(giveaway) birth story: ina may gaskin & the farm midwives

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Logan less than 24 hours old.

When I uttered the words “natural birth” before I had my first, people thought I was crazy. I was told many times that I would be screaming for an epidural and that I shouldn’t even try for a non-medicated birth. I was starting to doubt my own sanity, but the more people told me I couldn’t do it, the more I wanted to prove them wrong. I’m stubborn like that. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that there were plenty of women who gave birth naturally and lived to tell about it. In fact, it was their beautiful stories that drew me into researching homebirth. Their stories didn’t consist of sterile hospital rooms or being restricted to a bed where they weren’t allowed to eat.

I had the opportunity to review the documentary Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & The Farm Midwives. If you haven’t heard of Ina May, she’s sort of the godmother of homebirths and midwifery. She started one of the first out of hospital birthing centers, which is called “The Farm”. Many women and their families travel to Tennessee just to give birth on “The Farm”. I’ve read most of her books and she was just as how I expected on screen – nurturing, humorous, intelligent and someone I would want at my birth. She reminded me of my own midwife, someone who can make you feel comfortable within 2 seconds of meeting them. Feeling comfortable and trusting your care providers during labor is, in my opinion, essential to having a natural birth.

The Birth Story is about Ina May’s journey to founding “The Farm” and starting a movement towards a more natural view of birth in the U.S. I watched this documentary before giving birth to Amelia, my second baby born at home, which was perfect timing to help me remember the amazing things my body is capable of. Ina May makes it a point in the film to reiterate that our bodies are not lemons. Our bodies are made for this (in most cases) and I’m not crazy for wanting a natural birth. I’m not going to give away the movie other than to say that you should just watch it. Even if you still think I’m crazy for having a homebirth, I think you’ll find this documentary fascinating. You’ll see a whole other side to how childbirth can be, outside of a hospital setting. You’ll learn how it can be just as safe (if not safer) to give birth at home.

I recognize that homebirth is not for everyone, and I firmly believe that a woman should be able to get the birth she wants if possible. I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten the births that I wanted. I’m still working on Amelia’s birth story and I can’t wait to share it with you, but I can tell you that it was beautiful and amazing and so empowering. Call me crazy, but I’m actually sad that this is likely my last homebirth experience as we’re 99% sure that our family is complete.

You can find Logan’s birth story here and my husband’s version of his birth story here.

Buy It: Visit the Birth Story website to purchase this film. A purchase is not necessary to enter the giveaway.

Win It: Birth Story is giving away a DVD of the film to one lucky winner. This giveaway is open to US residents. This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, you must open up the post for the widget to appear. The first entry is mandatory, the rest are extra ways to enter. Remember to leave an email address and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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3 Responses

  1. I had two natural child births at the hospital, and both times I had to fight for what I wanted because they just want you to stay trapped in the bed. So glad you’ve had great experiences!

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Hi, I'm Vanessa!

Welcome to See Vanessa Craft! I’m Vanessa, an MSSW and mom of two in Arizona, and I’m happy you’re here to get inspired with me. It’s my mission in life to spread creativity through crafts, recipes, travel and more in order to live a life well lived.

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