This 'From Our Archives' article first appeared in Spirituality & Health's May/June 2011 issue. Alice Walker describes a teaching given to her by Sonbonfu Somé from the Daraga tribe of Burkina Faso in West Africa. Sonbonfu teaches that the most important thing in a person’s life is that he or she be properly welcomed to the world at the moment of birth. She says that newborn babies “bring spirit home.” Over the last 40 years in America, midwives like Geradine Simkins have helped reawaken us to the critical importance of such teachings. No longer does a “normal birth” mean a new mother awakens in a haze to discover that her baby is no longer inside of her. Today, often with the help of midwives, women are fully present while giving birth. Once again, women are able to share something that connects them to all mothers, past and future. Once again we recognize a simple truth: how one is born, and how one gives birth, matters deeply. This month Spirituality & Health proudly celebrates the wisdom of 25 of these modern pioneers with Into These Hands: Wisdom of Midwives, edited by Geraldine Simkins. The me …