Overview

Giving Birth is a groundbreaking documentary photography book that captures the intimate, authentic experience of women giving birth. First published in 1983 and now reissued, it remains a powerful giving birth book revealing the raw beauty of birthing a baby through black-and-white images and parents' reflections. Photographer Mary Motley Kalergis documents pregnant women giving birth in hospitals, homes, and birthing centers, offering a timeless portrait of the birth of a baby and the shared courage of mothers and families. This edition celebrates giving birth naturally and features powerful home birth photography, blending photojournalism and photographic essay style. Essential for readers interested in the cultural history of childbirth, natural childbirth books, women's studies, or feminist photography, Giving Birth continues Kalergis's acclaimed motherhood documentary work within the Building a Family series-preserving real birth stories and family photography that honor the truth of what it means to bring life into the world.

Full Product Details

9798999308948

Table of Contents

Reviews

"".... A colorblind, ageless encyclopedia of human relationships.Mary Motley Kalergis has created a book of words and photographs that breathes life because it is life."" - Cornell Capa, Founder & Executive Director, International Center of Photography, ""A stunning collection.... [The portraits] range from the joyous to the heart-rending."" - Chicago Tribune ""Each of the texts contains some emotional nugget, some hard-earned truth, that simplifies and releases something in the photograph."" - People Magazine ""An amazing cross-section.... A wide-angle view of American motherhood.... Kalergis seems to have taken pains to make her camera reflect the reality of each woman's life."" - Dallas Times Herald ""Every story is different, and every one is completely fascinating.... A beautiful book, one that any mother will cherish."" - Ashland [Kentucky] Sunday Independent ""It is part of her art to engage a wide range of people, to photograph not just their image but something of their essence, and present them to us with variety and clarity."" - John Casey National Book Award-winning author of Spartina

Author Information

Mary Motley Kalergis is an author, photographer and interviewer, whose work bears witness to the bonds that connect individuals, families, and communities.In addition to the five volume Building a Family series, Her published books include Foxhunters Speak (Derrydale Press), Considering Adoption (Atelerix Press), Love In Black & White (Dafina Books, Kensington Publishing), Charlottesville Portrait (Howell Press), Seen and Heard: Teenagers Talk About Their Lives (Stewart Tabori, & Chang), With This Ring: A Portrait of Marriage (The Chrysler Museum of Art), Home of the Brave (E.P. Dutton), Mother: A Collective Portrait (E.P. Dutton) and Giving Birth (Harper & Row.)Her photographs are featured in numerous anthologies and have been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. Photographs by Mary have also appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. Mary taught at The International Center of Photography in New York and has served as ""special stills"" photographer on movie sets including Long Walk Home, Heart's Lonely Hunter, Mommy Market and Cousin Bette.She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is currently working on her tenth book.

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