Birth Work as Care Work: Stories from Activist Birth Communities

by Alana Apfel, Loretta J. Ross (Foreword), Silvia Federici (Introduction)

Birth Work as Care Work presents a vibrant collection of stories and insights from the front lines of birth activist communities. The personal has once more becomes political, and birth workers, supporters, and doulas now find themselves at the fore of collective struggles for freedom and dignity. Articulating a politics of care work in and through the reproductive process, the book brings diverse voices into conversation to explore multiple possibilities and avenues for change. At a moment when agency over our childbirth experiences is increasingly centralized in the hands of professional elites, Birth Work as Care Work presents creative new ways to reimagine the trajectory of our reproductive processes. Most importantly, the contributors present new ways of thinking about the entire life cycle, providing a unique and creative entry point into the essence of all human struggle—the struggle over the reproduction of life itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Gender, History, Politics

152 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2016

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.

I really loved the interviews and stories here, and just the message of the book is so good and all the things I love. However, I could have done without the random guide to herbs at the end which I feel like didn't fit very well. I also am irked by things that say "birth giver" or "pregnant person," but that's a personal thing.

[telma · Rating 2 out of 5]

une traduction cata, des témoignages fragmentaires et non situés, je suis passée à côté des récits des femmes qui donnent naissance. heuresuement la postface sur l'écoféminisme de geneviève pruvost était excellente.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing insight into birth work and reproductive justice from the less-heard-from perspective of the doula

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had thought Birthing From Within was the best book I could read during my pregnancy, but in fact Birth Work as Care Work edges it out! Not a birthing manual nor necessarily written for mothers/parents/birth-givers-to-be, this book is a wonderful foray into the personal as political and the important exploration of care work (including domestic work and birth work and reproductive labor-- that is, all the energy and work that goes into making people and thus society) as a political and community subject. Birth Work as Care Work is an Excellent read, taking varied approaches to its tantalizing subject matter, including birth stories and herbal recommendations as well as critical essays from doulas and midwives. Here is another birth book I would recommend to any and everyone!! Human beings ought to know more about it... spiritually, politically, biologically. I wish there were more pull quotes from this anthology in its description... As it is I will be copying some down in the near future. For example this gem:

“Radical well-being means health and healing from the bottom up. It means birthing without fear; reclaiming and furthering our knowledge of herbal medicine; having proper support through all reproductive experiences and outcomes; elaborating radical love with each other; and working to collectively create communities of care, strength, and vitality that stand in opposition to capitalist modes of relating. It also means recognizing the connection between access to and knowledge of health and healing and global systems of circulating power. It means striving to bring knowledge of health back to the commons and into the hands, hearts, and bodies of the majority, facilitating the coming to power of our fullest selves in the direction of healthy social change. In so doing it adopts what might be called a prefigurative approach to social change — embodying through one’s actions the very world one wishes to bring forth. This means starting from the grassroots health of the community in order to create a loving and livable world in the here and now. Birth seems a pretty good place to start, don’t you think?”
 -Alana Apfel, Birth Work as Care Work

[Rallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think any review I can leave for this book would do it justice. I might be biased, as I know Alana and watched her work through her MA during which this book was created and was so immensely excited for her to have it published, but I felt truly moved reading it. I do not plan on being a mother, but the intense connection to birthing and motherhood this book evokes makes me feel a visceral, perhaps ancestral connection to such a role.

Reading the introductory essays calling this book an anthology were at first look puzzling, but that is the best way to describe the ways in which Alana presents the voices of other doulas. She finds a way to give them voice on pages she's curated, which still tends to be rare in anthropology.

But it is her own voice that sings. This is a beautiful book, about a topic to which every life is connected. It is small and unassuming. You should read it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

the intros/prefaces from loretta ross, silvia federici, and victoria law were the highlights of the collection for me, as well as some basic information about birth work/doula projects in prisons. i liked the format of the book, as well, with three sections: stories of birth workers, birth stories, and basic herbal remedies, recognizing the place of herbal/folk medicine in struggles for liberation and justice. for myself (a lifelong birth/reproductive health geek & trained doula with some comprehension of white supremacy's impact on birth), i found most of the info pretty basic, but would recommend it over basically every other book about doula work i've read! (radical doula is also good; that one has less detailed and more basic info, but is packaged to be more immediately applicable to doing birth work.)

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little book for all doulas. Poses intriguing questions for the birth worker/ student to ponder: incarcerated women birthing alone with guards in attendance, changing language - not all pregnant people are female, questions surrounding cultural clashes. This little book caused me to think new thoughts, ask questions new for me. I didn't understand the compilation of stories or the theme -if there was one. But I loved it none-the-less.

[Julie Vautour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vraiment déçue de ce livre. Il n’y a aucune structure à ce livre, les textes sont fragmentés. D’ailleurs la traduction est mediocre et j’aurais vraiment pu me passer de la section sur les herbes… bref 2.5 étoiles 🥲

[Aysha Bisimwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The stories moved me, and inspired me, and put words to many of the things I have observed or thought about as a Birth Worker.

It is a book I will come back to time and again.

[Rachel Lemmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this book would be so political--I was hoping to learn about the practical things doulas do. It focuses more on the ideology and politics behind the Reproductive Justice movement. Still, it was an interesting and quick read. My favorite part was the first person, first hand birth stories at the end.

[Becka Richman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Morales Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incroyable
Axé principalement sur l'accouchement nous avons un aperçu sur l'accompagnement de naissance et de précieux témoignages

[Mills College Library]

618.2 A641 2016