Beautiful!

Announcing the arrival of Jennie Joseph's New Book: Beautiful! Images of Health, Joy and Vitality in Pregnancy and Birth.

"To me all pregnant women are beautiful, but maybe after having spent a lifetime working with them, I am somewhat biased. So why a book about Black pregnant women and babies specifically? Why not? Have you ever seen such a book? Amongst the plethora of "Omigod I'm (She's, We're) Having a Baby" books have you come across any uplifting or encouraging pregnancy photography books? There are many cute baby photo books, brimming with pictures of healthy, happy cherubs which touch and move us all, so much so that you don’t even have to be pregnant to enjoy them.

Consider this - those babies were able to reach their healthful status and full potential, to be the vibrant, joyful beings that they are and you perhaps bought in to the notion that women of all races have access to such bliss. Black women in the United States in recent years have been shown, statistically, to deliver early (premature), small (low birth weight) and/or unhealthy babies who are at risk of not even surviving their first year of life. I am not just talking about poor women either; college –educated, insured and affluent women of African descent are disproportionately included as well.

How could this be? Does it make any sense that the US should rank amongst the bottom tiers of industrialized nations when it comes to infant and maternal health and wellness. Remember 'birth is not an illness' so what on earth has happened here? Study after study attempts to find an answer to such outrageous and unusual disparities at the same time that the steady rise of obstetric interventions and surgical deliveries impact all of America's childbearing women and families. I say, "Stop the insanity!" Let’s step back a minute and re-assess what we are doing, let's remind ourselves of the normalcy, sanctity and empowerment of birth. Look at the positive images that you see in my book Beautiful! and be encouraged."

Jennie

This lovely book is an 8.5 x 11 sized, black and white photo book. Very inspirational and a great gift idea! A portion of each book sold goes to support Commonsense Childbirth Inc. - a non-profit organization.

Commonsense Childbirth has a mission to ensure access to timely maternity healthcare particularly for minority, low-income, uninsured, and under-insured women and to provide practical, social, educational and emotional support, resources and referrals as a means to improving the chances for a positive pregnancy outcome.

Excerpt from Beautiful!

"There is a way - The JJ Way™. I present these images to you so the women can tell their own stories, without words. See if you can see what I see; that indeed in America today, every woman does want a healthy baby and every woman absolutely CAN have one." Jennie Joseph