Birth

Three Mothers, Nine Months, and Pregnancy in America

By: Rebecca Grant

Narrated by: Marisa Blake, Emana Rachelle, Dara Rosenberg, Rebecca Grant

“An important book...Grant is a good storyteller, subtle and compassionate.” —The New York Times Book Review

In the tradition of Random Family and Evicted, a gripping blend of rigorous, intimate on-the-ground reporting and deep social history of reproductive health that follows three first-time mothers as they experience pregnancy and childbirth in today’s America.

Journalist Rebecca Grant provides us with a never-before-seen look at the changing landscape of pregnancy and childbirth in America—and the rise of midwifery—told through the eyes of three women who all pass through the doors of the same birth center in Portland, Oregon.

There’s Alison, a teacher whose long path to a healthy pregnancy has led her to question a traditional hospital birth; T’Nika, herself born with the help of a midwife and now a nurse hoping to work in Labor & Delivery and improve equality in healthcare; and Jillian, an office manager and aspiring midwife who works at Andaluz Birth Center, excited for a new beginning, but anxious about how bringing a new life into the world might mean the deferral of her own dreams.

In remarkable detail and with great compassion, Grant recounts the ups downs, fears, joys, and everyday moments of each woman’s pregnancy and postpartum journey, offering a rare look into their inner lives, perspectives, and choices in real time—and addresses larger issues facing the entire nation, from discrimination in medicine and treatment (both gender and race-based) to fertility, family planning, complicated feelings about motherhood and career, and the stigmas of miscarriage and postpartum blues. “An enlightening and accessible portrait of maternal healthcare in America" (Publishers Weekly, starred) Birth is an inspiring look at one of life’s most profound rites of passage.

©2023 Rebecca Grant. All rights reserved. Excerpt from Secrets from the Center of the World by Joy Harjo and Stephen Strom ©1989 The Arizona Board of Regents. Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excellent narrative resource for pregnancy

I am currently six months pregnant and am an avid reader- I have read and listened to so many books on pregnancy and birth, and this one is a nice change from the manuals. It brings a narrative approach and tells the full stories of three women’s pregnancies, their ups and downs. I felt it validating of my myriad experiences and feelings. I am also planning on giving birth at Andaluz Waterbirth Center in Portland, OR and so this spoke to me even more closely for that reason! There is also a lot of very fascinating history of birth in America. Well written and researched. Thank you, Rebecca!