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Debra Pascali-Bonaro

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Ina May is Officially a Great Woman

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Midwife Ina May Gaskin was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame on October 2013 alongside with other “Great Women” including: Betty Ford, Julie Krone, Kate Millett, Nancy Pelosi, Bernice Resnick Sandler, Emma Hart Willard, Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, Anna Jacobson Schwartz.

Rarely is there a person who touches your life so deeply before you even meet her.

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Me and and Ina May outside PA capitol building May 11, 2012 for Safe Motherhood Quilt Rally to bring respect, dignity, quality, evidenced-based care to all.

Ina May’s Book Spiritual Midwifery not only contributed to give me the strength to stand up and deliver and birth as my intuition told me, her book started me on my path to enjoy and pass along pleasure in childbirth.

Years later when we finally met, I was touched yet again by her words of wisdom and her gracious, wise, fun presence.  Her words of  Orgasmic Birth… well you know where they took me!  I feel so blessed to know Ina May and have shared many talks and travels together. Whether you have met her, heard her speak, or read her book, I hope you join me in celebrating the amazing woman/midwife she is and honor her years of work, wisdom and blessings that she has shared with so many!  Being Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame: Showcasing Great Women is so well deserved!  Ina May Gaskin is shining a spotlight for us to follow on the path to Optimal MotherBaby Care and Midwifery!

We are excited to bring you this video clip of Ina May’s Acceptance Speech from the National Women’s Hall of Fame 24th Induction Ceremony, as lovingly recorded by Robbie E. Davis-Floyd, Ph.D.

So let’s look at other ways Ina May’s “Greatness” has been illustrated….

Quotes! Your body is not a lemon! Let your monkey brain do it! The Energy that Get’s The Baby In Get’s the Baby Out!!

You may all be familiar with this famous Ina May quote:

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. Ina May Gaskin

This video is one of Ina May’s favorites and well-illustrates the “Your Body is not a lemon” quote.

To hear more great quotes from Ina May, listen to “The Modern Midwife: Ina May Gaskin” Interview aired in September by American Public Media The Story.

Interview for American Public Media's The Story
Interview for American Public Media’s The Stor

“In 1971, Ina May Gaskin founded “The Farm,” a place where women can give birth without machines or drugs.  She tells guest host Phoebe Judge about giving birth to her own children conventionally, an experience so rough it moved her to find another way. When she first began her work as a midwife, she says, she knew little more than that you should be nice to the mother. “That’s what I did,” she says. In the decades since, Gaskin’s approach to natural childbirth has appealed to thousands of women.” Listen to the interview at http://www.thestory.org/stories/2013-09/modern-midwife-ina-may-gaskin.

In 2012 we were treated to “Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & the Farm Midwives” Documentary and led thru many of the wonderful experiences and achievements in Ina May’s life including: The Farm in Tennessee; her skill and knowledge about delivering a breech birth; how she was introduced to the Gaskin Maneuver used to relieve Shoulder Dystocia; her theory on the Sphincter Law, & the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project.

And recently Ina May presented at TEDxSacramento about Reducing Fear of Birth in U.S. Culture.

Debra & Ina May
As I was walking onto the stage to speak at the Woman and Nature Conference (Wroclaw, Poland, October, 2013), I heard a whole lot of cheering from the audience. I knew there were doulas there. Later, Ina May Gaskin said to me, “you can always hear the doulas, the wildness in their voices and their passion they bring to childbirth.”

 

 

Thank you Ina May for shining a spotlight for us to follow on the path to Optimal MotherBaby Care and Midwifery!

How has Ina May shone the spotlight for you?

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