"The Birth House" by Ami McKay

Diana picked this book for our book club to read this month. I had never heard of it before but I'm really glad she picked it. It's gotten a bit "baby crazy" around book club b/c at least 4 of us are actively trying to get pregnant (Diana is one of them).

"The Birth House" is set in the first part of the 20th century. Dora Rare is the main character. She is the only girl in a large family of Rare children. Her family doesn't know what to "do" with her b/c her father thinks she is around her brother's too much. He decides that she should go live elsewhere b/c of this. She goes to live with Miss Babineau who is the local midwife (that some people call a "witch"). Dora starts learning to be a midwife. Unfortunately everyone is not happy with this decision. A doctor has moved into the area and is pushing all the women to take advantage of the "new technology" in childbirth. What ensues shows the difficulty that women had during this time when everyone (their doctors, their husbands, their church, etc) tried to control their bodies.

A very good book. I give it 4 stars out of 4.