ESSENTIAL HOMEBIRTH GUIDE

Birthing is a miraculous time when you and your baby will work together to bring about life. As you finally cradle your precious newborn in your arms, you should know deep in your soul that every decision that brought the two of you to this special moment was yours.

More families than ever are choosing to birth at home. Midwives Jane E. Drichta and Jodilyn Owen answer questions about the kind of care, support, and information you need as you investigate whether this option is right for you. Birth can be an empowering and positive experience, and this book provides gentle guidance, with high regard for your wisdom and ability to successfully navigate your prenatal care, birth, and early mothering.

Enriched with real birth stories from new mothers, The Essential Homebirth Guide offers thoughtful, compassionate advice on a wealth of birthing topics, including:

- Building a supportive homebirth community
- Caring for yourself and your baby from your pregnancy through the postpartum period
- Communicating about your birthing plans with your midwife, your partner, and your family and friends
- Deciding whether homebirth is safe for you
- Educating yourself about common pregnancy-related issues
- Preparing your home and your family for the big day


Jane Drichta is certified in Global Maternal Health from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is also a prenatal and postpartum massage therapist. She teaches childbirth education classes, is an active lecturer at the local International Cesarean Awareness Network, has been a guest lecturer at the University of Washington and the Trust Birth Conference of 2008, and maintains a busy homebirth midwifery practice. She has been published in the trade journal Midwifery Today, The Montessori Gazette, and several short fiction venues including Samsara, American Tanka, and Humpty Dumpty's Magazine for Children.

Jodilyn Owen has taught childbirth and parenting education classes, directed a large local parenting center, and developed and managed the Listening Mothers and Reflective Parenting programs. She has been published in the journal Midwifery Today, Dr. Christiane Northrup's Women's Wisdom Circle, and SuperSibs, a newsletter for parents of children with cancer. She is a guest lecturer for senior student midwives at Bastyr University and has lectured at the Trust Birth Conferences of 2008 and 2010 to student and current birth professionals.