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as usual, almost entirely unheard-from” (p. 130). In the absence of documented maternal accounts of childbirth, those on the outside can only guess at what really happened in childbirth at any place or time, whether among a Polynesian tribe 1,000 years ago or in a North American hospital two days ago. I wrote this book on women’s reported childbirth expectations and experiences for the millions of women who, like the sitcom character, have endured childbirth with their voices unheard; I hope to alert readers to the critical need to treat birthing women of all persuasions decently and humanely.
Like all good stories, the mothers’ pregnancy-to-postpartum accounts contained in this volume make apparent the tremendous physical and psychic transformations of childbirth, along with its attendant joy, vigor, misery, and rage. Like the stories of women generations before that went unrecognized and unrecorded, my interviewees’ accounts contribute to the eternal tale of how humans come to be. Alongside the scientific information in this text, these mothers’ stories illustrate how society views motherhood more generally in this cultural time and space. In the name of continuing to better the lives of mothers, their offspring, and those who care for them, I hope this account inspires readers, whether they are mothers or not, to appreciate and celebrate the mothers in their lives and around the globe.