Gaskin was born to an Iowa Protestant family ( Methodist on one side, Presbyterian on the other). Her father, Talford Middleton, was raised on a large Iowa farm, which was lost to a bank not long after his father's accidental death in 1926. Her mother, Ruth Stinson Middleton, was a home economics teacher, who taught in various small towns within a forty-mile radius of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both parents were college graduates, who placed great importance on higher education. This is the greatest book...in it I found a lot of the inspiration I needed to be able to birth at home. Ina May Gaskin is one of the greatest midwives of our time, I do believe. She is a pioneer in the field, and the Farm still provides services for those who wish a natural birth in more diffcult circumstances like breach or multis. This book was autobiographical on how "The Farm" came to be, how and why Ina May ended up in a midwifery role, and the things she and her midwifery partners learned along the way. Since the early 1980s, she has been an internationally known speaker on maternity care independently and for the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), [1] lecturing throughout the world to midwives, physicians, doulas, expectant parents and health policy-makers. She has spoken at medical and midwifery schools in several countries and at both the Starwood Festival and the WinterStar Symposium, discussing the history and importance of midwifery. She was featured in Salon magazine's “Brilliant Careers” in 1999. [1] Gaskin's book Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta was named one of the International Planned Parenthood Federation's Top 6 Books of 2011. [17]

Only rarely do doctors in training have the opportunity to sit continuously with laboring women for hours. Most are taught to intervene in the normal process so often and so early that they have never witnessed a normal labor and birth.” There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ, they would brag about it. So should we.” It suggests a privilege while simultaneously passing judgement on those that may need to (for whatever reason) seek assistance at one point or another in their life. Automatically creating a division of people.My midwife recommended I read this to prepare for my second birth, citing positive birth stories. But I must read too much between the lines. Gaskin's own extremely premature baby died, apparently never seen by medical professionals, as Gaskin diagnosed him with "probably" something or other. Solar power pioneer Huang Ming wins 'alternative Nobel' ". BBC News. 29 September 2011 . Retrieved 19 September 2016.

Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.” According to Carol Lorente (1995), the work of Gaskin and the midwives might not have had the impact it did, if it hadn't been for the publication of her book Spiritual Midwifery (1977): Ms. Gaskin has lectured widely to midwives and physicians throughout the world. Her promotion of a low-intervention but extremely effective method for dealing with one of the most-feared birth complications, shoulder dystocia, has resulted in that method being adopted by a growing number of practitioners. The Gaskin maneuver is the first obstetrical procedure to be named for a midwife. Her statistics for breech deliveries and her teaching video on the subject have helped to spark a reappraisal of the policy of automatically performing cesarean section for all breech babies. As the occurrence of vaginal breech births has declined over the last 25 years, the knowledge and skill required for such births have come close to extinction. The strangest request I have encountered was that of a first-time mother who—just before pushing—asked her husband for a jar of peanut butter and proceeded to eat two heaping table-spoonfuls. She then washed the peanut butter down with nearly a quart of raspberry leaf tea and pushed her baby out. I was impressed.” I have felt incredible energy and life force through my body, and I have really been reborn a happier, healthier, and more confident person. I have learned I can choose to focus on the darker side or the lighter side of all that is around me. I choose the lighter side and have the discipline to keep it up.”Gaskin, Ina May (2009). Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding. UK: Pinter & Martin. ISBN 9781905177332. OCLC 768809453. When avoidance of pain becomes the major emphasis of childbirth care, the paradoxical effect is that more women have to deal with pain after their babies are born.” Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic.” Gaskin, Ina May (2015). Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 9781583229279.