Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern MidwifeSimon and Schuster, 2002 M04 16 - 336 pages An inspiring collection of birth stories by a charming midwife. Each time she knelt to “catch” another wriggling baby—nearly three thousand times during her remarkable career—California midwife Peggy Vincent paid homage to the moment when pain bows to joy and the world makes way for one more. With every birth, she encounters another woman-turned-goddess: Catherine rides out her labor in a car careening down a mountain road. Sofia spends hers trying to keep her hyper doctor-father from burning down the house. Susannah gives birth so quietly that neither husband nor midwife notice until there's a baby in the room. More than a collection of birth stories, however, Baby Catcher is a provocative account of the difficulties that midwives face in the United States. With vivid portraits of courage, perseverance, and love, this is an impassioned call to rethink technological hospital births in favor of more individualized and profound experiences in which mothers and fathers take center stage in the timeless drama of birth. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 78
Page 19
... keep lookin' out that door, huh? Ain't nobody out there having a baby, is there?” She stood still and craned her neck to see past the bedside curtain. “No, it's just that my instructor'll be here soon . BABY CATCHER • 19.
... keep lookin' out that door, huh? Ain't nobody out there having a baby, is there?” She stood still and craned her neck to see past the bedside curtain. “No, it's just that my instructor'll be here soon . BABY CATCHER • 19.
Page 22
... door of the sterile supply cabinet.Then she spit at the doctor and reached across to undo the strap that held her other hand down.Two nurses rushed forward, and I watched them yank both cuffs to their tightest link around her thin ...
... door of the sterile supply cabinet.Then she spit at the doctor and reached across to undo the strap that held her other hand down.Two nurses rushed forward, and I watched them yank both cuffs to their tightest link around her thin ...
Page 23
... door, and I thought, Zelda doesn't even know it's a boy. I slipped my fingers into her loosely curled hand and held it as I watched another nurse jam a white sanitary pad between her dark and bloody thighs. When they stretched her legs ...
... door, and I thought, Zelda doesn't even know it's a boy. I slipped my fingers into her loosely curled hand and held it as I watched another nurse jam a white sanitary pad between her dark and bloody thighs. When they stretched her legs ...
Page 26
... door. A bedroom door hung ajar, and in the dim light beyond I saw a tangle of arms and legs. On any other day, the grunting and thrashing in the sheets would have riveted my attention, but just to my 26 • PEGGY VINCENT.
... door. A bedroom door hung ajar, and in the dim light beyond I saw a tangle of arms and legs. On any other day, the grunting and thrashing in the sheets would have riveted my attention, but just to my 26 • PEGGY VINCENT.
Page 28
... doors and into the enormous delivery theater, a room with a set of bleachers at one end, five rows deep and twelve feet wide. When an unusual delivery absorbed everyone's attention, those bleachers would be packed. It could be a baby ...
... doors and into the enormous delivery theater, a room with a set of bleachers at one end, five rows deep and twelve feet wide. When an unusual delivery absorbed everyone's attention, those bleachers would be packed. It could be a baby ...
Contents
15 | |
47 | |
The Wine of Astonishment | 81 |
Not Only With Our Lips But in Our Lives | 123 |
Who Walketh Upon The Wings of The Wind | 159 |
Devices And Desires | 231 |
The Measure of My Days | 261 |
Epilogue | 323 |
Pearls of Wisdom | 327 |
Home Birth Supplies | 328 |
Studies on Midwifery Safety | 330 |
Statistics on the Economics of Midwifery | 332 |
Resources | 333 |
Sandis Famous Caramels | 335 |
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Common terms and phrases
arms asked baby baby’s baby’s head bedroom began belly beside body breath called changed child close comes contraction cord delivered delivery didn’t doctor door eyes face feel feet felt finally fingers five floor four front girl glanced hair hands head heard held holding home birth hospital husband it’s keep knew labor later legs light living looked midwife midwifery minutes months mother moved Naeema never night nodded nurse okay once pain passed Patty Peggy placenta pregnant pulled pushed rest Sandi seen shoulder side smiled soon sound started stay steps stood stopped sure talking thing thought told took trying turned voice waiting walked watched weeks whole woman women wondered
Popular passages
Page 231 - Almighty and most merciful Father ; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done ; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us.
Page 159 - Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters : who maketh the clouds his chariot ; who walketh upon the wings of the wind...
Page 123 - ... for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives ; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days...
Page 261 - Lord, make me to know mine end, And the measure of my days, what it is ; That I may know how frail I am.
Page 47 - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer...
Page 81 - Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.
Page 32 - Marta said as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Page 330 - Cesarean Section Rates in LowRisk Private Patients Managed by Certified Nurse-Midwives and Obstetricians.
Page 116 - As a firm believer in the adage that a camel is a horse designed by a committee, I have the tolerance of an irritated gnat when it comes to the negotiations typical of such official groups.
Page 85 - We nurses had suspicions about that latest gimmick in a decade full of gimmicks, but in the interest of keeping new mothers happy, we tried to accommodate them. We developed a system that worked sort of okay, some of the time, for some of the babies.