World Travel: A Birthing Inspiration - Book Review

The birthing experience I shared with my wife for my second child in a remote eco village in Brazil would, I suspect, have been completely different had it not been for Veronika Sophia Robinson.

I trust wholeheartedly in her writing and what she has to say. Her words carry authority and integrity. They are delivered with knowledge, experience and sensitivity.

She is the editor and publisher of the superb magazine, The Mother, which is all about attachment parenting and raising children in an optimum way. Her book, The Birthkeepers, is specifically about freebirthing - giving birth the way nature had intended.

As she states in the subheading on the book's cover, Veronika writes about 'Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition'.

I had only a vague knowledge of freebirthing - from when Jamie had talked to me about it prior to the birth of Kobra. If I am honest, I had some initial concerns even if I was prepared to fully support my wife's choice. After all, I am from a generation that, largely due to television and media, has been taught that most women give birth on their backs in hospitals - and in great pain!

Since knowing Jamie, I have been educated to know it certainly doesn't have to be that way.

Jamie and I had contacted a respected midwife before we arrived in Piracanga. But, for whatever reason, as events unfolded, Jamie felt a preference to give birth by herself, alone.

That intuition was compounded when a package from England arrived a few days after Jamie had revealed to me her desire. It was a book. We didn't know precisely what it was about, but knew it had something to do with childbirth as it had come from Veronika.

It was all about freebirthing. I read it in next to no time, as did Jamie. The information was clear. And, most importantly, I connected with the function on every level. I felt secure and informed. I understood the role I needed to play.

Like Jamie, I found it empowering and inspiring. It was not just for prospective mums, but for dads-to-be also.

As Veronika says in the book's introduction, "I merely acted to remind them [women on unassisted birthing journeys] that they had everything within them they needed to birth their babies beautifully and gently into this world."

Jamie had a wonderful second birth, owed in large part to Veronika's guidance and mentoring. Her book magically arrived at a time when, due to various mishaps (infections etc), we were searching for direction and clarity. We're so grateful that it had.