The Undervalued Art of Vaginal Breech Birth: a Skill Every Birth Attendant Should Learn in Mothering, July-August, 2004. Retrieved: 2006-08-26.

These verses do not say that pain during childbirth begins at the Curse, but only that it is multiplied. I think that today there is a prevailing idea that pain in and of itself is evil. We do everything we can to take pain away through drugs, positive thinking, and through the newest craze of self-care: eliminating everything from our lives that cause us discomfort. The Hebrew word for “pain” in these verses translates closely to “work” and I think that these are two things that are easily confused in our minds since we, for the most part, do not live in a society filled with hardship. As a believer, I should accept that there are parts of life that will be painful and not try to eliminate the discomfort outright, but trust God’s providence through it. This book was autobiographical on how "The Farm" came to be, how and why Ina May ended up in a midwifery role, and the things she and her midwifery partners learned along the way.The first half of this book I felt was filler and outdated, the content could have been halved. It consisted of birth stories and after reading a few they all sounded the same. I ended up skimming the rest. These stories are all from the 1970s so I felt like I was reading a history book since I am so far removed from that age group. I loved Hollie McNish's 'Nobody Told Me'. It’s a mix of poetry and prose, her thoughts through pregnancy and the early years. Made me cry in the post-pregnancy haze.” (Vetted by Mumsnet user Mogtheexcellent) Our verdict

In retrospect, I guess I felt sort of invincible. I thought I was set for a totally empowering, but challenging (of course) birth experience. I sort of imagined I would be like this earth mother goddess, trusting my instincts and allowing my body to do exactly what it was designed to do. After all, how could it go wrong? I was very healthy, have practiced yoga for over 10 years, have a high pain tolerance, was super prepared etc... The stories in the beginning are powerful and educational (including the couple with poor outcomes). Education is empowerment ladies, and if you want to do your best to get the birth you really want... What better way to get that information than from long time birth professionals with real hands-on experience that actually attend births from START to FINISH as part of their training and experience. The fact that most OB’s are missing that, is such a loss for everyone, and needs to be re-evaluated amongst other things in maternal-neonatal care. Ms. Gaskin has lectured widely to midwives and physicians throughout the world. Her promotion of a low-intervention but extremely effective method for dealing with one of the most-feared birth complications, shoulder dystocia, has resulted in that method being adopted by a growing number of practitioners. The Gaskin maneuver is the first obstetrical procedure to be named for a midwife. Her statistics for breech deliveries and her teaching video on the subject have helped to spark a reappraisal of the policy of automatically performing cesarean section for all breech babies. As the occurrence of vaginal breech births has declined over the last 25 years, the knowledge and skill required for such births have come close to extinction. Marie Louise has years of labour experience under her belt and a wonderful way of simplifying even the most complicated and overwhelming of pregnancy details into a format that is relatable and easy to understand. I have completely immersed myself in the education and evidence-based information regarding childbirth, and continue to be blown away by what I am just now learning and what so many of us are never told and just accept and falsely trust more than we really should.Gaskin, Ina May (2014). Spiritual Midwifery. Strawberry Hills, NSW: ReadHowYouWant. ISBN 9781459647077. OCLC 907698021. Once the author started talking about medical tests/procedures, she lost some of my attention. She seemed excessively cautious about medical tests. The benefits of medical tests were skimmed over while the possible harm of these tests was thoroughly covered. I especially thought that the author was overly critical of the Rhogam shot. I raised my eyebrows when she stated that routine Rhogam injections at 28 weeks was internationally controversial. The international hospital that I will be giving birth at does routine Rhogam injections at 28 weeks. In fact, my foreign Dr. (who was not trained in America), encourages it. After having an antibody scare myself and following women who deal with anti-D antibodies during pregnancy, the few sentences she had on sensitization were not enough to fully understand the risky (and potentially heartbreaking) future pregnancies of those who are sensitized. Women in labor can take on many activities that can reduce their pain and discomfort during labor. Among these are taking short naps, eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty and getting out of bed to move around and to dance. Kissing her partner can help her to relax, and it creates a more supportive atmosphere. When helping a woman through labor, Ina May Gaskin suggests avoiding giving her a rough examination that will only cause her to tense up. Instead, create a calm atmosphere and encourage her with the right words when she’s afraid. How To Stay Calm and Open During Birth