Product Description
When hospital-trained midwife Penny Armstrong takes on a job delivering the babies of the Amish, she discovers an approach to giving birth which would change her life forever. A Midwife's Story is a life-affirming book that never fails to enlighten, inform and surprise. Honest and ultimately very moving, it is inspirational reading for all student midwives and expectant parents.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 18 reviews)

Good for those interested in midwifery, homebirth, and Amish by HeatherHH

4 Stars
March 01, 2010
This book contains the recollections of a certified-nurse midwife who attended homebirths in the 1980s among the Amish in Lancaster County. The book is aptly names a "midwife's story," because it focuses on her experiences. Penny shares about how she became a midwife, about her initial training (in a very medicalized setting), about how she came to practice among the Amish and her views of birth changed, about her relationship with her boyfriend and then husband. There are a handful of birth stories shared that run the gamut of possibilites, but they are from Penny's perspective, sharing her experiences and insights. And there is a lot of information about the Amish, as their way of life was initially very foreign to Penny until she learned more about them and learned to better interact with their community. This book does not do much to try to convince the reader of the safety of homebirth or the need for less intervention. There is one side-by-side comparison of two different birth experiences. She mentions that her episotomy rate is very low compared to others, and we learn that she has one death for her first thousand births attended (a normal mortality rate). But no argument is made, not many statistics are cited. This book is not going to convince anyone with facts and arguments. It may appeal emotionally to someone questioning how birth should occur because it presents a very different picture of the way things can be (one woman in the book started having homebirths when "I realized what I was missing.). It's more written, however, for those who are already proponents of homebirth. A brief caution that early on when working in an hospital with many troubled patients there are a couple profanities, but none are present in the rest of the book. And, for those who might wonder, this book has no pictures of any kind, of births or otherwise. The tone of the book is very conversational, very casual. It is also rather episodic, a series of snapshots, or defining moments along Penny's path as a midwife. I think the book would have benefited from a bit more organization, and in my mind, this is one of the book's biggest weaknesses. That and the wish to have come across more birth stories with more detail and less on the midwife's thoughts and life story are what made me "like" this book (4-star) rather than "love" it. Still, it's a good book for those interested in homebirth, midwifery, and, to a lesser extent, in the Amish.

A midwife among the Amish by Lilac Lily (Florida, USA)

4 Stars
June 01, 2009
What a wonderful story. Penny Armstrong shares her experience as a midwife. She started out with a very traditional nursing education in the hospital setting. From there, she moved into a rural area where she delivered babies for the Amish. She does a wonderful job portaying the Amish and their belief system. As a matter of fact I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Amish. I would have wished for more detailed midwifery descriptions as in "The Baby Catcher". But she made up for that with her observations of how the medical community views (and sometimes even disrespects) laboring women and their choices. I found that very insightful and disturbing at the same time. Overall a great midwifery book!

Touching story by Roger Matthews

5 Stars
August 03, 2008
I'm an older guy, and I don't remember why I first read this story about 15 years ago, but I have read it every few years since, and I can never get through it without tears towards the end. It is a lovely and very touching inside view of a young woman's personal Odyssey through the rigors and perils of learning her art in Scotland to practicing it among the community of Amish in Pennsylvannia. I was at my wife's side when our two sons were born, perhaps that is why her story always touches me so. Penny's book has always been on my "A" list :).

As a midwife who did home births, I can tell you this is all true by Patricia Harman (morgantown wv)

5 Stars
June 26, 2008
Armstrong's and Feldman's book is outstanding. I would reccomend it to anyone thinking of having a baby. Listening to the stories about home birth in the Amish community will increase a woman's sense of confidence about her own body and give her faith in the natural process of birth. This is a classic. Every mother should own it.

Delightful!!! by P. Boyd

5 Stars
January 12, 2008
I am a self proclaimed doula and accidental midwife. This book spoke to my heart what I know to be true about birth but had no words for. The journey that Penny went through finally ending at a healthy respect for life and death...it was just beautiful. I enjoyed the stories of the Amish people and their ways and am challenged to look at the way I live. Excellent!

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