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A review by mammajamma
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
1.0
I imagine that if I considered myself "spiritual" in any way, I'd be another 5-star reviewer. But I am a skeptic, a scientist, and an atheist -- basically, the opposite of spiritual.
My Kindle notes turned from "ugh" (the Buddhist monk rolling around in the pink baby blanket... a photo of a wise older man in a white coat and stethoscope punctuating a story about God helping out midwives) to curses when one mother says that she, her husband, and Ina May "prayed" over a blue, motionless baby while someone ran to get Ina May's husband, who did some goddamned CPR to finally start saving that kid's brain function.
My midwife recommended I read this to prepare for my second birth, citing positive birth stories. But I must read too much between the lines. Gaskin's own extremely premature baby died, apparently never seen by medical professionals, as Gaskin diagnosed him with "probably" something or other.
Having given birth once, I straight up don't believe another gal who says she didn't feel any pain and was thrilled to have 30 people watching. Even if that was really her experience (sure it was), no amount of spiritual midwifery could make it mine.
I do appreciate that Ina May Gaskin has helped improve the way childbirth can happen in America. The ongoing theme that childbirth takes the time it takes is extremely resonant to me, after a doctor rushed my first birth (she complained so I could hear it twice that my 20-hour labor, precisely on my due date, was making her late for other appointments, before deciding I "needed" a vacuum extraction). And as a woman-centered story of Vietnam-era counter-culture, I suspect I could enjoy this book immensely.
But the "spiritual" part of this book has nearly scared me off the midwifery part. My midwife seems like a very responsible person who would send me for a C-section if I really needed one. But this book, instead of being frank about when surgery and advanced medical care result in a much healthier baby, seems to gloss over the long-term outcomes for babies born not breathing in the hands of people who consider prayer an important part of the solution.
My Kindle notes turned from "ugh" (the Buddhist monk rolling around in the pink baby blanket... a photo of a wise older man in a white coat and stethoscope punctuating a story about God helping out midwives) to curses when one mother says that she, her husband, and Ina May "prayed" over a blue, motionless baby while someone ran to get Ina May's husband, who did some goddamned CPR to finally start saving that kid's brain function.
My midwife recommended I read this to prepare for my second birth, citing positive birth stories. But I must read too much between the lines. Gaskin's own extremely premature baby died, apparently never seen by medical professionals, as Gaskin diagnosed him with "probably" something or other.
Having given birth once, I straight up don't believe another gal who says she didn't feel any pain and was thrilled to have 30 people watching. Even if that was really her experience (sure it was), no amount of spiritual midwifery could make it mine.
I do appreciate that Ina May Gaskin has helped improve the way childbirth can happen in America. The ongoing theme that childbirth takes the time it takes is extremely resonant to me, after a doctor rushed my first birth (she complained so I could hear it twice that my 20-hour labor, precisely on my due date, was making her late for other appointments, before deciding I "needed" a vacuum extraction). And as a woman-centered story of Vietnam-era counter-culture, I suspect I could enjoy this book immensely.
But the "spiritual" part of this book has nearly scared me off the midwifery part. My midwife seems like a very responsible person who would send me for a C-section if I really needed one. But this book, instead of being frank about when surgery and advanced medical care result in a much healthier baby, seems to gloss over the long-term outcomes for babies born not breathing in the hands of people who consider prayer an important part of the solution.