Birthing In The Spirit About the Book

Birthing in the Spirit

 

This book is unique in the childbirth literature and introduces a philosophy that can help anyone, including women in birth, to come closer to realizing their full human potential through the practice of human values. An infallible truth about birth is that the knowledge about how to give birth is born within every woman. This means that birth is instinctive and what is instinctive does not need to be taught. Rather, women need to be encouraged to have more trust and faith in their body knowledge that already knows how to give birth.
Birthing in the Spirit was written to empower birthing women, showing how connecting with the spirit helps birth to become a peak experience, serving as a source of strength during the years of parenting. It was written to help birthing women not be afraid of their own power in labor. It was written for caregivers, doctors, midwives, nurses, and doulas to be more sensitive to the physiological and spiritual needs of a birthing woman. It was written for fathers/partners and anyone in contact with a pregnant woman to realize the importance of keeping her happy during pregnancy, labor, and birth, so she will produce hormones of joy. And finally, it was written so that these hormones of joy can become the first experience of a growing baby.
by Cathy Daub

ISBN 978-0-9724616-2-7  (386 pages)

 
Published July 2, 2007 $24.95
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Table of Contents

Laying the Foundation for Birth
Chapter 1: The Journey
Chapter 2: Birth is Instinctive
Chapter 3: Birthing in the Spirit
Chapter 4: Education and Educare
Chapter 5: Exploring Your Options for Birth
Chapter 6: The Baba Yaga
Chapter 7: Human Values in Birth

 

Human Values in Birth
Chapter 8: Truth
Chapter 9: Fetal Development and the Formative Years
Chapter 10: The Physiology of Birth
Chapter 11: Understanding the Self: The Five Human Sheaths
Chapter 12: The Power Within: Positive Thinking
Chapter 13: Intuition
Chapter 14: Dharma, the Mind, and Beliefs
Chapter 15: Pelvic Bodywork
Chapter 16: Nutrition and Our Health
Chapter 17: The Power of Sleep
Chapter 18: Peace and Equanimity
Chapter 19: Fears and Worries
Chapter 20: Detachment
Chapter 21: Interconnection of the Senses, Elements, and Human Values
Chapter 22: Grieving and Healing
Chapter 23: Our Mothers and Our Health
Chapter 24: Love: The Foundation of All Human Values
Chapter 25: Love is a Verb
Chapter 26: Respecting the Unity in Diversity

 

The Promise of Birth
Chapter 27: Birth Times
Chapter 28: The Full Potential of Birth
Chapter 29: Parenting
Chapter 30: Improving Birth in America and Around the World

 

 

water birth photo

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About the Author

Cathy Daub is a physical therapist who has worked with handicapped children over the last 25 years. She is the founder and designer of Birth Works International, a nonprofit organization that certifies women to become childbirth educators and which also offers doula services. Cathy is a music teacher, childbirth educator, doula, and performs Maya Abdominal Massage. She has taught childbirth educator workshops nationwide over the last 18 years and brings together all her talents to present a unique and experiential approach to childbirth education.

Cathy is co-founder of the Birth Works International doula program and also teaches national doula training workshops.  She is writer for the Birth Works Childbirth Educator Manual, author of Birthing In The Spirit,Doulas of Love: A Guidebook for Doulas and Expectant Parents, and composer of the CD of original birthing songs entitled Believe.

Cathy teaches workshops on human values, nutrition, and parenting.  She is a world traveler having spent 3 ½ years abroad visiting 48 countries of the world giving her a unique perspective on women of other cultures and their beliefs.  She is the mother of two children.

Cathy believes that birth is an integration of the mind, body, and spirit and has dedicated her life to helping women and children to reach their full human potential.

From Cathy's Desk

It is my hope that as you read this book, you will feel a strong connection and shared bonding with all women giving birth, for birth is cross-cultural, timeless, and ancient. Birth is also an experience greater than ourselves that has transforming power if we take the step of looking more deeply inside. After all, isn’t that what a woman needs to do when in labor? It is also my hope that you will feel touched at some deep level with inspiration to make changes in your life for the better.

Philosophies expressed in the book include:

  • Love is the foundation upon which positive birthing begins.
  • The knowledge about how to give birth is born within every woman. Birth is instinctive and therefore doesn't need to be taught. Rather, women need to have more trust and faith in their body knowledge
  • The practice of Human Values (Truth, Right Action, Peace, Love, and Nonviolence) builds character and instills confidence in birth and life.
  • When learning occurs in an emotional context, it is more meaningful and lasting.
  • Healthy food helps to grow a healthy baby.
  • A woman will labor the best wherever she feels the safest and most secure. For some that may be a hospital and for others it may mean at home or in an alternative birthing center.
  • Silence and privacy help a woman’s labor to progress and that good thoughts produce hormones of joy.
  • Integration of the mind, body, and spirit is essential when giving birth.
  • A woman who feels empowered by her birth experience has the foundation and confidence for the work of parenting.

    • What People Are Saying

    Any in depth exploration of human nature is bound to address the issue of transcendental mysteries. This is why – compared with other books on childbirth – Birthing in the Spirit is a milestone towards a better understanding of human nature. - Michel Odent, M.D.

    Issues of a spiritual nature may help or hinder pregnancy, as well as the birth process in any of its aspects. The birth process itself, if allowed to unfold, can be seen as a spiritual preparation for motherhood. Birthing in the Spirit discusses the role of spirit in birth in a way that is practical, wise and eloquent. Cathy Daub deserves a very large audience for this book. - Ina May Gaskin, Certified Professional Midwife

    Where was this book when I was pregnant and so fearful of giving birth – as everything in my culture had taught me to be! How much more wondrous would have been the process of bringing my daughter into the world, and how much we both would have benefited, if only I had read Birthing in the Spirit then! Cathy Daub takes us on a journey into our self, and it’s the journey home. That’s the magic of this book. This is the journey I would wish for any pregnant woman. - Suzanne Arms, Author and Journalist

    Birthing in the Spirit is about understanding one's inner wisdom, about learning to trust, and about empowerment. It is much more than a "how-to" book. Extremely important issues that all pregnant women face such as fears and worries, concerns about pain, wuestions about medical and non-medical management, body and birth physiology, sleep, support people, and birth environment are all covered along with helpful suggestions and practical methods to help a woman birth her baby.

    Birthing in the Spirit opens the world of pregnancy and birth in a unique way that can benefit a woman's health and her full potential to expand her mind, her body, and her spirit. With each subject, the book interweaves ancient wisdom with modern knowledge of the physiology and psychology of birth in a manner that leads a pregnant woman to a deeper understanding and trust of her own body's knowlege. Clear examples, beautiful metaphors, and well-studied concepts inspire and move one to a deeper appreciation of the true potential of birth and of the individual. From detailed descriptions of such areas as how to enlarge one's pelvis, expand one's lungs, relax into and "breathe" and vocalize "the baby out", to release worry and doubt, and achieve a sense of peace and calm, this book encompasses each significant aspect of childbirth.

    The key theme in this wonderful book is to discover your true nature, and to tap into the deepest human values such as Truth, Love, Peace, Right Action, and Nonviolence. Following the wisdom that flows from these values into the birth of a human being takes one into an experience of “happiness and bliss” and ultimately into an experience of spirit. - Marshall Klaus M.D. and Phyllis Klaus MFT,LCSW

    In a groundbreaking publication, Cathy Daub accomplishes in Birthing in the Spirit something that I have not experienced in any other childbirth related book that I have read. Rather than the how-to format of so many birthing books which often leave readers with the impression that birth is an ordeal that women must endure in order to get that baby that they want so badly, Daub's labor of love truly makes birth feel like a work of art, and an event that ties us all together through our one common and timeless experience, birth. Birthing in the Spirit is as exquisite and unique as birth itself. This book touched my spirit and I'm sure that whether you are a birthing mother, or someone who works with them, it will touch yours as well. - Mindy Troge, CCE, PCD

    BirthWorks Inc. - PO Box 2045 - Medford, NJ 08055 - 888-TO-BIRTH (888-862-4784) - info@birthworks.org