Ina May Gaskin visits Sarasota

I had the pleasure, along with a few of my favorite ladies of birth, to attend a panel discussion followed by a dinner with Ina May Gaskin. www.inamay.com

About Ina May:
Author - Well known for the seminal work, Spiritual Midwifery, her new book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, is now available. It inspires women to reduce the fear of childbirth by regaining confidence in their bodies and assuring them - your body still works!

Activist - Ina May transformed her observation of increasing maternal mortality in the U.S. into The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project, a national effort to honor those women who have died of pregnancy-related causes during the past twenty years and to draw public attention to the unchanging maternal death rate in this country.

Innovator - Ina May developed the Gaskin Maneuver. The first obstetrical maneuver to be named after a midwife, it embodies the essence of midwifery by using simple body movements to facilitate a difficult birth. Recently selected as a Visiting Fellow at Morse College of Yale University, Ina May continues to delight listeners by infusing her sharp command of birth research and statistics with a touch of the wry humor that punctuates her writing.


The panel discussed issues in fetal/maternal health in the Sarasota area. Discussing both strengths and areas that need improvement. Each speaker had a turn to discuss their thoughts, then opened discussion to guests.

Ina May discussed various issues, and covered the subjest of The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project (http://rememberthemothers.net/).

About the quilt:
The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project is a national effort developed to draw public attention to the current maternal death rates, as well as to the gross underreporting of maternal deaths in the United States, and to honor those women who have died of pregnancy-related causes since 1982.

The Quilt

The quilt is made up of individually designed squares; each one devoted to a woman in the U.S. who has died of pregnancy-related causes since 1982. One quilt square is designed and dedicated to each mother's memory and may mention the date and place of death and the name of the woman. The Safe Motherhood Quilt is the voice for women who can no longer speak for themselves.

To be honored and remembered on The Safe Motherhood Quilt:

The woman died as a result of a complication of pregnancy or birth
The woman's death occurred since 1982
The woman died within a calendar year after the end of her pregnancy (documented by an obituary, death certificate, relative's or witness' account).