Books on c section

[Matilda30]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend any books on c sections? I like the look of Caesarean Birth by Leigh East but it was published in 2011 and wondered if any of it might be outdated. Thanks

[RedToothBrush]

I have the Leigh East book. I don't think any of it is really outdated. I found it covered most bases. Its a decent book especially if you don't know a lot its worth getting.

I think its a good book to start off with, with has chapters depending on whether a cs is your preferred option or whether you might be disappointed to have a cs. Its very balanced and neutral in tone and presents things in one of the least biased ways I've seen anywhere.

However in saying that I felt there were things that could have been included but weren't. The biggest omission that I think could have been helpful were options about painful immediately after surgery (there is nothing about having a suppository which is fairly standard, and may well be important to woman to know about). I think there were others (its been a while since I read, but I don't think it talks about vitamin K injection or delayed cord clamping. I think these were things that at the time of publication were around but I'm not 100%).

I personally found that reading threads on MN (or if you are so inclined asking questions), also threw up a lot of additional information I was keen to know. Whether these were things that a book can cover I'm not sure.

If you want something that's practical, I think its probably about the best on the market.

If you want something that's more about the politics, and comes from a pro-cs position, then 'Choosing Cesarean: A Natural Birth Plan' by Pauline Hull is the one for you. It also has a lot of stuff about CS v VB if you are looking to compare the two. Its good for making a case for an ELCS and teaches you how to critically look at some of the research and statistics out there. It does at time fall foul of its own criticisms by not being as unbiased in its interpretation of research as it could be, but if you learn from it how to spot weaknesses in research findings and cast a critical eye yourself, its enlightening.

There is nothing else similar.

Both books were published around the time of the current NICE guidelines being published (although the Guidelines were released in Nov 2011, they were open for public consultation from the August) and they are still current until 2016 at the earliest so there isn't too much that has drastically changed still they came out.

I genuinely don't think there any books specifically for CS that are better out there.

[Matilda30]

Thanks! It's been ordered!