most part) obstetricians. The start of this movement comes from the fact that OBs are surgeons, and as such are not taught to attend normal births. Fast forward half a century and it was easy for me to find a midwife in Ontario for my pregnancy care. I never even had to speak to an OB, and it's covered by provincial healthcare. I feel very lucky to live with such choice.

Ina May wrote her first book called Spiritual Midwifery decades ago and has long since been an integral book for people learning about natural birth. The book I am reviewing, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth offers a two part book to prepare you for natural birth with the first part being positive birth stories as told by the women who experienced them and the second part being Ina May's overview of the birth process in America. I bought this book from iBooks for $20, which was well worth it in my opinion.

The first part helps you prepare mentally for childbirth by normalizing the birth process, especially for first time pregnancies. Birth in our culture is usually talked about in very generalized terms, like "It was a Tuesday and you were born late at night" or "The labour slowed and then the doctor gave me a c-section and you were born". People don't seem to feel comfortable talking to their daughters and friends about the specific processes that influence birth and labour or the interventions that were given with little discussion about the true implications of accepting them. Maybe it's because nearly everyone I've ever talked to in my circle of family and friends has had the standard hospital birth with epidurals and obstetricians and didn't know (at least at the time) that there could be another way. My grandmother recently asked me if I was going to give birth "cold turkey". She had all 4 of her kids with anaesthetic of some kind and doesn't seem to think there's a reason to go through it the way her mother had to. Ina May makes you believe that birth is normal and it's nothing a woman's body can't handle. Knowing that makes me feel empowered and capable. The book is set up with an entire section of these birth stories to make it easy for you to go back and read them when you're feeling overwhelmed.

The second part contains practical information like common medical interventions and what really happens to your body and baby when you use them. There's a good explanation of the chain of events that often lead to Cesarean section in hospitals, starting with medical induction. There are also honest explanations of side effects to interventions that are not scientifically studied and are therefore not mentioned by an anaesthesiologist or obstetrician. For example, babies born to mothers that have received epidurals often have a lot harder time establishing breast feeding. Usually you are just told about the potential problems that could go wrong with the mother from that, such as the possibility of death or paralysis or having a headache that lasts for months. In this part she also talks about how to have a natural birth without a midwife, when you are stuck advocating for yourself. Things like how to let doctors know about your preferences and how to ask them questions about the practices they are suggesting.

This book was overall informative and empowering and I will need to remember to try to relax and think of those who have gone before me when it is time for me to be in labour (which should be any time now, come on baby!).