Oh Baby!
Judy Baer
Steeple Hill, Jun 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780373786190

In the Twin Cities, doula birthing coach Molly Cassidy is in high demand by pregnant women and their mates. Most will say it is because of her caring personality that makes her a popular health provider.

Obstetrician Dr. Clay Reynolds has just moved to town three months ago from California and already has a strong practice at the Bradshaw medical Center. However, when he hears all the females and many of the men swear by Molly, he is outraged. He does not believe a non-medically trained person should be offering assistance to women. Clay admits to himself he is attracted to Molly, who shares his feelings. However, their dispute over the role of a doula coaching pregnant women threatens to end their relationship before it begins.

This is an engaging contemporary romance that focuses on two people adamantly disagreeing over the merits of a doula birth coach. The story line is fun to follow, but perhaps a bit too long as the prime debate loses some of its argumentative freshness to redundancy. Still, with two fully developed, caring people falling in love, while arguing health care advice provided by a non-professional makes for an interesting look at what is acceptable, at a time when costs are skyrocketing and American's infant mortality rate is worse than that of Cuba.

Harriet Klausner