Books?

[pants]

So I reviewed the homebirth resources thread and I noticed a link for DVD's...But I didn't see anything for books.

Do you guys have any books you found helpful for ADVOCATING FOR HOMEBIRTH OVER HOSPITAL BIRTH? I'm looking at my why it's ok...not how to have a homebirth.

Also were you able to find these books in your local library or is it something that only a MW would have?

Thanks!!!

[*MamaJen*]

I really enjoyed Pushed by Jennifer Block. It's a very factual, scientific look at the current culture of hospital births. It's pretty readily available. Also, Your Best Birth by Rickki Lake doesn't advocate for homebirth, persay, but it's a good overview into hospital interventions.

[Bmorefarmgirl]

i like Your Best Birth too.

[Peace+Hope]

ina mae's guide to childbirth is great. i don't know that i've seen anything that "advocates" for birthing out of the hospital, but this book includes many birth stories, all of which are in home settings with midwives, and discusses natural, midwife attended labor and birth extensively. the assumtion is you are not birthing in a hospital...

i also periodically poke around mdc for articles. they are all organized by topic, homebirth being under pregnancy and birth on the home page.

i find it depends on where you live and the quality of your bookstores as to what you will find. but searching around MDC will certainly give you lots of titles to pick from, which you can order. i keep meaning to go to my library...

[*MamaJen*]

There's also a quite good professional paper, kind of a policy paper, called "Evidence Based Maternity Care: What it is and what it can achieve".
http://www.milbank.org/reports/0809M...rnityCare.html

[moonglowmama]

The other 2 I'd recommend are by Henci Goer, "Obstetric Myths vs. Research Realities" (my favorite) and "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth."

They are both a scientific look at the evidence regarding practices that are often routine in hospitals, but not related to increasing good outcomes for mothers and babies. I especially like the first one because it goes through item by item interventions. It is a little old now, but still a good read, and there is simply more research that confirms her analysis.

[pants]

awesome thanks ladies. Keep them coming. I'm seeing if our local library can order a few of these!