This book brings together Michel's ardour for natural, physiological childbirth with his interests in primal health and healthy nutrition. In small and palatable chunks, he explores the links between the industrialisation of farming and that of childbirth, drawing parallels between different aspects of both. His appealing thesis here is that, if our Western society became as passionate about unmedicated, uninterfered-with birth as we are becoming about organic food and issues like genetic modification, then we might see changes in the way women are treated.
Within the book, he moves rapidly between farming and birth, covering along the way all sorts of issues, including pesticides, infertility, cameras at birth, beekeeping, and hormones. He talks about some of the visionaries who have carried out pioneering work in this area and, on a theoretical level, explores the notions of analogical thinking, cul-de-sac and circular epidemiology and a biodynamic approach to birth. His own analogies include equating falling into labour with falling asleep. To be honest, there were times when I would have liked more references to follow up on some of these subjects (there are none in the text itself), but their absence could be said to be made up by the fact that the text is easy to read and nowhere near as challenging as some books. His writing certainly acts as a trigger to make one think!
I read this outside in my garden and loved it! In the interests of being balanced I should say that if you have heard Michel speak recently, or read a lot of his other work, then you will occasionally find parts of the discussion you have heard before. But there is plenty of new material as well and it is worth reading for the ideas it triggers alone, and certainly as a book to lend those who have not yet grasped why gentle birth and an understanding of the impact of our interference are such fundamentally important concepts. I can honestly say that this is the one birth-related book I have owned that has so far been borrowed and enjoyed by more non-midwives than midwives!
Click on the book cover below to see more reviews on this book
or to buy the book from Amazon.
