i saw ina may

i know what you're thinking...who?

(she's the one on stage)

for all of us birth junkies, she is a celebrity.

she is the "mother of modern midwifery"

and an inspiration to all who believe that birth works.

in fact, her presentation yesterday, which was totally sold out,

was entitled just that: "birth works: why don't we know it?"

it was so refreshing to hear 

from someone so very down to earth

 and matter of fact about birth.

some of my favorite quotes from her talk:

"i didn't know that you could fire a doctor, but that's good to know."

"it's good to have a level of fear about surgery, it's risky business."

"women who are not afraid during labor don't know labor is supposed to hurt."

"the cervix behaves like a sphincter.  sphincters are shy, they don't obey orders, they don't respond well to praise, they open better when their owner's mouth and jaw are relaxed, and they open well when their owner is laughing or smiling."

"our bottom parts work better when our top parts (minds) are either grateful or amused at the antics/activities of our bottoms."

ina may is a founder of "the farm" in tennessee,

which has provided special services (particularly midwifery)

for families since 1971.

their cesarean rate is under 2%.

you can read more about ina may here.

i can't wait to hear more of what ina may 

has to say in her new book "birth matters."

for those of you who think this birth stuff

 is kind of crazy and not for you.

how do you know?  

have you ever really researched it?

i challenge you to really look into it.

it's a fascinating subject and it affects all of us!

If I don't know my options, I don't have any. ~ Diana Korte