Monday, February 20, 2006

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife

I finished reading Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent and I really liked it.

Since I am not too good at summarizing books, here is how Amazon describes it:

In a joyous, often hilarious ode to the Birkenstock-scuffling, tackle box-toting mobile midwives who flourished in the 1980s, Peggy Vincent chronicles her abundant life as a professional Baby Catcher.

The wild ride begins during her nurse training years in the 1960s, when laboring women were expected to lie down, shut up, and submit to whatever drugs and procedures the doctor ordered. A rebellious patient who chants and dances through her contractions--and the hell that ensues when seasoned hospital staffers intrude--lights a permanent fire under Vincent. .

Her resolve to serve each laboring woman with compassion and respect carries her from obstetrics nurse to head of an alternative birth center within Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, California, and eventually into her own private practice as a licensed midwife.

Like the most courageous home births, this collection of delivery experiences refuses anesthesia: plenty of bellowing, sweating, bleeding, and pushing accompany nearly all of the more than 40 tales. Tough confrontations with stubborn physicians, panicky labor partners, and one particularly nasty calico cat are dabbed with as many keen insights as Vincent's quieter, more heart-rending newborn encounters.

Baby Catcher is an inspirational literary gift suitable for expectant mothers, fellow baby catchers, and anyone who loves reading about nature's greatest magical feat.


It's a great book that I certainly recommend.

3 Comments:

Blogger ladyelms said...

Hi there. Found your blog from a comment you made at Belly Tales. I just finished this book (per her recommendation) and I loved it beyond what I could ever express in words.

February 20, 2006  
Blogger Bebu said...

It is a great book. Thanks for your comment, I checked out your blog and I am going to have to follow your journey now!

Good luck to you.

February 21, 2006  
Blogger Lively Mountain said...

I found you from another blog, loved the book too:)
Good Luck on your path.

February 28, 2006  

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