Jackie Wolf, the author of the fascinating history Deliver Me from Pain: Anesthesia and Birth in America, generously agreed to respond to my questions about her research process and issues surrounding childbirth choices, anesthesia, and cesarean section. My review of Deliver Me from Pain is here; the interview appears below. – What was your experience [...]
I haven’t just … linked … in a long time. So here goes: some thought-provoking and/or amusing stuff from the past month or so, from interesting people who aren’t me. from Helen at Blogger on the Cast Iron Balcony: ““As for me, I have learnt to keep my mouth firmly shut”: Blaming women for the [...]
Born in the U.S.A. (2000; Marcia Jarmel & Ken Scheider) is a fifty-minute PBS documentary that starts out slowly but certainly gripped me by the end. This film opens with clips showing the standard television rendition of childbirth-as-out-of-control-freak-out and then proceeds with a historical overview that’s presented in sort of a boring way–which is unfortunate, [...]
Okay, so I finally watched The Business of Being Born (2007; dir. Abby Epstein, exec. producer Ricki Lake). I know, I know: a little late to the party, birth activist wannabe! And yet, here I am, sharing my thoughts on the film, head held high. I really liked it. I did. This documentary explores the [...]
Welcome to First the Egg, a collection of practical information, links, and cultural criticism. This site is a feminist intervention in our rigidly-gendered culture of childbirth and parenting. It aims to provide a nonsexist space for people who want to learn, reflect, commiserate, or laugh about being pregnant, giving birth, and helping children grow up whole and happy.
Feel free to contact me with ideas or questions at
Ina May Gaskin’s Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifesta
Our Goodreads discussion group chose Ina May Gaskin’s new book Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifesta as our August read. In late July, I found myself pretty far down on the waitlist for the single copy my public library system had purchased. So I was happy when Gaskin’s publisher offered to send me a copy for review. [...]