HMW 40 Insights from Book part 3

Whilst sipping on a cocktail at a costume party I clocked on to someone in the corner of the room sharing tales of hippies in Berkley and recalling 'this time a woman gave birth to her child in the back of an old Ford in the rain.' Only one person knew that story. Could it be? Surely not. Wait a second. Yes, yes it was. The person standing in a giant baby costume was indeed Peggy Vincent. Enthralled by her chronicles of a midwife throughout the decades, her no nonsense approach to birth fascinated me, so I decided to introduce myself. "Nice diaper" "Excuse me?" she replied, bemused at this girl standing infront of her in a wonder woman outfit. "Don't worry.." embarassed I attempted to change the subject. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for writing Birth." She smiled, I think I was forgiven for the awful joke. I continued- "Your 'childbirth is normal until proven otherwise' approach was refreshing. I loved the way that you reinforce that childbirth is unexpected, and mainly that it is different for every woman, as I feel as though most people pigeon hole their views. And your first hand experience was an added bonus that made me approach childbirth completley differently." She looked bemused I had spouted such an organised, almost thesis-like statement to her with a gold crown and red wellies on. "Really? Well wonder woman what were the most important or effective parts for you?" I took this as a challenge and knew it had to be good. "Well..." I paused for what seemed like emphasis but was really a moment to try and sound intellegent. "Well in the last third of the book, where you are discovering what it is like to be a mother and a midwife, and you reminsce about your stories of women through your time as a midwife. But let me be more specific-" At this moment Peggy was sipping on champagne through a baby bottle, which was not only very weird, but distracting to say the least. I started of with simple flattery "I love your frank, honest way of writing, afterall if you cannot be straight to the point and have no inhibitions in a business, midwifery should be it. For example, i've forgotten the page number but-" I was interrupted by a distracted Peggy who was patting herself down and murmuring to herself. "Aha!" she exclaimed as she pulled a copy of her book out from inside of her giant diaper. Reclutant as I was to take it from her she was pushing it in my hand, and eventually I caved. "Yes so, as I was saying, when you say '.. the womans eyebrows had shot up when she heard me say "vagina" and "placenta" without whispering' I thought it displayed the difference in compassion between doctors and midwives. I feel as though you demonstrate a emotional connection that goes far beyond a cold 'in and out' approach. And that would be on page 153. She looked surprised but impressed. So I continued yet again, high on the knowledge of a book I never knew I had. To me, the main point that you were trying to get across was that of "Childbirth is normal until proven otherwise." This was a powerful message to me as I feel as though there is a certain amount of fear instilled in pregnant women. That of things going wrong, the pain, horror stories almost. Your approach was refreshing. I agree that women need to be proud and not afraid of their bodies. The human body is a powerful thing that we often do not give enough credit, and I feel as though the dependance on hospitals and drugs has undermined the natural process that has worked for thousands of years. She nodded approvingly. This time the baby bottle was down. "One more thing.." I continued, hoping she wasn't getting too bored with my incesant talking. "On page 187 you say 'I felt like offering drugs to a woman during labour sent a message she wasnt handling labour well, and i didn't want to send that message.' I felt like this reinforced how there is a much deeper sense of connection and emotion with a midwife than doctor, as the woman feels reliant on the midwife to guide her through an emotional experience, rather than the doctor forcing drugs on an uncomfotable woman in labour in the hospital." She was smiling enthusiastically, but I knew I need to stop and let her talk. But to my surpirse she encouragingly asked "But what could I have done to make this book better?" I thought about this one, after all I didn't want to insult her, but thought I should stop arse kissing for at least a brief minute. "Well lets be honest your text sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, journalistic analysis and policy analysis from the perspective of a midwife for the book reading public to better understand pregnancy and birth in our culture. Given your book and the aim, the best advice I would give you for a 2nd edition would be to give the reader what they haven't already seen. Mix in a little statistical evidence along with the anecdotal. Or how about comparing birth stories of the US with that of different countries? Or maybe exploring the change in the attitude to natural childbirth since you published the book in 2003?" This time she looked a little less accepting of a girl in blue hotpants with stars on them giving her writing advice... "But I don't want you to think I'm criticising! I apreciate the immense amount of labour you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about the scrutiny people come under for their decision towards childbirth. There is not a one size fits all policy and nobody should be discriminated against. Not only this but also the emotional connection a midwife develops with her patients, and how much more emotionally invested you are in them generally than doctors. In fact, I am likely to consider a natural birth in the future as a result of your book. But hopefully not too soon!" She laughed and replied "Thanks! talking to you gives me hope about our future as a soicety! But Wonder Woman, you should really try not to sound like your reciting an essay in the future!" Finally, she winked and slowly walked away, sipping from her baby bottle on the way...