Opinions on this book?

[Pandora114]

A Child is Born by Lennart Nilsson, Mirjam Furuhjelm. Axel Ingelman-Sundberg, and Claes Wirsen. ISBN 0-440-01266-X First English translation: 1966 Originally published in Sweedish in 1965.


Now, right off the bat, yes this book is old. Very very old. *giggle* But, I browsed through it, and except for the "routine" first internal and the purple on the back pushing.... I notice that they are pretty..umm...concurrent with todays low interventionist mentality. Like I noticed in a picture of the woman pushing and the crowning picture, NO episiotomy was given, and despite on the back purple pushing, the perinium (sp) was completely intact.

Pictures of feotal devellopment was pretty cool too...

So IYO: Is this book an oldie but goodie? Or should I just get another one?

[Hayes]

I thought it was beautiful, but I honestly never read it! I loved the photos and loved showing it to my odler children as well.

[velcromom]

I just got a copy of this a couple months ago. Ds and I really enjoyed looking at the photos the day we got it, and I pretty much only got it for that so I didn't care about the text, I did read it though and kinda chuckled a few times. If you are looking for a book with info on natural childbirth, Henci Goer's books are a zillion times more useful.

Now here's the thing. About a month after I got it I looked at the cover and said to myself, that placenta doesn't look right. Suddenly realized why. Have been too grossed out to look at the book since and really would like to get rid of it.

[Pandora114]

Originally Posted by velcromom

I just got a copy of this a couple months ago. Ds and I really enjoyed looking at the photos the day we got it, and I pretty much only got it for that so I didn't care about the text, I did read it though and kinda chuckled a few times. If you are looking for a book with info on natural childbirth, Henci Goer's books are a zillion times more useful.

Now here's the thing. About a month after I got it I looked at the cover and said to myself, that placenta doesn't look right. Suddenly realized why. Have been too grossed out to look at the book since and really would like to get rid of it.

Why doesn't the placenta look right?

:

[velcromom]

Ok this might not be a message that is positive for any moms trying to GIP.


I really hate to say it, and I'm trying not to say exactly what the photos seem like to me, but I noticed how pale it looked, and it's free floating... it's supposed to be attached and deeply colored... things just don't look right in those photographs.

I didn't like what I seemed to be seeing and pleaded with dh to convince me they had some kind of technology in 65 that could photograph healthy babies in utero. Um, from a distance, without including any other structures of the placenta or uterus or amniotic sac... I'd still be thrilled if someone came along and said, Oh yes, here's how they did it! and described a harmless photography method of documenting the development of healthy growing babies.

I know the pictures are very interesting and informative about prenatal development but...

[Shell_Ell]

I always wondered how they got the pictures. I had the book while I was pregnant but I sold it on Ebay.

[Pandora114]

I heard it was by fetoscope. Kinda like an endoscope but able to go into the uterus..

It does cause more miscarriages than an amnio

[2+twins]

I think velcromom's got it right. When I took my Bradley teacher training they showed a gestational video w/all this cool footage of the baby growing inside. Afterwards someone asked how they got those (this video is decades old - from the 70's I think but maybe even the 60's). They confirmed that these were babies *about* to be aborted. So I'm pretty sure that the pics in the book you're talking about (which I haven't actually seen) are along those lines.

[hopefulfaith]

I'm sad to hear that. I came on the thread to chime in...I bought the book last year to tell my husband I was pg with #1 - I bookmarked the page that showed a baby about the age ours was in utero and wrote inside "I thought you would want to see how our baby looks now" - he was shocked and surprised and it was a really fun way to tell him.

I'm sad now.

[courtenay_e]

This book was produced by the makers of the movie "The Miracle of Life" which was made by NOVA, who puts their stuff on PBS. The movie shows LIVE babies in utero, it follows sperm and egg from their release, to the fertilization, to the birth of the child. It' s my understanding that it was in pregnant women who intended to stay pregnant...the guy just studied pregnancy and recorded it...they did have the technology available, and it was certainly cutting edge at the time! I remember that my mom and dad showed me this movie when I was about four. There was a special showing of it on NOVA. Growing up I knew so much more about pregnancy and birth than my peers, and I felt so lucky! Of course, I knew all the answers in sex ed in junior high, and when the kids asked me how, niavely I told them...and earned myself the nickname of NOVA for the next two years. Nice.

Ahem. Anyway, I dont think the babies were harmed in this movie (or the book...they took stills from the movie for the book), I really don't.

[2+twins]

I don't know about the NOVA video but the one I was referring to is called Gestation: The first days of life. I think it was made in France.