In my Bucket List #13 post where I came to the decision to make midwifery my cause, one of the first things I mentioned is that I need to do some more research so I can be educated about the state of birth in our country. That caused me to look at my existing library, pull the books I already have and to finally purchase a new one that’s been on my wish list for awhile. I have more books than the ones photographed, but these are my favorite and most pertinent to my cause. Evaluating all the titles, I wonder if maybe midwifery is a calling for me. It seriously keeps coming up, like, for the last 20 years of my life, and I deny deny deny. So I’m leaving the door open to midwifery for the future, we’ll see if I actually walk through it. Right now, I’ve got some learning to do and #23.

The Midwifes Apprentice by Karen Cushman was possibly the first book I ever read pertaining to midwifery. It’s fiction and a young adult novel. I read it again a few years ago and I still love it.

Birth Matters a midwifre’s manifesta by Ina May Gaskin is my most recent purchase and I’m in the midst of it now. The first birth I ever saw as a child was my hamster, which is why my this is my favorite quote so far, “I repeat: we humans are not inferior to hamsters, rhinoceri, squirrels, or aardvarks in our reproductive design. It’s our minds that sometimes complicate matters for us.”

Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. Ina May is big into education through stories and like the rest of her books, this one starts with wonderful birth stories. It then goes on to examine and educate about methods currently used in hospital births vs. midwife assisted out of hospital births. Specifically the births that happen at the The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee.

Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin is the original book on midwifery. Written way back in the day when natural births were “groovy”, “deep” and women went with the flow of labor. It has awesome birth stories and incredible documentation on how to deliver a baby naturally. One of the mothers in one of the stories was pregnant while living on a boat, out to sea. She had everyone on the boat read this book in case she went into labor before they could get to land. You know, just in case.

The Doula Advantage by Rachel Gurevich gives concrete explanations and  numbers as to why it’s beneficial to have a doula present at your birth.

The Thinking Womans Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer is also about the current state of modern birth.

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger. Another in depth look at birth in our country.

Birth Your Way by Shela Kitzinger is specifically about choosing out of hospital birth. Shelia Kitzinger is an anthropologist that has studied birth around the world.

Birthing From Within by Pam England is the book companion to the popular childbirth education classes. I found the lessons in this book profound and useful, especially as a doula. There are more creative learning experiences in this book for pregnant families than anywhere else I’ve found.

Paths To Becoming A Midwife: Getting An Education published by the Midwifery Today Journal is exactly what it appears. It covers becoming a Certified Midwife and a Certified Nurse Midwife. I included this book as a representative to my many years worth of Midwifery Today Journals that adorn my bookshelves.

Holistic Midwifery A Comprehensive Textbook for Midwives In A Homebirth Practice Volume 2, Care During Labor and Birth by Anne Frye, CPM is a textbook. I haven’t actually sat down and read it from cover to cover, but I’ve referenced it.

Research Updates For Midwives, Some Thoughts on the Best of the Evidence 2005 by Gail Hart is on my reading list.

Hearts & Hands A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy & Birth by Elizabeth Davis is on of my favorite birth books. It’s all about how to deliver babies naturally, complete with explanations and pictures. I have read this book cover to cover, a few times.

My birth library.

1. Travel to 6 of the 7 continents. Let’s be honest, Antarctica is a long shot. So far I’ve been to North America (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) and Europe (France).
2. Spend time practicing yoga at an ashram in India, with my brother.
3. Join a choral group and sing with them regularly.
4. Tour all 50 states in an RV.
5. Visit Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
6. Take ballroom dancing classes so I can ballroom dance for fun.
7. Travel to a far away destination by boat.
8. To be exceedingly generous to my family and friends.
9. Write a book.
10. Complete all three courses designed by BKS Iyengar in his book Light On Yoga, over the prescribed 300 weeks (5.7 years). 
11. Go hang gliding.
12. Catch a baby being born.
13. Champion a cause – out of hospital midwife assisted birth.
14. Have a garden worthy of a Sunset Magazine photo shoot.
15. Fit comfortably into a coach class airplane seat.
16. Throw a huge party and invite all of our friends and family. Dancing included.
17. Go on an epic solo adventure. 
18. See Alaska by train.
19. Blow glass.
20. Visit Lapland, Finland to celebrate the Solstice with the Midnight Sun.
21. See the Aurora Borealis.
22. Be debt free. With the exception of a house mortgage.
23. Visit The Farm and hear Ina May Gaskin speak. Better yet, meet her in person.