Burgess will sign her new book at the Park City Library, 1255 Park Ave., on Friday, July 10, at 2 p.m.

The author, who worked for 35 years as a clinical psychologist and is a retired lieutenant colonel veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said the book is about two institutions, midwifery and home birthing.

"The majority of people in the United States today were born at home," Burgess said. "Home birth has been with us since Adam and Eve and midwifery is one of the oldest known professions."

The idea for the book was partially inspired by the high infant mortality rate in the U.S.

"The United States has the 26th lowest infant mortality rate in the world," she said. "In these countries that have a lower mortality rate, women breast-feed, have home births or use a birthing center, where midwives are used extensively. The U.S. has a lot to learn from these other countries."

Birth, according to Burgess, is like a symphony.

"The baby is the composer and the mother knows the compositions and [becomes] the fine-tuned confidant," she said. "The mother is also the conductor and the midwife is her assistant."

The Park City Library, 1255 Park Ave., will present a book signing by Dr. Jessica Burgess, author of "The Midwife: A Biography of Laurine Ekstrom Kingston," on Friday, July 10, at 2 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 435-615-5600.