Every good cause needs an inspirational icon - that all-knowing, omnipresent figurehead with just the right amount of elevated expertise and popular appeal. For homebirthers, that icon is Ina May Gaskin.
Don't worry if you've never heard of her. Most people outside the natural birth world aren't aware of the Farm midwife and original homebirth crusader. But to homebirthers, Ina May as we call her (as though we know her personally) has reached goddess-like proportions. When she speaks, we hang on every perfectly uttered word. When she writes, we buy multiple copies of Spiritual Midwifery so we can give them to expectant friends, keep one for ourselves, have another in our lending library...
When she makes appearances, we flock to meet her so she can bestow upon us encouragement and empowerment in peppery aphorisms like "Your body is not a lemon" and “Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.” Who can't get jazzed up about natural birth after reading affirmations like that?
She's completely likable with her fluffy gray hair and frumpy dresses, sort of like your grandma if your grandma were a tough-as-nails ex-hippie willing to talk shit about the medical industry while empowering generations of women to take back control of their bodies.
So yeah, we worship Ina May. We buy her books. We post her quotes on our Facebook pages and create whole Web sites dedicated to her words. And we pay homage in cheesy photo collages. Ina May - we heart you.
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