Eve's Wisdom: Traditional Secrets of Pregnancy, Birth and Motherhood Book

Any mother or mother-to-be will know that there are many books available about pregnancy and motherhood--and here is another. Eve's Wisdom, however, is different and is a welcome antidote to the facts, figures and anatomical diagrams that bombard the pregnant woman. The author has gathered folklore, myth and traditional wisdom from around the world and woven them into a fascinating and informative book. Divided into six parts, it covers conception through to motherhood, and gives a picture of childbearing as the most special, yet the most universal, of life events. In the section entitled "Birth place, birth space", for example, we learn that in Japan and New Guinea birth traditionally takes place in a building separate from the home, while, for the Native American Navaho and the Basque people of Spain, it is traditional to give birth surrounded by community or family. Zulu women decorated the birthplace with carvings and beads, while in Thailand it is the custom to hang religious tokens to keep malevolent spirits away from the newly born baby. Mixing up this colourful array of customs and combining them with bright illustrations and a sensitive selection of quotations, proverbs and prayers allows an all-important message to emerge loud and clear: that there is no "correct" way to experience motherhood. The often playful suggestions of the author to "customise" certain aspects of some traditions (by making a "mother of twins" badge, for example, in the style of the Ewe women of West Africa) reinforces this idea throughout the book. By giving a taste of the diversity of approaches to birth, this book will surely inspire the mother to mother-to-be to follow her instincts and dare to be a little bit creative about the birth of her baby and her role as a mother. Published in hardback and with an attractively colourful format, Eve's Wisdom makes an ideal gift for the pregnant friend or family member and is bound to treasured and much read. --Dale EvansRead More