If you’re interested in the power of birth, put this DVD on your list. Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives, offers an intriguing glimpse into what natural, home birthing looks like. Too often, women succumb to the fear and negative messages that surround labor and delivery: We can’t manage the pain, labor is too hard, something will go wrong. Yet laboring is exactly what our body was designed to do. And midwives have long helped women through this life-changing passage.
The documentary follows Ina May Gaskin, whose commitment to midwifery harkens back to a time before hospitalized deliveries became standard care. It also comes as Caesarian rates continue to climb. Nationally, the CDC reports a rate of 33 percent. In Memphis, almost 40 percent of women give birth via C-section.
Gaskin practices on The Farm (near Sewanee, Tennessee), a commune established in the 1970s, where she learned her skills and gradually trained others. Her popular book, Spiritual Midwifery, is still a must-read for pregnant women who desire to give birth without medical intervention. The DVD is available online at birthstorymovie.com. • $19.99.
Local Midwifery Services Full Circle Midwifery • 275-2907 Trillium WomenCare • 452-8088
Doulas & Childbirth Educators Kimberly Baker, certified doula (DONA) 490-7838 Mary Beth Best, certified doula • 818-9334 Elizabeth Bowes, Bradley childbirth educator • bradleybirths.com/elizabethbowes Sarah Stockwell, Bradley childbirth educator • Contact via Facebook
DONA International Birth Doula Training May 17-19, Arlington, TN. • thebirthcompany.com