Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife
Each time she knelt to "catch" another wriggling baby -- nearly three thousand times during her remarkable career -- California midwife Peggy Vincent paid homage to the moment when pain bows to joy and the world makes way for one more. With every birth, she encounters another woman-turned-goddess: Catherine rides out her labor in a car careening down a mountain road. Sofia spends hers trying to keep her hyper doctor-father from burning down the house. Susannah gives birth so quietly that neither husband nor midwife notice until there's a baby in the room.
More than a collection of birth stories, however, Baby Catcher is a provocative account of the difficulties that midwives face in the United States. With vivid portraits of courage, perseverance, and love, this is an impassioned call to rethink technological hospital births in favor of more individualized and profound experiences in which mothers and fathers take center stage in the timeless drama of birth.
This is a great read
Very well-written and insightful. Peggy Vincent's voice really comes through in this memoir. It is an amazingly fast read.
Couldn't Put It Down
There is something about childbirth that rallies women around their various stories and experiences. This was a fascinating memoir from an experienced midwife. At times funny, at times disturbing, I was drawn into these family's stories.
I also learned quite a bit about the midwifery profession and found it quite riviting. If the topic of this book interests you in the least, you won't be disappointed - once I started I couldn't put it down.
Amazing! Awesome!! Fantastic!!
I started this book yesterday and couldn't put it down until I finished it- it is a magical book about childbirth and reading all of the stories from Peggy brought tears to my eyes numerous times. She is a fantastic writer- funny, exciting, educational and humble and reading her story was such an amazing journey.
If you are considering a natural childbirth or home birth this book is definitely for you..even if you aren't expecting (like me) and just want to read stories of labor this book will keep you hooked until the very last page.
My New Favorite Book
Baby Catcher is my new favorite book! Im a nurse thinking about becoming a midwife later on in life and the American College of Nurse Midwives linked this book to be a great read for getting an idea of what it may be like to be a real-life midwife. Peggy shares her personal stories and feelings of being a "baby catcher". Some stories will make you laugh while others will make you want to cry. I can't wait to read it again! She also has some good references in the Appendix for finding other related books as well as a book for aspiring midwives like me!
Can't put it down
I have a five and a half month old son, my first child. He still wakes up every 2 hours to eat in the night, so I'm pretty tired most of the day. I haven't read a book in many months, but I can't put this one down! I stay up late at night reading it. I'm definitely going to consider having my next child at home.
I am still amazed at how little we women know about pregnancy and childbirth until it happens to us. If we all recognized childbirth as a natural part of life, and kept healthy pregnancies out of hospitals, we'd be a richer society for it, in more ways than one.
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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. --Liane Thomas
Product Description:
Each time she knelt to "catch" another wriggling baby -- nearly three thousand times during her remarkable career -- California midwife Peggy Vincent paid homage to the moment when pain bows to joy and the world makes way for one more. With every birth, she encounters another woman-turned-goddess: Catherine rides out her labor in a car careening down a mountain road. Sofia spends hers trying to keep her hyper doctor-father from burning down the house. Susannah gives birth so quietly that neither husband nor midwife notice until there's a baby in the room.
More than a collection of birth stories, however, Baby Catcher is a provocative account of the difficulties that midwives face in the United States. With vivid portraits of courage, perseverance, and love, this is an impassioned call to rethink technological hospital births in favor of more individualized and profound experiences in which mothers and fathers take center stage in the timeless drama of birth.
Number Of Pages: 336
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