A: The History of Birth, Understanding the point we find ourselves in now...

• Feldhusen, Adrian E. "The History of Midwifery and Childbirth - A Time Line." Midwifery Today - Pregnancy, Birth, Homebirth and Midwife Information. 2000. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.

A break down of birth from as early as 1660 to 1997. Gives both historical and statistical facts on everything that directly has a correlation to birth and everything that has had a significant effect on birth. Coherently makes a tie between how different points in history all have a connection to the state we find ourselves in now. While evaluating a topic presently being disputed about it is important to understand exactly how a situation came to be.

• The Business of Being Born. Dir. Abby Epstein. 2008. Film.

A insightful documentary that unveils the problems faced today in the birth world. In contrast however, looks back on more recent history to understand fully why pain is such an issue when it comes to labor. More specifically though shows a deep contrast between the options or lack of options women are given in the delivery room, truth that usually doesn't seem to arise in the surface.

• Epstein, Randi Hutter. Get Me Out: a History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank. New York: Norton, 2010. Print.

A book that looks back hundreds of years and in a five part structure ties all of what has happened up until this point together. Although Hutter discusses some eye opening information it is done in a very comical way, making it easy to processed and understand. This is quite relevant considering many people often give up if something isn't comprehensible.

• "Women and Medicine in the Middle Ages & Renaissance." Dave's Den. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .

Although this article is general in the sense that it discusses more than just childbirth, it does hit upon interesting ideas around labor. There is a great amount of information discussing how women were positioned while giving birth and who was with them throughout the birth.

• "Unassisted Childbirth in the 1950's." Bornfree! Laura Shanley's Unassisted Childbirth Page. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .

A blog type website which list birth stories, that literally made headlines in the 1950's. The whole natural birthing has been raising eyebrows for quite some time now, these newspaper clippings show how "normal" criticizes anything unordinary.

• Selin, Helaine, and Pamela Kendall. Stone. Childbirth across Cultures: Ideas and Practices of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Postpartum. Dordrecht: Springer Verlag, 2009. Print.

A contrast of how different cultures approach childbirth and a look into how evolution has shaped this. A deeper understanding that regardless of where you are on this planet, birth is a universal ability and connection.

• "Mortality, Childbirth - World, Body, Life, History, Cause, Rate, Time, Human, Global Variation in Maternal Mortality, Causes of Maternal Mortality around the World."Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .

Specific statistics and facts of how mortality in childbirth has changed over time. While also touching upon causes of death and the trends seen throughout different cultures.

• I will also be interviewing my friend Abby's mother who is a doula. She will be answering questions on why she believes we are in the state of today.

B:

After gathering all of my evidence I will turn it into a research based paper that discusses the many aspects around the history of childbirth. In order to move forward and make a change/difference in the world one needs to fully understand the history behind the specific subject. If I can take all of the information and find connections between different points in time it will bring me to a better understanding as to exactly how childbirth has turned into something cruel and unsatisfying. By enlightening myself and anyone who reads my essay, I will make a change because personally I know what is happening now isn't normal, and change can start with one person. Furthermore I want to see how "normal" has shifted or really just come in full circle when it comes to labor. By informing myself at a deeper level I will have the ability to be an expert and pass along this information to make a better choice.