Turning to Home Birth

For thousands of years, humans were born at home, surrounded by family and friends and assisted by midwives. Only within the last century has childbirth moved to the hospital sphere, where it is increasingly governed by rigid medical protocols, insurance and liability costs, and harmful notions of risk, pain, and female strength. Yet technological advancements haven’t helped modern parents: Skyrocketing rates of synthetic intervention, birth trauma, and postpartum depression now characterize childbirth throughout much of the developed world. 

Room of Wonders is for readers seeking safe, evidence-based alternatives to conventional hospital birth. In this collection of interviews, profiles, and birth stories, leading midwives, doulas, obstetricians, scholars, and ordinary parents explore the benefits, challenges, and logistics of home birth.

Room of Wonders was compiled and edited by Kate McCahill, a Santa Fe-based writer and educator. The book will be released in Spring 2027 by the Santa Fe Writers Project, an eclectic indie press with global distribution.