Birthing Your Baby: the second stage of labour by Dr. Nadine Edwards provides us with a most excellent piece of work exploring the pinnacle of the childbearing experience–that unparalleled moment when our world’s newest soul spirals into the light!
As a practicing homebirth midwife, the parts of Dr. Edwards’ book that resonated with me most were these:
- As inconvenient as it may be to our current medical system, there’s simply no “one size fits all” approach that may be appropriately applied to women engaged in the singular act of giving birth.
- An eyebrow must be raised when reviewing the results of research intended to highlight and examine specific elements of “undisturbed birth” conducted in settings yet rife with disturbances.
- If researchers desire to study undisturbed birth, they would do well to focus their attention on birth that is really and truly undisturbed.
Women and their babies are individuals, and each motherbaby dance from one phase of life into another will be unique. Undisturbed birth is birth that’s free to find and flow within its distinct rhythm.
A midwife brings a vast array of knowledge, skill, experience, and equipment with her when she attends a birth, but what sets her apart as a birth servant is her ability to adapt the use of those resources specifically to the actual needs of the mom and babe before her.
Dr. Edwards’ many points are easy to follow and punctuated with quality references, rendering them as trustworthy as they are thought-provoking.
Birthing Your Baby is a wonderful resource for birthers and their supporters!
Click here to purchase a copy of the book for yourself on Amazon!
To learn a little more about Nadine Edwards herself, visit her website: nadine.edwards.scot
Kim Woodard Osterholzer
As a birth and labor coach myself, I could not agree more. There is really no “one size fits all” approach, giving birth will be different to every woman.
♥