Birth & Pregnancy > Midwifery - Birth & Pregnancy

Written by New Zealand's best-known midwife, a home birth pioneer, this is an essential book for every midwifery student and mother-to-be. Joan Donley's compendium covers a wide range of topics, draws on the experience and evidence of her life's work, and challenges conventional thinking with wit and wisdom.

Ina May Gaskin, America's leading midwife, shares her exceptional birthing wisdom in this intuitive guide to childbirth. By sharing a wealth of knowledge generated by three decades of experience she explains why the natural birthing process, when left to its own devices, can proceed so beautifully on its own. In this invaluable book Ina May teaches you: what really happens during labour; how to create a safe, comfortable environment for birth in any setting; tips for maximising your chances of an unmedicated labour and birth; the r... read more

This holistic approach to childbirth examines this profound rite-of-passage not as a medical event, but as an act of self-discovery. Exercises and activities such as journal writing, meditation, and painting are designed to help mothers analyze their thoughts and face their fears during pregnancy. 144 line drawings. 17 photos. First published 1998.

The classic book on home birth is now available in a new edition, with updated information on the safety of natural childbirth, new birthing stories, and the most recent statistics on births managed by The Farm Midwives. Included are stories of working with Amish women, shedding light on a different culture with a similar appreciation for natural childbirth. Ina May also provides new information about potentially dangerous techniques routinely used in hospitals during and after birth, as well as the latest findings about VBAC (... read more

A midwife's guide to pregnancy and birth which shows compassionate sensitivity to women's needs in pregnancy and childbirth.

Regarded as 'essential' reading in obstetrics, this totally updated edition is based on systematic reviews of the research literature. It summarises the most authoritative evidence available on the effects of care carried out during pregnancy, childbirth and after the baby is born. It is clear and accessible, including tables which list practices that are beneficial or otherwise.

This book has all your pregnancy and birth questions answered by experienced midwives. What's best to eat during pregnancy? How many minutes apart should my contractions be? What's a great tip for a good night's sleep? When it comes to dispensing care, advice and friendly reassurance during pregnancy and labour, midwives are the health professionals mothers want to turn to. You can find 1,000 real-life questions to midwives, answered with up-to-date information you can trust. It covers everything you need to know from conception to... read more

All is not well with New Zealand maternity care. We have one of the highest newborn death rates in the developed world, the caesarean section operation rate has doubled since the late 1980's, and the number of breastfed babies today is around the lowest it has been since 1990. GP Obstetrician Lynda Exton outlines the back ground of maternity care in NZ, analyses the changes over recent decades and argues that there is a clear link between these worrying trends and government policies that have forced family doctors out of maternity... read more

The Gentle Birth Method is a concise pregnancy programme combining diverse therapies such as

Renowned for her practice's exemplary results and low intervention rates, Ina May Gaskin has gained international notoriety for promoting natural birth. She is a much-beloved leader of a movement that seeks to stop the hyper-medicalization of birth--which has lead to nearly a third of hospital births in America to be cesarean sections--and renew confidence in a woman's natural ability to birth.
Upbeat and informative, Gaskin asserts that the way in which women become mothers is a women's rights issue, and it is the act that p... read more