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The hottest titles at the ICM

The most popular items at the ICM were charts, videos and some of the new book titles.

There is no doubt that our series of “Giving Birth Charts” are unique - there are no other charts showing women upright birthing their babies, anywhere in the world. We had lots of interest in these beautiful charts.

The ACE Graphics Technical Series also proved very popular, especially the “Cascade of Intervention” char and many were bought with the express purpose of displaying them in labour wards, in front of doctor’s noses. This chart is also reproduced in “Preparing for Birth: Mothers” and the second edition of “The Midwife Companion - the art of support during birth”. It is important to have a consistent message across all the material that is used by midwives, and women.

In the Technical Series, we also take care to depict women in upright positions (see the Pelvic Floor Chart as an example). Almost all the other charts available from other suppliers around the world have women in recumbent, un-physiologic positions, signalling that women should be passive and compliant during birth, for the benefit of the caregivers. The “Progress in Labour” chart does not have any time indications for labour, also an important consideration.

We are working to produce these useful charts in a desk size format so use with individuals, rather than groups. We will let you know when they are available.

Amongst the videos, there was a lot of interest in Psalm and Zoya (available only on DVD) and also "Working under restraint: Monologues from the Delivery Room "(DVD only). The birth videos “Giving Birth, Being Born”, >“Inner Strength”, “Mila’s Journey” and “Birth Day” attracted a lot of interest. The first two have no spoken words in English, which is useful for those who just want images. “The Art of Birth” was also popular, especially for educators looking for lovely waterbirths on film. The inspirational short film “In a simple way a child is born” is now out of DVD, and the few copies that arrived in time for the Congress were snapped up instantly.

Amongst the books, some of the new titles sold like the proverbial hot cakes. The most popular were:

25 Ways to Awaken your Birth Power

Breech Birth - what are my options

Gentle Birth Method

To Mother with Love

Labour of Love

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Normal Childbirth Evidence and Debate

Water Labour Water Birth

The Water Birth Book

There was considerable interest in the launch of a new title at the ICM - “Midwives’ Tales”, but I will write more about this in a later entry.

Posted by andrea at August 03, 2005 11:24 AM