Midwifery & Childbirth

Judith Pence Rooks has written the best book available in the subject of Midwifery. It is a complete history, and is extremely well-written. It includes a comprehensive bibliography. For those of us who have had multiple home-births it is an invaluable resource. This will doubtless be the standard reference for years to come. We hope it will encourage the home-birth movement, and the use of mid-wives, as a safer alternative to physicians, in the United States.

Every profession should be so lucky to have someone write a book like this! Rooks has comprehensively and sytematically reviewed the scientific literature pertaining to the care of pregnant and birthing women and the issues of from whom, where, and under what conditions they receive care from health professionals. She writes in a readable, straightforward manner that makes her book useful and accessible to consumers and health care providers. The author is a Centers for Disease Control-educated epidemiologist and a certified nurse-midwife who has evaluated maternal and women's health programs abroad and conducted several major research projects in the United States.

Rooks is a great researcher and puts the facts down in readable language without blame on doctors nurses midwives or parents. Most objective book on this highly controversial subject matter.

Most comprehensive review of the historic, political, legal, and economic forces which shaped the practice of midwifery in America.