AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
![]() |
Home |  Store List |  FAQ |  Contact Us |   | ||
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
![]() |
Title: Diary of a Midwife by Juliana van Olphen-Fehr ISBN: 0-89789-588-6 Publisher: Bergin & Garvey Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (19 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Subject is good, book is not
Comment: I will be going to a midwife for our first pregnacy and wanted to read more about the profession.
This book is VERY dry, with little structure to engage the reader... I stopped about 1/2 way thru and skimmed the rest. The book starts with horror stories of hospital births, then skims thru her midwife education years, then gives clinical descriptions of the interesting births that she has attended and trouble that she ran into with the people (doctors) who saw her as a threat.
Very little descriptive language- and I had a really hard time "bonding" with the main character. I'm sure she is very loving, but it didn't come thru in her writing AT ALL.
So, I put this down and picked up "Babycatcher" and it is a really fun read! So far, it is light on the scary horror stories and heavy on the emotion and feelings of the moments.
I think other reviewers give this book such high marks since they agree with the subject matter... so they want to "vote" for it. A boring book is a boring book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book
Comment: This book fascinated me. I am really amazed at Juliana Van Olphen-Fehr's seemingly neverending strength and energy in becoming a mid-wife in the first place, and afterward all she has done to help mothers and their babies and give them the best care possible. I was shocked at what hurdles she had to take when it came to physicians, who not only didn't support her but evened threatened her existence as a midwife. There is definitely a lot wrong with healthcare in America. Money is what counts, and not really the people's needs. I think this is pretty scary! How refreshing it was to read Mrs. Fehr's story, whose love for the mothers and babies she cared for show between each line!
Rating: 2
Summary: A word of caution before you buy
Comment: First, let me say that I don't think this is a bad book. In fact, it is probably a very important book about the way women and babies were treated in the late 1970's through the 1980's. Although I found the more technical and political passages a little dry, they are mixed in with stories from the authors own experience as a nurse and midwife. This is where I had a problem. Truthfully, I could not finish the book, not because it was poorly written, but because it upset me too much.
Since I had my son (now two years old), I cannot stand to read or hear about anything that involves children being injured, killed or abused. The author offers up story after story of doctor's, nurses and hospitals cruelties to laboring mothers and their newborn babies. Yes, these actions and attitudes need to be brought to light, and I applaud the author for her work to improve conditions for women and children. As for the details, I will have to take her word, because emotionally I cannot stand to read about it.
Just a word of caution for any over-emotional mamas like me out there.
![]() |
Title: Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent ISBN: 0743219341 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
![]() |
Title: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin ISBN: 0553381156 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
![]() |
Title: Sisters on a Journey: Portraits of American Midwives by Penfield Chester, Sarah Chester McKusick ISBN: 0813524083 Publisher: Rutgers University Press Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
![]() |
Title: Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong ISBN: 0804101787 Publisher: Ivy Books Pub. Date: 12 January, 1988 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
![]() |
Title: Immaculate Deception II: Myth, Magic & Birth by Suzanne Arms ISBN: 0890876339 Publisher: Celestial Arts Pub. Date: September, 1994 List Price(USD): $20.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments