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Read a Selection of Reviews from Midwifery Today

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 A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong and Sheryl Feldman
Penny Armstrong's experiences come alive in the telling of this story, which shows the unfolding of her midwifery career in a hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, and in the homes of women in Amish Pennsylvania.
 A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 - by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Painstaking research by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has produced this Pulitzer Prize winner, a captivating investigation into the life of a Maine midwife. Martha Ballard's diary records not only her midwifery activities, but such mundane undertakings as weaving, washing clothes...
 A Mother's Circle - by Jean Kunhardt, MA, Lisa Spiegel, MA, and Sandra K. Basile
This easily read book lets the reader eavesdrop on a composite group of nine new mothers as they meet weekly to discuss their changing lives and concerns under the watchful eyes of professional parenting counselors.
 Abuse of Pregnant Women
Sexual and physical abuse can have adverse and devastating effects on pregnancy, read about abuse of pregnant women and adverse birth outcomes.
 Amazing Birth Stories - by Diane Gregg
Diane Gregg's Amazing Birth Stories is a continuation of her 2001 first book Tree of Life: Stories of Birth. Diane is quite the woman, with incredible wisdom and experience with pregnancy and birth.
 Around the Circle Gently - by Lyn Moen
This book is a delightful collection of quotations and observations about life, from pre-conception through death, gathered through the years by Birth and Life Bookstore founder Lynn Moen and her assistant Judy Laik.
 Baby Matters - by Linda Folden Palmer
Backed by science, the author takes on such issues as bonding; immune protection (including vaccination); circumcision; food allergies; nutrition and digestion; breast- and formula-feeding; and a variety of health conditions that can affect babies.
 Birth As We Know It
This stunningly beautiful film by one of the co-founders of the "Conscious Birth" movement in Russia features 11 natural births - in the water, at home, breech and the birth of twins. Some of the most amazing scenes are of women birthing in the Black sea.
 Birth Day (video)
Anyone planning to have a baby should see this video to gain understanding of the true meaning of birth. Every practitioner should witness the potential power and beauty of uninterrupted birth that this video reveals.
 Birth Day, Extended Edition DVD - Naoli Vinaver Lopez and Family
I think everyone who is going to have a baby should watch a variety of birth films to get an idea of what to expect. I would definitely include this video in that collection.
 Birth Emergency Skills Training - by Bonnie U. Gruenberg
Birth Emergency Skills Training is a book that should be in every midwife's personal library. If you take the first letter of each word in the title, it spells BEST. The book is a comprehensive 'Manual for Out-of-Hospital Midwives.'
 Birth Into Being (video)
Video review: Water symbolizes both spirit and healing. As such, it has been used to facilitate labor for decades, and its innate ability to help relax, warm and nurture the birthing woman through birth is well known among those who use it or who witness it.
 Birth Space, Safe Place: Emotional Well-Being through Pregnancy and Birth - by Adela Stockton
The author's style is like an enjoyable, informative talk with a friend who knows a lot about birth. The bonus is that Stockton is also a childbirth homeopath.
 Birth Wisdom: Tricks of the Trade Volume III - Jan Tritten, editor
No less than forty of your favorite Midwifery Today authors are represented in these pages...midwives you have come to love and trust through the eighteen years the magazine has been serving you.
 Birthing From Within - by Pam England, CNM and Rob Horowitz, PhD
This book encourages women to be powerful in birth, offers a wealth of resources and exercises, and can help couples move through their birth journeys with awareness, power and insight.
 Birthing in the Spirit - by Cathy Daub
Cathy Daub, founder of Birth Works International...has penned a volume that manages not only to explain the concept of spirit in its everyday, non theological manifestation, but to describe how birthing women can move closer to that spirit and feel empowered and beyond fear.
 Birthing Your Baby: The Second Stage - by Nadine Pilley Edwards and Beverley Lawrence Beech
This booklet is designed for those interested in learning more about the second stage of labor. The authors examine two different approaches: physiological and actively managed second stage.
 Birthsong Midwifery Workbook - by Daphne Singingtree
I'll bet that Daphne Singingtree has been a teacher of midwifery just as long as she's been a midwife.... Her Midwifery Workbook...grows with her expanding knowledge, and this third edition is her best work yet.
 Birthwork: A compassionate guide to being with birth by Jenny Blyth
Jenny's unique concepts thread this book together. Her idea is to fast-track the exploration of awareness during the childbearing year, keeping up with the continual fast pace at which life moves.
 Botanical Medicine in Midwifery: A Handbook for Women's Health Professionals - by Susan Perri
Clinical herbalist Susan Perri has provided us with a booklet explaining appropriate uses of medicinal herbs based on tradition and science. She gives information on herbs most commonly used during the childbearing year.
 Breastfeeding Your Baby - by Sheila Kitzinger
This simple, authoritative guide to breastfeeding success upholds Sheila Kitzinger's tradition of excellence in childbirth education literature.
 Breastfeeding: A Mother's Gift - by Pamela K. Wiggins, IBCLC
Lactation consultant Pamela Wiggins has distilled all the information about breastfeeding that really matters into one compact, easily read and used volume of advice and encouragement.
 Breech Birth - by Benna Waites
This is a seminal work about breech babies and the power of their mothers to reclaim a positive attitude about their pregnancy and make informed decisions for themselves and their very normal babies.
 Breech Birth Woman-Wise - by Maggie Banks
"Any midwife will feel the lick of the flame as she challenges the status quo," writes Maggie Banks in her new book. Banks should know. Involved with childbirth and woman care since 1972...
 Brought to Earth by Birth - by Harriette Hartigan
When I gave birth to my own children, I didn't see how they looked when they first entered this world. So the opportunity to view the faces Harriette captured in her photography was as breathtaking as catching a glimpse of a rare and magical creature.
 Caesarean: just another way of birth? - by Rosemary Mander
This well-organized, meticulously researched book is an important addition to the debates surrounding caesarean deliveries.
 Cesarean Voices - Krista Cornish Scott, Laureen Hudson, Jill MacCorkle, Pamela Udy, eds.
In 2003, a woman on the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) e-mail list asked,
 Childbirth without Fear - by Grantly Dick-Read
This classic book has been reissued, after having been first set in print in 1959. I have to wonder how many babies it saved from the ravages of 1950s', 60s' and 70s' obstetrics, before midwifery in all its wisdom reemerged.
 Compendium for a Health Pregnancy and a Normal Birth - by Joan Donley
Supporting a grass-roots, traditional midwifery model, this book is packed with useful information.
 Diary of a Midwife - by Juliana van Olphen-Fehr
This book gives an accurate account of issues we face in modern-day birth: separation of mother and child and the distress it creates; inadequate prenatal care due to lack of money and lack of workable systems for pregnant women; exorbitant fees charged by doctors and hospitals....
 Dying at Home: A Family Guide for Caregiving - by Andrea Sankar
Dying at Home is a thorough, well thought out guidebook to making and then living with the decision to help ease a person's last days amongst the familiar surroundings of home and loved ones.
 Eating Expectantly - by Bridget Swinney, M.S., R.D.
Both comprehensive and easy to read and use, this book is suited to a wide audience of consumers. It has a wide scope of information about nutrition and food preparation.
 Encyclopedia of Childbearing - by Barbara Katz Rothman
Well-organized, open-minded, up-to-date, and wide-ranging are just a few adjectives that describe this fascinating book, and readers of all persuasions will spend many a pleasant and educational hour with it.
 Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year - by Elizabeth Noble
Long acknowledged by birth educators as the most useful and popular exercise treatise, Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year now provides a new exercise regimen for birth classes: partner exercises.
 Exploring the Dirty Side of Women's Health - edited by Mavis Kirkham
Using an underlying definition of dirt as “matter out of place,” these essays explore dirt--something that straddles boundaries, does not fit into a particular category and crosses from one category to another--in relation to women's health issues.
 Fit and Pregnant: The pregnant woman's guide to exercise - by Joan Marie Butler
Exercise is an essential part of health. In this fast-paced world of today, exercise is used as both a stress reliever and a way to enhance oneself physically, emotionally and spiritually.
 Gentle Birth Choices (book) - by Barbara Harper, RN
This book is exactly the sort of guide that pregnant women have been needing to help them sort through the myriad choices and options that confront them…. It conveys the magic, wonder and excitement of birth when women approach it as a natural process they can trust.
 Gentle Birth Choices (video)
This video produced by Barbara Harper encourages women to be in charge of the birth experience, and exposes the common misbeliefs that many people hold about the birth process. The viewer's attention is held by scenes from six births interspersed with interviews with parents, midwives, and physicians.
 Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting - by Dr. Sarah J. Buckley
Divided into three sections, she first recounts her own birth experiences; then discusses the evidence on ultrasound, breech birth, cesareans, epidurals and other birth-related issues...
 Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood
What do you get when you cross a poet, a scientist and a mother? You get the author of this outstanding book!
 Healing Passage: A Suturing Manual for Midwives - by Anne Frye
Finally, a concise teaching duo to aid midwives' course of suture education. This manual and companion video are quintessential Anne Frye - clear, organized, and thorough in her approach to suturing.
 Heart & Hands, 4th Edition - by Elizabeth Davis
Davis's revision updates information about important matters such as group B streptococcus, VBAC, gestational diabetes, and postdatism, reworks her previous writing about psychosocial issues and introduces new material about the practice of midwifery.
 Heart and Hands - by Elizabeth Davis
Heart and Hands is both a textbook for beginning midwives and a reference book for parents who want to expand their knowledge of pregnancy and birth.
 Herbal Medicine: From the Heart of the Earth - by Dr. Sharol Marie Tilgner
An essential reference for any health professional that incorporates the use of herbs in their practice, this text is also very accessible to the lay person.
 Herbs, Helps and Pressure Points for Pregnancy and Childbirth - by Katherine Tarr
Drawing on her more than 18 years of practice, midwife Katherine Tarr has created an easy to read and use collection of tips to help make pregnancies healthier.
 Holistic Midwifery: A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives in a Homebirth Practice, Vol. II; Care from Onset of Labor through the First Hours after Birth - by Anne Frye
At long last, volume II of Holistic Midwifery has come to fruition. Anne Frye has once again created a book that is thoughtful, informative and innovative. She introduces ideas and concepts never before offered in textbook form.
 Homeopathic Medicines for Pregnancy and Childbirth - by Richard Moskowitz, M.D.
Serious students of homeopathy would do well to buy two copies of this book: one for their reference shelf, and one as a permanent component of their birth bag equipment.
 Illustrated Dictionary of Midwifery - by Nicola V. Winson and Sandra McDonald
This slim, nearly pocket-size dictionary contains relevant midwifery terminology, abbreviations and illustrations for easy reference in classroom or in the field.
 Is My Baby All Right? A Guide for Expectant Parents - by Christine Gosden
This book discusses abnormalities in babies, how they occur and are detected, and the options available to the prospective parents. It helps make sense of the testing system.
 Journey Into Motherhood - by Leslie Kirk Campbell
We recommend this book not only to pregnant women and birth practitioners, but also to counselors and writing teachers.
 Laboring On: Birth in Transition in the United States - by Wendy Simonds, Barbara Katz Rothman and Bari Meltzer Norman
Laboring On relies on qualitative interviews with direct entry midwives, nurse-midwives and midwifery students to provide an analysis of midwifery reform in the United States since the 1970s.
 Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart- A Midwife's Saga - by Carol Leonard
[The author's] tenacity, love and commitment to women shine in this account of her personal journey through life as a midwife, a mother and a wife. This book is a must-read!
 Life Before Birth - by Majore A. England
This full-color volume takes the reader through the normal process of fetal development including pre-embryonic, embryonic and fetal stages.
 Life of a Midwife - Jan Tritten, Editor
Midwifery Today has brought together a rich and striking blend of voices and informative, thought-provoking, heartfelt and diverse material in its new book for both aspiring and practicing midwives.
 Listening to Mothers II: Report of the Second National US Survey of Women's Childbearing Experiences - by Eugene R. Declercq, et al.
Listening to Mothers II is the second report that comes out of an initiative devoted to understanding experiences and perspectives of childbearing women and using the information to improve maternity policy, practice, education and research.
 Making Midwives Legal - Raymond DeVries
A review of Raymond DeVries' book
 Mama's Milk - by Michael Elsohn Ross, illustrations by Ashley Wolff
With simple poetry it celebrates breastfeeding among a variety of mammals, including cats, armadillos, whales and humans.
 Mastering Pregnancy Massage (video) - directed by Sean Riehl
A must-have for massage therapists, this video is also highly recommended for any health professional working in a hands-on capacity with women in the prenatal stage.
 Maternal Fitness - by Julie Tupler, with Andrea Thompson
This book takes us past the 'Just keep fit' attitude and really shows women how to stretch, strengthen, and relax the muscles they will use most in labor, as well as instructs them in what changes occur in the pregnant body and how to work with these changes.
 Medicine Women, Curanderas, and Women Doctors - by Bobette Perrone, H. Henrietta Stockel and Victoria Krueger
This book would be appropriate reading for many: people involved in women's health care, cross-cultural and cross-religious studies, sociology, public health, medical ethics studies, women's studies, and those simply interested in the lives of other female healers.
 Mending Invisible Wings: Healing From the Loss of Your Baby - by Mary Burgess
From the beginning of this sensitive journal and spiced throughout are lovely black and white drawings. Even if a mama is too grief-stricken to read or write words at the beginning of her grief journey, she can still take in the insightful drawings.
 Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women - by Miriam Erick
The book gives information on the possible causes of morning sickness, its history, its physical and mental manifestations, and available resources from which to get help.
 Mother and Child Were Saved - The Memoirs (1693-1740) of Frisian Midwife Catharina Schrader
Catharina Schrader's memoirs span 52 years and an estimated 4,000 deliveries, which she carefully documented throughout her life as a midwife.
 Mother Massage: A Handbook for Relieving the Discomforts of Pregnancy - by Elaine Stillerman
This book teaches a course in Mother Massage to professional masseuses, and it's wonderful to study her techniques in this handy, usable form.
 Mothering Twins - by Linda Albi, Deborah Johnson, Debra Florien Duerloo and Sheryll Greatwood
A thorough resource directory gives information on pregnancy and birth, prematurity, miscarriage, death of a child, child health and safety, breastfeeding, twin information services including twin equipment, parenting resources, and special needs child help services.
 Mother-To-Be: A Guide to Pregnancy and Birth for Women with Disabilities
This very optimistic and comprehensive guide to pregnancy as experienced by women with disabilities is written for the expectant woman, but also has much valuable information for those who provide their prenatal care.
 MotherTouch: Nurturing Touch for Birth (video) - produced and directed by Leslie Piper and Leslie Stager
Calling on the birth practices of women throughout human history, this beautiful half-hour film documents the use of touch and massage in four different births.
 MotherTouch: Touch Techniques for Birth (video) - produced and directed by Leslie Piper and Leslie Stager
Also including scenes of nurturing touch and massage in practice in a variety of labors and births and comments from the new mamas and their birth attendants, this companion film to <cite>Nurturing Touch for Birth</cite> starts up where the previous film left off.
 My Brother Jimi Jazz - by Christine Butler
Only a few books bring tears to my eyes, and this is one of them! I am not sure if it is artist Chrissy Butler's graceful way with words or the stunning illustrations that capture me most.
 Normalizing the Breech Delivery (video) - by Valerie El Halta, CPM and Rahima Baldwin Dancy, CPM
This video is clear, understandable and riveting. It has the power to replace fear and doubt with knowledge and understanding.
 Nurturing Baby and Me During Pregnancy
This book and audio CD provide a week-by-week program of exercises, relaxation and music that women can use during pregnancy.
 Nurturing Massage for Pregnancy: A Practical Guide to Bodywork for the Perinatal Cycle - by Leslie Stager
With this comprehensive textbook, Leslie Stager has produced an essential resource for massage therapists and birth practitioners alike. While much of the book is geared toward the massage therapist, anyone in a hands-on field who works with pregnant or birthing women will find much that will be of use.
 Orgasmic Birth (video) - directed by Debra Pascali-Bonaro
This film is a great way for a family to learn a lot about birth in a short period of time. ... All mothers-to-be should see this film before they give birth and, preferably, before they choose their midwife or doctor. This film has the potential to change the world of birth—thereby changing the world!
 Paths to Becoming a Midwife: Getting an Education - Reviewed by Sue LaLeike
Honor yourself by educating yourself, as you would have your moms educate themselves. Get a copy of this book and use it.
 Pregnancy & Childbirth Secrets - by Gail J. Dahl
This accessible and down-to-earth book came about after the author found a dearth of helpful information about childbirth during her own pregnancy.
 Pregnant in America: A Nation’s Miscarriage (video) - directed by Steve Buonaugurio and produced by Betsy Chasse
This documentary is an engaging and fantastic follow-up to Ricki Lake's The Business of Being Born, and speaks to the growing alarm of parents in the US over the hijacking of birth by obstetricians and the health care system in general.
 Prenatal Massage: A Textbook of Pregnancy, Labor, and Postpartum Bodywork - by Elaine Stillerman
What factors determine whether it is safe to massage a pregnant client? How does the specific trimester affect the massage approach? Elaine Stillerman demystifies the art of pregnancy massage with the comprehensive reference Prenatal Massage
 Presenting Unexpected Outcomes: A Childbirth Educator's Guide - by Sherokee Ilse
In Presenting Unexpected Outcomes, Ilse shares with educators the reasons and methods for bringing up this painful topic.
 Prolonged Labor Handbook - Jan Tritten, editor
Another in the Midwifery Today Holistic Clinical Series, this little book is packed with articles gleaned from the pages of Midwifery Today publications and penned by authors such as Nancy Wainer, Sara Wickham, Marion Toepke McLean and Sharon Glass Jonquil.
 Scientification of Love - by Michel Odent
This book explores love from a scientific angle yet with great respect for the beautiful orchestration of normal physiology as it works to its best capacity when it is undisturbed.
 Shoulder Dystocia Handbook - Edited by Jan Tritten, et al.
Read Sue LaLeike's review of Midwifery Today's Shoulder Dystocia Booklet!
 Sit Up and Take Notice! Positioning Yourself for a Better Birth - by Pauline Scott
By teaching women and practitioners the pivotal importance of fetal position to the outcome of labor and birth, Pauline Scott hopes to reverse a major reason for the seemingly relentless march toward cesarean section.
 Stars of the Sky and Dancing Waters - by TR Tulley and KC Clark
These two books were written by TR Trulley, a midwife, and colorfully illustrated in watercolor by KC Clark.
 The Childbirth Kit - by Marie Fellenstein Hale and Liz Chalmers
This lovely and useful kit can help other birthing women focus on the energy of labor in a positive way.
 The Farmer and the Obstetrician by Michel Odent
Here is a book that so encapsulates the historical demise of healthy food and of healthy birth, it could be the basis for two huge social movements.
 The Functions of the Orgasms: The Highways to Transcendence - by Michel Odent
Michel's newest book is overflowing with important information that can help you be a better midwife, doula, childbirth educator, doctor or parent. He gives a mini course on the history of childbirth 'methods,' as well as a discussion of how culture has...disturbed birth over the millennium.
 The Hemorrhage Handbook - Jan Tritten, editor
When Midwifery Today founder and mother Jan Tritten plans conferences, she almost always includes a class about hemorrhage, because nearly every practitioner dreads it and thus wants to be informed about and prepared for it.
 The Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage - by Fern Reiss
Good diet and a healthy outlook can alter so many ailments and illnesses. Fern Reiss takes this concept into the realm of pregnancy. She proposes that a sound diet, including certain hormone-balancing nutrients, can help put a woman's body into the ideal state to conceive and carry a child.
 The Pink Kit: Essential Preparations for Your Birthing Body
The Pink Kit: Essential Preparations for Your Birthing Body, Common Knowledge Trust
 The Second Stage Handbook - Jan Tritten, editor
We find 21 essays about myriad aspects of second stage, including pushing for primips, second stage in home versus hospital, the medicalization of second stage and insights about pushing.
 The Use of Water for Birth and Labor (video)
This video explores the therapeutic use of water during the labor and birth of two families. It illustrates the individuality of homebirths and provides an outline for the basic concepts of the use of water.
 Training Midwives: A Guide for Preceptors - by Daphne Singingtree and contributors
As midwifery has re-emerged in past decades, it has been continually transformed and redefined by its practitioners, guides, teachers and consumers. Daphne Singingtree has played an important part in this transformation through her midwifery practice, training courses and publications. Her updated guide for preceptors
 Understanding and Teaching Optimal Foetal Positioning - by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott
The way a baby is positioned in its mother's pelvis at term will have a major effect on labor and birth. It is said that up to 50 percent of babies are not in the optimal position at term.
 Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth - by Nicette Jukelevics
This book could not be more timely, in light of the fact that the broken health care system in the US is on the radar screen of citizens and politicians alike. The cesarean rate in the US is fast approaching one-third of all births.
 Vitamin K and the Newborn - by Sara Wickham
The routine administration of vitamin K to newborns has been called into question in the past many years and debated heatedly among parents as well as practitioners of all kinds.
 Voices of Maya Midwives: Oral Histories of Practicing Traditional Midwives from the Mam Region of Guatemala - by Sarah Proechel
...an oral history project that tells the stories of six traditional Maya midwives from the Mam area of Guatemala, how they practice their art and the value of the temescal (traditional sweat bath) in both prepartum and postpartum care.
 Waterbirth
Birthing options, prenatal care, preparation, and the benefits of water are discussed. Laboring in water, postpartum, and birth stories are also included. A helpful chapter on how to make your own tub is a nice feature.
 What's Right for Me? Making Decisions in Pregnancy and Birth - by Sara Wickham
Everyone has the right to choose, but is there always an opportunity to fully exercise that right? Let's face it, the answer is no.
 Whole Family Recipes: For the Childbearing Year and Beyond - Patty Brennan, ed.
This is a nifty little book with recipes and tips for pregnant moms, as well as for the kids, once they start eating. ... While not a vegetarian cookbook, Whole Family Recipes has a variety of nutritious vegetarian recipes, such as kale chips, Mexican tofu and vegetarian chili.
 Wisdom of the Midwives: Tricks of the Trade Volume Two - Jan Tritten, editor
Broken into ten nicely indexed chapters, this book sums up literally hundreds of years of combined practice from nearly three dozen midwives.
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