Jon already wrote a terrific “review”:http://www.jonboyd.org/reviews/000073.php of this book, but I can’t talk about my favorite baby books without mentioning this gem.
I first read this book (you guessed it!) way before we were thinking about trying to make babies. I remember reading it at an “InterVarsity”:http://www.intervarsity.org staff training conference that I was helping lead. I had to stop reading it before going to sleep: it was way too exciting for bedtime reading! Vincent, a midwife, tells story after story of different births she attended, and each time she has you on the edge of your seat wondering how the laboring woman will fare in her struggle. The variety of experiences is terrific: one woman labors so quietly that Vincent almost misses it; one husband concentrates so hard on supporting his wife that he is momentarily shocked when he remembers that a baby is being born; one woman complains throughout the whole birth; another woman gives birth on a boat in the middle of a storm.
Vincent also describes her own personal journey of growth as a midwife: the politics she wrestles through over her 20+ year career, the development of her philosophy and expertise, and her growing appreciation of the people she cares for. We also get to read about her own birth experiences, which are fascinating.
If I had to recommend one book to someone about natural childbirth, this would be it!
Considered in this review: “_Baby Catcher_”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743219341/octothorppres-20, by Peggy Vincent.