Overview

Single mom, jazz singer, salsa dancer, traveler, and midwife to more than 700 babies, Cara Muhlhahn holds nothing back-in her life or in this memoir. As a teenager, Cara's family home burnt to the ground. That tragedy led her on a journey that would span a variety of countries and cultures. While she was in Morocco, a woman suffered from a fatal injury. Grieving the unnecessary death, Cara resolved that, next time, she would know what to do to save a life.In this fascinating and searingly honest memoir, Cara reveals what eventually led her to support women in one of the most significant experiences of their lives. Balancing science with intuition, parenthood with her work, and sacrifice with joy, Cara shows us what it means to be alive and to live a life of purpose. Just as readers are fascinated by Carly Fiorina's or Elizabeth Gilbert's journeys, they will find great inspiration in Cara's journey to live her calling. Whether you read about her in Vogue or the New York Times ; saw her in the documentary The Business of Being Born , by filmmakers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein; or are learning about her for the first time here, you are sure to be inspired by her remarkable story.

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9781427798213

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Reviews

This book is surprising. Mothers-to-be will be held spellbound, but fans of spiritual memoir and insider health-care accounts will learn a thing or two as well. -Library Journal, starred review A practicing certified nurse-midwife in New York for more than a dozen years, [Cara Muhlhahn] has the battle scars to prove it, in the form of piles of paid and unpaid parking tickets as well as enough emotional dings to give her plainspeaking single mom's memoir an edge. -Booklist It's easy to like Muhlhahn; she bursts through the page as an authentic, exuberant person. -Mothering.com Cara Muhlhahn is at the forefront of a growing trend of at-home births in New York City...[Labor of Love] recounts her colorful past-from vagabonding in the South of France to an eye-opening journey to Morocco-and some of her most harrowing deliveries. But ultimately, for Muhlhahn, it's about more than home birth. My allegiance is to women and choice, she said, and not being sold down the river into circumstances they're going to regret. That's my bottom line. -The Villager, 12/3/08 ...I was totally fascinated when I heard about the new book Labor of Love. Written by a midwife, the memoir is all about women who have home births--meaning, they have their babies at home... I love the book. It's fascinating. -Glamour.com Smitten Blog In addition to singing the praises of women's childbirth wisdom in an accurate and compelling way, Labor of Love is also an incredibly good read! Makes me want to stand up and shout, 'Yes! Right on, sister!' -Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause, and Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Reading this book comes second only to the moving experience of having Cara deliver your baby. Candid, funny, passionate, exhilarating, and occasionally heartbreaking, this story will undoubtedly speak to readers interested in the unsung superheroism of midwives. But it will also appeal to anyone who has contemplated how to fully integrate life and work. In this era of compartmentalizing, Cara moves with dervishlike grace between baby-catching, parenthood, spirituality, travel, and, well, even parking to show us that with the right combination of humility and drive, anything is possible. -Daphne Beal, author of In the Land of No Right Angles We benefit so much from the specific stories of midwives like Cara Muhlhahn, whose ability to support childbearing women with extraordinary skill and understanding is so clear in this important memoir. Her bravery and persistence will go a long way in helping us move away from current trends that so often harm both women and babies. -Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies, Ourselves Midwives are the heroes of our times, and Cara Muhlhahn is no exception. Her intelligent and compelling story gives intimate insights into birth and midwifery, as well as the glorious history of how she became a midwife. Labor of Love is also an eye-opening account of the US maternity care system: highly recommended for parents and parents-to-be as well as midwives; obstetricians; doulas; childbirth educators; and all involved in the care of pregnant and birthing women. -Sarah J. Buckley, MD, homebirth mother of four and author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices Labor or Love is not just a lovely book about midwifery, but a wild, joyous journey through a remarkable woman's life. Like a ride on a roller coaster, the memoir starts out fun but by the end will take your breath away. Every childbirth professional, midwife, student midwife, labor and delivery nurse, doula, and physician should read it and be prepared to laugh and to weep. -Patricia Harman, CNM, MS, author of The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir Authentic and important, Labor of Love reveals how mothers are transformed by a positive birth experience. In reading Cara Muhlhahn's story, I am reminded that midwives themselves are also positively transformed by serving women in this life event. Voices like hers are desperately needed in this world of defensive medicine. -Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, author of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth As a pediatrician and the father of three kids, I encourage parents to respect the body's natural defenses and to avoid unnecessary or even detrimental interventions. This very philosophy is what drives Cara Muhlhahn as she works with expectant mothers. In Labor of Love, she shares the story of how she came to deliver babies exclusively in the homes of their mothers. With today's focus on defensive medicine, Cara's message is critical. -Michel Cohen, MD, author of The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent Labor of Love is not just Cara Muhlhahn's memoir, it is a rare look into the often secret world of planned home birth. Cara shares her own very personal story, but in doing so, she also shares the stories of the women she cares for during pregnancy and birth. Cara's story debunks the myth perpetuated by the medical profession and the media that planned home birth is risky and that midwives who do planned home births lack the knowledge and skills to keep women safe. This midwife embodies all that contemporary midwives are: intelligent, analytical, knowledgeable, skilled, caring, passionate. A must-read for women and their families, and for midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, nurses, and obstetricians. -Judith A. Lothian, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Seton Hall University, and co-author of The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence After decades of misinformation in the United States about how dangerous childbirth is, this wonderful book gives a clear and penetrating explanation of what a midwife is and what she does, exploding all the myths and misconceptions about midwifery and the risks of planned out-of-hospital birth. The book needs to be read by all obstetricians, labor and delivery nurses, policy makers and all women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. -Marsden Wagner MD, MS, Director of Women's and Children's Health for the World Health Organization Cara Muhlhahn's passion, self awareness, and purity of heart have infused her life's work as a midwife. This unique journey is authentically and beautifully shared in Labor of Love. Cara is a pioneer in midwifery, due to her profound impact on the profession and what we know about birthing, as well as the hundreds of clients she has served. She is a woman, a mother, and an entrepreneur with clarity, consciousness, power, and divinity-the ultimate merging of intellect with intuition. A must read for all women. -Denise Spatafora, author of BornClear

Author Information

Certified Nurse Midwife Cara Muhlhahn, CNM, has been learning and practicing midwifery for 30 years, and she now runs a private practice that specializes in home delivery. Cara is featured in the documentary The Business of Being Born, which was executive produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein. Cara is the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was delivered by a midwife.

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