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Water Birth

Resources for Birthing Families

We hope you find in this page a landing place for good resources for yourself and your baby.

Recommended Viewing

The Business of Being Born

Compelled to explore the subject after the delivery of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies. Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural part of life. But birth is also big business. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

Birth in the Squatting Position

The filmmaker, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, spent five years researching, interviewing and collaborating for this groundbreaking film which visually and verbally presents birth as an ecstatic experience. Oxytocin, birth and digital videography make a great team in this highly informative film. Those interviewed include Ina May Gaskin, Maureen Corry, Elizabeth Davis, Sarah Buckley and Marsden Wagner.

Recommended Reading

Arms, Suzanne – Immaculate Deception, II

Balaskas, Janet – Active Birth

Balaskas, Janet – Natural Pregnancy

England, Pam – Birthing From Within

Gaskin, Ina May – Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Gaskin, Ina May – Spiritual Midwifery

Goer, Henci – Obstetric Myths vs. Research Realities

Goer, Henci – The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth

Herzfeld, Judith, PhD – Sense and Sensibilities in Childbirth

Kitzinger, Sheila – Birth Your Way

Kitzinger, Sheila – The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth

McCutcheon, Susan – Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

Mitford, Jessica – The American Way of Birth

Simpkin, Penny – Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn

Wainer Cohen, Nancy – Open Season

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