Background -- Prenatal meditation -- Childbirth in the human energy system -- Pregnancy as a path of human development and evolution -- The calm birth method -- Calm births -- Calm mother practices: empowering postnatal care -- New childbirth medicine -- The evolution of mind-body practice in obstetrics -- Toward a new era of childbirth education

The "trauma of childbirth" is a commonly heard phrase, but one that Calm Birth authoritatively counters. Beginning with a history of the repression of women as midwives and healers and a look at the lingering legacy of that time, the book shows how to restore childbirth to its sacred status. Calm Birth combines three proven practices that together create a powerful new approach. These practices--relaxation, meditation, and healing--combine with current scientific knowledge to nurture the expectant mother's natural ability to give birth in true harmony with her body and with her infant. The book contextualizes the multilayered Calm Birth method within the existing literature of mind/body medicine and meditation science, as well as the meditation traditions from which two of the methods originate. The author complements the thoughts of renowned experts including Carlos Castaneda and Carolyn Myss with eight inspiring case studies of women who have experienced calm births. With 25% new material, this revised edition contains an introduction by Sadra Bardsley, updated research in the fields of meditation, birth, and the prenatal period, two new birth stories, three new chapters, and new photo documentation