A Midwife's Memoir

I really enjoyed reading Labor of Love by Cara Muhlhahn. Cara is a certified nurse midwife who was highlighted in The Business of Being Born--a documentary about home birth that I have not seen (yet!). Cara is an honest, open, and direct writer. She has very strong feelings against the traditional medical system, for a variety of reasons. Her passion to keep birth natural and relaxing as possible, is the driving force behind her work. Cara's gentle and caring heart for the mother's she assists shines throughout the book. I read it before I knew I was pregnant. Now the book is due at the library but I am looking forward to checking it out again.

"Here's what a typical home visit is like. Marina, a patient who lives in Howard Beach, Queens, is in her first trimester with her fifth child. Marina has been looking forward to our visit. It is not our first time working together; I've already delivered three of her four kids, and I'm about to deliver another one for her...

I knock on the door of her basement apartment. When I enter, Marina is teaching the kids at the kitchen table. She homeschools them. I get to see all the girls. How they have grown since the last time I've seen them--it's been over a year, maybe two! But I saw Marina more recently, as she had assisted at the birth of a woman from her church. I love seeing her, and she is just as happy to see me.

Marina loves being pregnant, and I enjoy her glow. Before we officially start the prenantal visit, though, her daughters treat me to a little show-and-tell. There's a princess costume, a book, and review of the play they put on last week. I am their special guest. The girls scramble for the floor to give all of the important news to me. I sit on the floor with them. I'm not really a chair person. I have to greet the cat, too, although he's definitely not taking to my presence as well as the girls are.

We planned this particular visit for a time when Valnn, Marina's husband could be present... It's like a big reunion...

When it is time to listen to the heartbeat, we try with the fetoscope. Even though books and teachers will say that the fetal heartbeat can't be heard with the fetoscope before 20 weeks, I have heard it as early as 15. Marina would prefer not to expose the baby to an unnecessary ultrasound.

We can heart it! It is very faint, so we turn down the radio, and the kids have to stay very, very still, waiting their turn to listen. It's thrilling to witness their excitement. Some of them hear it; some do not. Marina and Valnn do. It's interesting: Even with all the proof--a missed period, a positive pregnancy test, nausea, fatigue--so many woman remain uncertain that the pregnancy is a reality until the first time they hear the heartbeat."

an excerpt from Labor of Love