by Suzanne Arms “Immaculate Deception”, was the first book ever to examine the American Way of Birth. It was a named a Best Buy of the Year by the New York Times, sold over 225,000 copies in the first few years. Copies were passed from hand-to-hand it and was read by millions in the next decades. This, the sequel, has been transformative in the lives of another generation of women, men, parents, educators and health professionals. If you are only going to read one book about birth, to give both a deep sense of what it means to be born and to give birth, and also want an overview of why we do what we do in North America and how other modern countries do it differently, this is it. Included are fascinating chapters on current beliefs and practices, modern myths versus current scientific evidence, ancient wisdom and practices and how to create the best possible birth. Read about infant feeding, circumcision, bonding, and the new field of prenatal and perinatal ... read more

by Suzanne Arms

“Immaculate Deception”, was the first book ever to examine the American Way of Birth. It was a named a Best Buy of the Year by the New York Times, sold over 225,000 copies in the first few years. Copies were passed from hand-to-hand it and was read by millions in the next decades. This, the sequel, has been transformative in the lives of another generation of women, men, parents, educators and health professionals.

If you are only going to read one book about birth, to give both a deep sense of what it means to be born and to give birth, and also want an overview of why we do what we do in North America and how other modern countries do it differently, this is it. Included are fascinating chapters on current beliefs and practices, modern myths versus current scientific evidence, ancient wisdom and practices and how to create the best possible birth. Read about infant feeding, circumcision, bonding, and the new field of prenatal and perinatal psychology.

There are over 250 stunning photographs and photo essays by the author, who is also renowned for her photojournalism, plus a dozen stories that will inspire you, whatever your age or interest.

What People Are Saying About Immaculate Deception II: Myth, Magic & Birth:

This book is a treasure! Suzanne Arms tells the truth about modern childbirth and mother-baby care—and she does it with great clarity and compassion.

—Christiane Northrup MD Obstetrician

We have made of birth a disease state. We must restore its natural beauty and wholeness and be in awe of the process. Suzanne Arms has written a marvelous resource for all parents and health professionals. As a visual person and artist, I especially love the photographs—they are worth a million words.

—Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine & Miracles

This book changed the way I look at birth and what I, a health professional, have considered sacred. Suzanne Arms has touched my soul.

—Eileen Owen-Williams, RN, FNP, CNM midwife

Immaculate Deception I spurred a revolution in the 1970s. Here is a powerful new vision for this millennium.

—Elizabeth Davis, Midwife/Educator and author

The ideas in this book are essential for the healing of the world, enabling humans to sense, think, feel and act as interdependent and interconnected with each other and the whole community of life on this planet.

—Sara A. Conn, PhD, The Center for Psychology and Social Change at Harvard

People often say, ‘What got you into midwifery?’ My nephew was born by cesarean—and I knew it was an unnecessary cesarean because I was just starting work as a labor and delivery nurse at that hospital. I remember complaining to one of the nurses who was training me about that birth and she handed me a book called ‘Immaculate Deception’. That was 1987. Reading that book started it all.

—Karen Maschue, LPN 17 year hospital obstetric and newborn nurse

My sociology students—beginning and advanced level—give great praise for how this book opens their eyes to problems and possibilities in birth they never knew existed.

—Robbie Pfeufer Kahn, PdD, sociology professor, University of Vermont

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my older sister gave me a copy of Immaculate Deception. I was only 14 and had never given childbirth a thought and didn’t even fantasize about having children. But that book made an impression on me. I knew from then on that when I did become pregnant I would have a homebirth and a midwife. From my first home birth I began a slow movement into midwifery.

People often ask me ‘What made you want to be a midwife?’ The spark that I trace my work back to was my sister’s insisting that I read Immaculate Deception when I was just 14 years old

—Alison Parra, midwife, Mexico

I started college at 15 and I went into premed, thinking I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. A male friend of mine gave me a copy of Spiritual Midwifery. Then I ran across a copy of Immaculate Deception in a bookstore. Not long after my boyfriend gave me a copy of a paper called the Perinatal Roots of War by Stan Grof. As a result of these readings I left college at 16 to become a midwife.

—Aviva Jill Romm, CPM Midwife

What Immaculate Deception did for me was to crack my world open. Pregnant with my first baby, I needed it.

—Nikki Lee RN, MSN, IBCLC, CIMI Mother of 2, craniosacral therapy practitioner

I was a childbirth instructor years ago and my daughter grew up hearing about childbirth, but always saying, “That’s your thing, Mom, not mine.” Now she is 28, happily married and expecting her first child. Of course, I wanted to share all my knowledge with her without overwhelming her, wanting her to experience a wonderful birth, yet at the same time not wanting to overstep my boundaries. So I mentioned a birth center in her area, and she said, “Mom, that might be what you would do, but not me.” So I let it go and simply said, “Honey, will you at least read this book?” and gave her Immaculate Deception II.

To make a long story short, she has done a complete turn around, switched doctors three times, and now has a midwife and a doula and is having the baby at her local birth center. She said, out of all the books she read, Immaculate Deception II helped her the most. Thank you, Suzanne, not just for my generation—which was educated through your knowledge—but now seeing first hand the next generation benefiting it.

—From a new grandmother-to-be

Immaculate Deception II is the best book I’ve ever read. Ever. I am going to recommend it to every single one of my friends, whether they plan to have a baby or not. Suzanne Arms really did a wonderful job explaining everything. I think I am going to start reading it again, even though I just finished it. Thank you, Suzanne, you have changed the world for the better, and you must be proud.

—Gayla, a first time mom-to-be