When Survivors Give Birth
by Penny Simkin

Penny Simkin, well-known author, doula, childbirth educator and childbirth counselor, offers a gift to the maternity care community with this book, When Survivors Give Birth: Understanding and Healing the Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Childbearing Women. Just think about it for a minute...how could birth not bring up trauma for women who have been sexually abused? It makes alot of sense that not only do women who have been sexually abused need to consider how giving birth might trigger their past when they are about to give birth but care providers and family members need to have some skills with how to lovingly assist these women when they are pregnant.

After I read this book I put it down and thought plain and simply: Penny Simkin rocks. I thank her for BOLDly writing a BOLD that provides survivors and their maternity caregivers with extensive information on the prevalence and short- and long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse, emphasizing its possible impact on childbearing women.

To those of you who are unfamiliar with Penny Simkin's lifelong work I encourage you to read her other books, google her, take a workshop by her and learn from her sage teachings. We'll talk to Penny in a teleconference at the end of this month!

To join the BOLD Book Club click HERE.