ann-marie giglio

What does childbirth feel like?

How will I know I'm in labor if I've never been in labor before?

What does a contraction feel like?

If you are pregnant for the first time, or if you work with mothers- and fathers-to-be, Labor Day may be the answer you are looking for.

In fact, Labor Day answers each question thirty-five different ways. Thirty-five storytellers, both mothers and fathers, share the details of their experiences in this collection. Each person has found words to describe the indescribable.

Labor Day tells stories of home births, hospital births, C-sections, underwater birth, births assisted by friends, midwives, doctors, and nurses.

All of the stories are inspiring and affirmative. And they show us that giving birth can be a transforming experience. In the end, we may find that actually giving birth had little or nothing to do with our expectations of labor.

In fact, what these stories show is that there is no one correct way to labor or to deliver a baby.

None of these stories is a recipe for birth. Rather, this collection of stories will resound as a symphony of possibilities, and readers will find strength and inspiration in them. These storytellers offer their support. They admit that yes, labor is difficult, but we can and do find our way.