Cynthia Gabriel is a medical anthropologist, mother of three, and a doula who has attended hundreds of births in three countries. With a PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Post-Doctorate Fellowship from the University of Michigan, Gabriel’s research focuses on stress during pregnancy among African American women, natural hospital birth in Russia, and the cesarean rate in Brazil. Her first book, Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds, was born on March 15, 2011 and her second book, The Fourth Trimester Companion, was born on December 27, 2017.
If you want to read either of these yourself, you can find the book for sale at independent bookseller Nicola’s Books (nicolasbooks.com). If you are a doula/midwife/nurse you can write “birth professional” in the comments section for a 15% discount. And, of course, Amazon.com sells it, too.
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I LOVE yours, it is great. I am excited to read your book, it sounds like something really needed today. I had a really positive birth in the hospital with my last baby. So indeed it is possible and the best of both worlds. 🙂
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Hi, Cynthia…Thank you for subscribing to my blog Book ReVu. More recent posts are at my new site http://stephseclecticinterests.wordpress.com I’d love for you to pop by.
Have a great Christmas season.
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Thanks for your positive feedback on Mara’s Birth Story! I find your blog very interesting as well. I just read your post about exams during labor and the importance of the hospital staff – I can totally agree with that! The staff at our hospital could not have been more supportive of our wishes. It was very much a “mother directed” birth and I think that is such an essential component to mom’s feeling empowered and successful in their birth experience. Thanks for all you do for moms out there and I may have to take a peek at that book of yours! 🙂
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thanks for your comment. That’s so great to hear about your hospital staff. If you do take a peek, let me know what you think. Happy Mama Work!
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Hi Cynthia, glad you liked my blog I am Woman…I love that you are a medical anthropologist and your research area. Would love to connect as those areas are right up my alley.
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Thanks for commenting on my post…the best part is that I have discovered your blog…birthing experiences can be so wonderful… maybe we should be focusing on the hospital staff especially nurses in addition to our focus on moms to be. 🙂
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Yes, I agree. The hospital staff need attention from us, too. Thanks for finding me!
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Good Morning,
Thank you for following Parenting in the Loop.
We have a new website, if you want to continue to follow you will have to subscribe again on the new page at http://www.parentingintheloop.com
Thank you… I look forward to your comments.
Lorette Lavine
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Thank you for stopping by my blog a few months ago-since then I’ve read your book and you’ve motivated me to hire a doula. Baby is due any day now and I’m grateful for the empowering information in the book! Will recommend for any other expecting moms that want to go natural but are anticipating some assertive doctors.
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Yay! That is such great news! Let me know how it goes. I love any/all birth stories, no matter what happens.
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Hi! I saw last February you wrote about being in Russia. Do you know anything about doulas out there? My friend (Moscow native) is due in July and is thinking about attempting a VBAC, but is quite nervous. I don’t know too much about how they look at birth out there (we were living there on and off for the last year, but I came back to the states about 1/2 way through my current/first pregnancy). I mentioned perhaps a doula would help, but I don’t know anything about doulas in Russia. Thanks so much!!!
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Hi Olya — Unfortunately, I do not have specific contacts for doulas in Russia right now. The homebirth midwife I knew well has retired and many of the women who were active in natural birth when I was there practiced unassisted birth. The other folks I know are obstetricians and akusherki who work at hospitals. But certainly connecting with natural birth advocates in her community is a GREAT step and if she is willing to ask around, perhaps she can find some solid support. Doulas are still RARE in Russia and not well-accepted at the roddoma, unfortunately. A good plan that probably includes staying home during early and most of active labor could go a long way toward a successful VBAC. Best.
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I just wanted to thank you for writing Natural Hospital Birth. It was one of the best books I read on preparing for birth and really helped me to get ready for my own birth in the hospital and one of my favorite pregnancy/labor books. Illinois had no freestanding birth centers when I got pregnant (one was announced earlier this year; not sure if it’s open yet), CPMs are not recognized here, and there is only one CNM in my area who does home births and she is very booked up, so it was the hospital for me. I did have a family practice doctor whom I wanted to deliver with though, so there was that.
I wound up with a very low level of interventions, which I think were used for the right reasons. I also wound up getting into it with a nurse who tried to tell me I couldn’t eat during labor, agitating for a Hep-lock instead of an IV, and turning down other interventions that I did not want. Overall I was very pleased with how the birth went, and your book was a small part of that. I gave it a good review on my blog and have recommended it to friends many times over.
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Thank you so much for your comment and sharing your story. I LOVE knowing that I can help women in any small way have births that are more like what they want than they would otherwise achieve. Congrats for standing up for yourself about eating and hep-lock and all of it! Congrats on your birth! Thanks for reviewing on your blog, too.
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Dear Cynthia, I am a doula, lactation educator,LLL leader and volunteer fundraising coordinator for The Association for Wholistic Maternal and Newborn Health. We are a nonprofit organization that works with disadvantaged pregnant mothers in Los Angeles County. We also work to further the Mother- Friendly Childbirth Initiative. We are hosting a symposium With Robbie Davis -Floyd in collaboration with the California Nurse Midwives Association in April and are wondering if you would be interested in donating a few copies of your book to our Silent auction? I recently read it and have been promoting it to many new mothers. It’s such an empowering and easy to read book. Thank you for writing it and for considering donating to our organization.
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Dear Melissa, Sure — that would be great! Thank you for your kind words about my book. My e-mail is cynthia@togrow [dot[ org. Can you e-mail your address? BTW, Robbie is so wonderful. Enjoy having her there! Best, Cynthia
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When I got pregnant I was shocked to find out about all the interventions common in hospitals, and it made me determined to have a natural birth. As a first time mom, I knew very little about the details of the birthing process, so I went to the library and literally rented 20 books. Of all those, “Natural Hospital Birth” stood out. Because of this book I was able to have a beautiful hospital birth, where I felt totally confident, safe, and knowledgeable about each stage of labor and I had a beautiful baby boy. The detailed explanations of each phase of labor were extremely useful, as well as all the advise about handling different scenarios in the hospital. The chapters on mental and emotional preparation also stood out compared to other books. I did not have a doula, just my sister and my husband with me. I am so happy with my birth experience and
we could not have done it without this book! THANK YOU!!!
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I am a doula and I loved this book very much! Can I ask what is difference from the 1st edition to the 2nd edition? I have not read the first edition. I also hear rumors of a 3rd edition being released…is this true? And if so, what would be the reason for the update?
Thank you so much!
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