About Birth as a Healing Experience
by Lois Halzel Freedman
Birth as a Healing Experience: The Emotional Journey of Pregnancy through Postpartum emphasizes and examines the emotional aspects of pregnancy and postpartum, presenting these periods as important opportunities for a woman's growth and healing from previous traumatic births or pregnancy losses. Midwives, childbirth educators, pregnant and postpartum women, women of childbearing age, and men will find that this book is unlike most others on pregnancy because it focuses on the healing potential in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum rather than on the medical aspects. Women's stories illustrate how individuals deal with past experiences of grief and loss during pregnancy in a therapeutic setting.
What colleagues and other readers have said:
"Ms. Freedman's book gives insight into the emotions involved with pregnancy and loss. Her sensitivity and unique ability to draw out emotional road blocks pertaining to birth and guide women to a place of healing is a gift."—Mary E. Baker, BSN, CNM, CCE, Certified Nurse Midwife at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Wellesley, Massachusetts
"This book creates a tender network of words for today's vulnerable new mother. Each woman reading it will surely feel kinship with those whose stories are told and be quite aware of the deep compassion resonating from every page."
—Cathy Romeo, co-author, Ended Beginnings: Healing Childbearing Losses, Regional Coordinator, Women's Health Network (A Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Federal Centers for Disease Control Program), Massachusetts
"This wonderful book treats birth as a profound opportunity for emotional healing within a compassionate circle of women. It contains a wealth of information and stories of pregnant women and their helpers or for anyone interested in a wise woman's perspective on birth as a sacred event."
--Miriam Greenspan, M.Ed., LMHC, Psychotherapist and Consultant; Author of A New Approach to Women and Therapy and Healing Through the Dark Emotions
"Birth is not an isolated event that is forgotten the moment the labor ends. When women emerge from their birth experiences bruised and battered, there is a ripple effect that affects society at large. When women are healed of their birth-related injuries, we all benefit. Thanks to Lois for her thoughtful and gentle work. Her dedication and expertise are genuine; this is a most valuable work."
--Nancy Wainer, midwife; author of Silent Knife and Open Season
“The author has provided expectant women with a window into their own thoughts as well as suggestions for how to help them enjoy their birth experience and weave it into their emotions as a positive experience. By allowing such a momentous occasion such as birth to awaken our inner thoughts, dreams and intense emotions about our past (and sometimes our relationships with our own mothers!), we are taken to a level where we can be renewed, in a sense. This book is straight-forward and uses examples to inspire. Many women go into late pregnancy with fear...this book helps them wade through that fear to the cause and helps them experience birth as an empowering (and sometimes forgiving) experience.”
—Jeanette Mesite Frem, MHS, CCE, BC, CD(ALACE), IBCLC
Childbirth Educator, Birth Doula, Breastfeeding Counselor
“Lois Freedman's book talks about a subject that is often missing from the masses of books on pregnancy out there: the emotional aspects of this most important time in a woman's life. For so many woman, being pregnant brings up fear and pain and yet this is never fully discussed with her health care providers or even her closest friends. For me, the section on mother-loss was especially important because I had lost my mother in my teens. I found the time of pregnancy and new mothering difficult even though I had great support from my husband, relatives and friends. Lois' book truly helped me to understand what I was going through and gave me suggestions for coping with my feelings and improving my experience.
"Additionally, in a society in which women are supposed to feel exclusively excited and thrilled about pregnancy whether the birth goes as planned or is a nightmare- as long as the baby is okay- it is refreshing to read a book that proposes that we honor birth as a healing experience for the mother. Lois gives concrete suggestions and guidelines to help women have an emotionally fulfilling birth experience- I would suggest that health professionals utilize this section with all their pregnant clients. Anyone who is pregnant or planning a pregnancy should read this book.”
—Susie Rosenwasser, M.Ed.
Reiki Jin Kei Do, Master/Teacher
Sharon, MA
“This book made me remember the stark contrast between my 'medical intervention' birth and the healing I felt giving birth naturally. The first one made me feel raped, the second made me feel like I'd run a marathon, and won. I recommend this book to everyone who is pregnant or supporting someone who is pregnant. It is well researched, well written, and moving.”
—Liz Dichiara
To order a copy of Birth as a Healing Experience, go to Amazon.com.
Contact Lois Freedman by phone at 617-543-1270, or Lois@LoisFreedman.net