Ina May Gaskin is the author of the internationally renowned book Spiritual Midwifery.

  In 1970 she co-founded The Farm community in Summertown, Tennessee, with her husband, Stephen, and 250 other young people and brought worldwide attention to natural birthing. She is also the founder and director of The Farm Midwifery Centre, located on The Farm.

  To date, the midwifery centre has handled more than 2,200 births. In 1994 the American Journal of Public Health published the centre's statistics, noting that its low morbidity and mortality rates and its low rates of medical intervention in birth.

  Over the past three decades Ina May has lectured at midwifery conferences and medical schools around the world.

  In 1997 she received the ASPO/Lamaze Irwin Chabon Award and the Tennessee Perinatal Association Recognition Award.

  In 1999 a birthing technique popularised and taught by Ina May which she learned from indigenous Mayan midwives in the highlands of Guatemala - was officially recognised in obstetrical literature. The "Gaskin Maneuvre" is the first midwifery or obstetrical technique named after a woman.

  Ina May is a co-founder and past president of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA). She represents MANA at the Safe Motherhood Initiatives - USA coalition meetings and initiated the Safe Motherhood Quilt project in order to bring public awareness to the problem of avoidance maternal mortality.

  She is one of the creators of the consensus document of the Coalition to Improve Maternity Services (CIMS) and its Ten Steps to Mother-Friendly Birth Services. In 2002 she became a Visiting Fellow at Morse College, Yale University.

  She received her masters in English from Northern Illinois University in 1962, served in the Peace Corps from 1963 to 1965, and is a certified professional midwife. She continues to live on The Farm with her husband, Stephen


  Well known for the seminal work, Spiritual Midwifery, her new book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, is now available. It inspires women to take back the fear of childbirth by regaining confidence in their bodies and assuring them - your body still works!

Ina May's Books will be on sale the day of the Conference - why not treat yourself to a signed copy on the day.


Home Birth—Why It's Necessary

The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study

Summertown