Birth Reading « Back to Group Discussions

[lactomom]

With my first pregnancy I did very little reading and had a traumatic birth experience. My second pregnancy I read so much and my birth was beautiful! Of course the reading material and the place of birth made a huge difference for me too.

I plan to do tons of reading this time too. Most of it will be rereading books from last time such as "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth"; "Childbirth without Fear"; "Hypnobirthing"; and "Birthing the Easy Way". I have several new books to add this time "Spiritual Midwifery"; "Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year"; "Hearts and Hands" and possibly a few more.

What are you reading? 

[MaerynPearl]

"The Birth Partner"

It's geared towards Doulas and the mothers significant other or anyone they want in the birthing room but OMG it helps so much just being the mother.

It goes over, in great detail, what happens and why in all stages of the birth, how to tell what stage you are in by symptoms, things to do to pass the time that wont annoy the crap out of laboring mommy, lots of GREAT suggestions like "do not ask the mom a question when she is in the middle of a contraction. It can wait." and of course tons and tons of positions to birth in (how to do them safely without risking falling over, how your partner can help) as well as methods of pain relief (both completely natural and medicated with all of the info on each drug, when it is given, how it works, what it does, etc.) there's even a section on c-sections... because you never know, even if it's not a planned c-section you could end up with an emergency one, it's always good to go over that with your partner as well "if this happens to us, this is what I want you to do" sort of things.

There IS a section on things that can go wrong, I highly suggest avoiding that one if you tend to be a worry wart, but then you have it there to help you if it happens. 

[lactomom]

I have that book also. I'm so glad it was so helpful for you. It was defiantly not a book that I fell in love with, though I do take it with me to births I attend. 

[MaerynPearl]

I think it helped the most because I freak out if I don't know what's going on... and it went into detail of what is going on and why, rather than just saying "oh it's going to feel like this..."

I'm also the sort of person who has to look up every single detail about anything she's ever diagnosed with just to understand it fully. That was TONS of fun with the bipolar, ugh.

[lactomom]

I can relate! I'm one of those people too. My birth philosophy and that book just didn't mix, just personal preference and differences. It does have some great info. 

[WendyJo410]

Great thread! I recommend "Ina May's Guide" to every single mother thinking she wants to get pregnant, is pregnant, or has someone in their family that is pregnant. It's such a great reminder that - our bodies are made to do this naturally, 10000's of women give birth without interventions when given the correct support, nutrition, etc. I love this book.

I did read Spiritual Midwifery. A little bit too "peace, love, wave our hands in the air, floating on magic clouds while contractions are happening" for me. I agree that birth can be a bit of an out of body experience and trippy for some women, but there's a few stories in there where the women are looking down on themselves laboring. (Supposedly no one was smoking anything, but it seems a little odd)

I've read the Birth Partner, and I think it's a pretty good read.

The other book I really recommend is Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering. Sarah J. Buckley is an Australian doctor that has homebirths and is very supportive of women who are medically minded to choose this path. It's awesome, amazing, and spoke to me on a variety of levels. What I love most about it is that it goes through so many of the choices mothers have to face... and gives pros and cons of each. For example, before reading this book, I didn't think that there was anything negative to ultrasounds at all. What's the big deal? Everyone gets them, right?! In her book, she explains how great midwives can typically 'feel' more than the ultrasound can 'see' - and if it's such things are heart defects, etc., they can hear this too. Plus, the noise level that ultrasounds introduce to the fetus can be deafening (and some children with higher ultrasound rates have significant hearing loss through their first 1-2 years). If you're getting just one ultrasound, it's understandable... but if there's no emergency pointing to need an ultrasound - then it's really unnecessary! That's just one of the many topics in there, and she also goes through her birth stories... Love this book.  I'm going to look for more things from her to read this pregnancy.

[lactomom]

Absolutely WendyJo410! I had no ultrasounds with my second pregnancy, and this baby probably won't have one either (unless I feel the need). I need to get my hands on that book. It sound like it would be a good fit for me. 

[WendyJo410]

lactomom -  I just downloaded her book "Ecstatic Birth" for free from her website. Here's the link: http://www.sarahbuckley.com/ I would offer to loan you Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, but I borrowed it from the library the first time around. I almost want to have it in my arsenal moving forward. Enjoy!

[MujerMamaMismo]

I always recommend Ina May's Guide... to all my clients. (I'm a doula)
I also really like Henci Goer's - The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth - particularly for hospital birthers as it goes through all the interventions and all the possible side effects etc.
Birthing from Within has some awesome tools in it and really helps women frame their birth in terms of 'being in awareness' - I find this particularly useful for women when their births don't go as planned.
I love love love Sarah Buckley. I'm in Australia and have seen her speak a few times now. She's a beautiful person.

I'm constantly reading about birth and am pretty familiar with most of the current crop of books. To prepare for this upcoming birth, I plan on re-reading Michel Odent's Birth Reborn. I am also planning to read Pam England's follow up to Birthing from Within, Labyrinth of Birth.

I love birth books!

[WendyJo410]

I'm a HUGE fan of Michael Odent, but I've never read anything by him. Every time I watch Business of Being Born or Guerrilla Midwife - it seems as though the words that come out of his mouth are the ultimate truth in birth, our bodies, and how the world should work. Thanks for the suggestion!

[lactomom]

Looks like I have more reading to do than I thought! 

[taurustheta]

I absolutely loved Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent.

[BeachLove]

Ina May's books, of course! Even "Spiritual Midwifery" with all it's drawings of fairies sitting on mushrooms and descriptions in which everyone at the birth felt "high", was a really good read - just keep a sense of humor about the context in which it was written!

Grantly Dick-Read's "Childbirth Without Fear" is the book that made me decide to try for a natural birth with my first. It just happened to be the only "natural childbirth" book that my library had on the day I was there (I also did pitifully little reading before my first child's birth).

I recently read "Painless Childbirth" by Giuditta Tornetta and it was pretty good. It has a definite spiritual bent to it, but some insightful ideas.

I just started reading "Orgasmic Birth" last night. I'll let you all know what I think in the end!

[lactomom]

I'm enjoying Spiritual Midwifery so far. I haven't had much time to read this week (bummer). But we are leaving my folks today and going to my in-laws. I should have more time to read there. 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

I was a birth doula for over 5 years, and now work at a Midwifes office wearing many many hats (office manager, birth/postpartum doula, placenta encapsulator, student midwife...when i have the time). I have read soooo many books, that i think this time im just not going to overwhelm myself. I had a succesful VBAC at home the last time. We are planning a homebirth again. Perhaps just re read the Ina May books. I think positive birth stories are always good to read. I have borrowed a few books on herbs and pregnancy from the office.

My favorite book to read, for all my births has been Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives by Deepak Chopra. I feel we are surrounded with too much "stuff" that we think we need for birth...that we forget to tap into ourselves, spend time listening to our bodies and learning to trust it. Its one of the best tools you can have during pregnancy/labor/birth.

[lactomom]

Originally Posted by ThreeLittleBirds 

I feel we are surrounded with too much "stuff" that we think we need for birth...that we forget to tap into ourselves, spend time listening to our bodies and learning to trust it. Its one of the best tools you can have during pregnancy/labor/birth.

So true!

[stegenrae]

When we were surprised by our first pregnancy 7 yrs ago, dh and I sat down in front of the computer and logged onto the library website. I told him to look up birth books, as I'd never really thought much about it. We have a huge public library system, and for some reason, the only book that jumped out at me was Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. The name Ina May just seemed to convey wisdom of age and experience, and the title just seemed so straightforward, no BS. I'm so incredibly grateful for that whisper from the universe; the values within it meshed with mine perfectly, and it was scientific enough to not be hokey. (I didn't read Spiritual Midwifery until my 2nd pregnancy, and I'm glad it wasn't part of my reference for the first, lol.) We took Bradley classes, and I think dh read about the first 1/2 of Husband-Coached Childbirth, but that was it for #1. 

With #2, I read tons more including Gentle Birth (with a DVD, too) and Active Birth--both of which I read less than a week before my EDD. I have fast labors (5h for 1st, 2h for 2nd). I actually used the teeny blurbs in Active Birth about how to slow down a precipitous labor, though I'm not certain how much time I gained. At least my "pool" was filled, I guess... 

I'm  not sure which books I'll re-read this time around...

[WendyJo410]

Has anyone read "Adventures in Tandem Nursing"? I think I'd like to purchase that one!

[tolovemercy]

Originally Posted by stegenrae 

With #2, I read tons more including Gentle Birth (with a DVD, too) and Active Birth--both of which I read less than a week before my EDD. I have fast labors (5h for 1st, 2h for 2nd). I actually used the teeny blurbs in Active Birth about how to slow down a precipitous labor, though I'm not certain how much time I gained. At least my "pool" was filled, I guess... 

I'm  not sure which books I'll re-read this time around...

Also read and loved Active Birth with my first.  Though my labor was long.  Really good read.

[lactomom]

Originally Posted by WendyJo410 

Has anyone read "Adventures in Tandem Nursing"? I think I'd like to purchase that one!

I haven't, but it is on my read list too!