The Birth House
ABOUT
THE BOOK
The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.’s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
In an isolated village in Nova Scotia, Dora Rare becomes an apprentice to the local aged midwife. When the midwife disappears Dora becomes her successor; when Dr Thomas arrives with the option of pain free hygienic births, Dora struggles to defend a way of life. The author tells a wonderful story and presents a snapshot of a part of history with a great sense of place and time
Dora Rare, first girl in five generations of Rares comes to know the whole history and society of a Nova Scotia fishing Village in her work as midwife.