If knowledge is empowering, then Our Bodies, Ourselves is the definitive resource for empowering women. Since the publication of its first version more than 35 years ago, this book has been providing women important information regarding their health. Our Bodies, Ourselves is written by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, a nonprofit organization committed to educating women about health, sexuality, and reproduction. Although the focus of the book is to offer information to women outside the medical field, midwives will also find this book to be a helpful resource.

This new edition provides up-to-the-minute information in a way that is interesting to read as well as easy to understand for all women, from adolescence to old age. The information is well researched (and referenced) by the authors, and experts in the field review each topic. Our Bodies, Ourselves doesn’t just focus on specific medical issues, such as vaginitis or menstrual disorders (although it does this very well), but the book also examines political issues that impact women’s health, such as the effect of advertising on body image, overcoming health disparities for women of color and poor and uneducated women, and how to deal with end-of-life issues.

The book includes a chapter on complementary health practices, which discusses everything from acupuncture to T’ai Chi, although there is little information regarding specific types of herbs, their uses, or side effects. The chapter on environmental and occupational health issues is a comprehensive overview of the evidence suggesting that where women live and work may affect their health. The editor organized the information into a table of “Hazards at Work,” “Hazards at Home,” and “Hazards in the Community” and what to do to limit or reduce exposure to these dangerous environmental contaminants. There is an excellent table on “Sex and Disability,” which reviews the effect of a variety of disabilities on an individual’s sexuality. Helpful hints and special implications for birth control methods are also discussed for each disability. The illustrated tour of female sexual anatomy is an excellent resource when discussing with patients information about the menstrual cycle, or birth control options, such as the intrauterine device, the diaphragm, or the NuvaRing. There is also a well-balanced overview of postmenopausal hormone therapy, including information regarding the results of the Women’s Health Initiative study.

The authors use personal stories to help the reader to connect to their own individual experiences throughout the text. For example, Marlene tells about her experience of being an HIV-positive female due to a rape; Jessica talks about her trip to China to adopt a baby; and Mary shares her struggle with pregnancy losses. Also in the chapter on childbirth, there are many stories about women’s birthing experiences in hospitals, birthing centers, and at home with both midwives and doctors. The authors also offer suggestions for questions that women should ask when choosing a midwife or doctor for their obstetric care.

The book deals unflinchingly with issues such as domestic violence and abortion. Several of the photographs in the book are gruesome, including one of a victim whose boyfriend drove over her in his truck leaving tire marks across her chest. Another is of a woman who bled to death on a motel floor in 1964 after a botched abortion attempt.

There are several tables throughout the book that are specifically useful for the midwife in clinical practice. One is “Comparing Birth Control Methods,” which shows the effectiveness, whether it offers sexually transmitted infection protection, the average cost, and the cost per year for each method of contraception. Other tables include common postpartum emotional problems; an overview of major bacterial and viral sexually transmitted infections; diabetic drugs, what they do, and risk and side effects associated with each type of drug; and factors in cardiovascular disease that can and cannot be changed.

This book has been translated into more than 20 languages including Japanese and Bulgarian. It is an excellent resource for all women. It is not a medical text that provides information regarding management of various gynecologic disorders, but rather, it is a holistic overview of many social, emotional, and political issues that affect women’s health.