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Spiritual Midwifery is a 1975 book by Ina May Gaskin that advises expecting parents, shares birthing tales, and instructs midwives. The book is an informational guide on natural birth gathered from Gaskin and fellow Midwives from their own experiences living on a self sustaining farming community near Summertown, Tennessee as well as learned techniques from helpful hands along the way. Midwifery and birth became fundamental aspects to the community and Gaskin herself has been considered to be one of the most well known midwives in history.

Background
Gaskin, her husband Stephen, as well as 300 other individuals travelled from San Francisco in a caravan of old school buses and vans to Tennessee in 1971 to establish their commune. It was apparent before the caravan had even left that that hospital births were not an option for the women due to lack of funds as well as previous unsatisfying births in hospital settings. Much of what the community experienced and learned about birth on their trip to Tennessee was put into the book to spread awareness about the safety and benefits of natural, out of hospital labor and birth.

Amazing Birthing Tales
The stories of birth included in the book consists of detailed accounts of many impactful births had on The Farm. Gaskin taught some fellow women the practices of midwifery and eventually established The Farm Midwifery Center. She includes some instruction of teaching the other women on The Farm in her descriptions of births.

To the Parents
In the second section of the book, Gaskin informs expecting parents on how to care for oneself during pregnancy, labor, and after the baby is born. Gaskin walks through every step of pregnancy. The section also includes advice from Stephen Gaskin to expecting fathers on how to care for their pregnant wives and how to process the emotions of having a child. Gaskin includes information on how to care for a newborn including, bathing, changing a diaper, and how to recognize hunger, as well as how to recognize minor health issues that may arise. The section finishes with a piece on how to process a child's death.

Instructions to Midwives
The third and largest section of the book begins detailing the mothers anatomy as well as the stages of the babies development in utero. Gaskin then focuses on prenatal care and moves to how to manage birth and to what to watch for in case complications arise. This section is a comprehensive view of the birth process and how to manage birth.

Appendices
In the last section of the book, Gaskin provides examples of record sheets in order for the information produced in the book in a real setting. She also has a section specifically for doctors, equipment as well as instructions for other gynecological practices unrelated to birth like pap smears.