0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book BUT... Criticle Review, 26 Jan 2010
By Claire Martin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Birthing Autonomy: Women's Experiences of Planning Home Births: Women's Experiences of Home Births (Paperback)
I have recently started on an exploration of Midwifery and Birthing books and came across this one and had to get it. I want to someday specialize in Home Birth so I thought this would be a great book.
I just finished reading Birth as an American Rite of Passage. One thing that these two books had in common was the "Feminist" feel throughout. It's one page after the other of the many ways in which society and men of authority take away the experiences and powers of women. If you've read one, you've read many. Not to say that these books are not important, it's just that I was expecting a book about home birth that would be inspiring in a positive way. Instead I found myself skipping pages just trying to get out of the trenches! (Trenches = Negativity) After awhile, you have to stop looking at all of the reasons Midwives and women are held back and start looking at all of the reasons why Midwives and women can move beyond the restrictions that society has put on them. Talk about beating a dead horse.
If you are a woman who is thinking about home birth, educate yourself. That is one of the most empowering things you can do. But I don't think you need more than one or two of these kinds of books that sledge hammer into your brain why men and society will want you do it their way. If it's in your heart to have your baby at home, trust yourself and find a Midwife and you'll be fine. It's funny how the book emphasizes how doctors and even Midwives try to "scare" you away from home birth but after reading this book, it almost seems like it's trying to scare you away from hospitals and doctors. To me, that's the danger in books like this. You don't want turn into what it is you are against. Feel me?
If you have not read a book like this before, then this might be very insightful. Especially if you like books with a Feminist feel.
Also, this book has very few references to the United States. It was not written in America. Though I'm sure that women in other places of the world have very similar experiences as American women, I would rather have read a book more relevant to my country since I will be working here. This was something I missed when deciding to buy the book.