My fourth baby was born yesterday. This baby has 256 pages instead of the usual fingers and toes, but it took a surprisingly similar effort to birth these two different kinds of babies. I have been incubating this brainchild for many years, keeping it close to my heart, only allowing a few trusted souls into the work with me, and now I am ready to share it with the whole world.
This book, “Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds,” is an attempt to bridge a strange gap in American culture. We pretend that there are two “camps” in the birth world: the natural birth camp and the medical birth camp. And wars get fought, over women’s bodies, between these camps. But the truth is that these two sides have a lot more in common than they like to believe. And birthing women would benefit greatly from a cease-fire and a peace treaty. We can learn from each other.
Ninety-nine percent of American women give birth in hospitals. As a woman who has experienced the beauty and power of natural birth, I want to help more women access the amazing strength of their bodies…no matter where they are when their babies come into being. I want hospital staff to start seeing and experiencing this power more and more often so that they, too, can come to trust in birth.
So, today I say happy birthday to this book. You are no longer a wisp of an idea in my dreams. You are incarnated and real and people can hold you in their hands. Go forth and have a wonderful life! World, you have my baby now.
Love, Cynthia, The Author
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