from Amanda Steen at NPR’s The Baby Project, “Birth: In the Comfort of Home” (a 20-year-old journalist’s account of witnessing a homebirth) What I can say, is that I definitely felt encouraged by one of Shannon’s midwives, Erin Fullam, who said to Linda and me, “People talk about how painful contractions are because they’re so [...]
“Unlovable Lovable You,” from Shannon at Seagull Fountain When kids are most unlovable, they are most in need of love. When they are sour with sickness or stinky with kid sweat and suspicious-smelling mud, they are most in need of hugs. [...] When they make choices impossible to understand, they are most in need of [...]
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.
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book review: Peggy Vincent’s Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife
I really enjoyed–and recommend–Peggy Vincent’s 2002 memoir Baby Catcher. Vincent’s narrative voice feels strong, empathetic, and funny. She tells many birth stories, spanning decades and multiple birth settings: we see babies born in three quite different hospitals, an ‘alternative birth center’ in one of those hospitals, and many different sorts of homes … including a sailboat [...]