Best book on childbirth

[IWishIWasAFrog]

Hi,

Could anyone recommend a book on childbirth please? Had a look on Amazon, but there are loads! Can't buy them all! Which is the best one? Am 30+4, hoping for a homebirth in Sept, first baby! I read Michael Odent's book, but it doesn't relly tell you HOW to do it, iykwim.

TIA

Another vote for Ina May Gaskin. Especially if you are planning a homebirth - her book will fill you with confidence, and it's written in an easy-to-read style.

Grantly Dick-Read's book is fascinating, but a bit harder-going to read.

Marie Mongan's book also excellent - although if you are interested in Hypnobirthing I recommend doing the course!

DEFINITELY join your library - I have had the first two books out of my library for months, and got the third free as part of the Hypnobirthing course.

I would advise DO NOT go to the Library!

When I was pg I got out loads of books. I idn't know it but most of the infor was either either American or completely out of date, so unless you're in the US is irrelevant. The Stoppard was out-dated.

So, choose something that's being recommended by mners, but sure that whatever you buy was published within, say, the past year.

If you are after facts, this website/book is good

www.birth.com.au/

(although it's changed somewhat since I last looked at it - more advertising to wade past).

The book is basically a print out of the website - a hefty volume but worth a read. Or go for the free option and just read your way through the website (free up funds for something else you fance). You will need to ignore the bit about medical provision though as it's aimed at and Australian audience and hence mentions stuff like the flying doctor service.

I found Blooming Birth: How to Get the Pregnancy and Birth You Want really useful in terms of understanding choices available.

Mind you I gave birth in Spain where the only pain relief available is an epidural and intervention rates are very high and having read this book helped me understand what those things could mean for me.

Thanks all! Think I'll start with Ina May Gaskin and Stand and Deliver!

Frog.

LOL at tearinghairout's comment "make sure that whatever you buy was published within, say, the past year"!!!

Am intruigued as to how childbirth has changed in last year compared to previous years? Mind you all my reading has been about natural childbirth so maybe medicalised birth has changed.

Also, I am pretty sure Grantly Dick-Read is dead (his book was published in 1950's) so if might be hard to get a version of his book published in the last year. However this doesn't make his book any less interesting or relevant!

Ina May is American - but fortunately the female anatomy seems to be roughly similar in Britain so her advice and positivity should still apply - not sure how "so unless you're in the US is irrelevant" fits in...???

actually you'd be surprised

medicalised birth (and hence the birth culture in general as most birth is medicalised these days) does change rapidly and radically

As a 'high risk' woman who knew I would be forced to give birth in hospital lots of the info I found most useful wasn't about what your body does but about what you can expect the doctors / mws / hospital staff to do.

hence the US books that have whole chapters on (eg) 'How To Choose Your OB-GYN and Paediatrician', or old British books with sections on 'How To Cope With Your Week In Hospital' may be interesting period pieces but not be quite as relevant as up-to-date ones.

I say again - for really relevant NHS stuff, the NHS book is good.

stand and deliver is excellent IME and Sheila Kitzinger's book is fab ...

i have been given some good advice here

Mrs Badger - I agree it really is useful to understand what will happen if you give birth in hospital. Even if you plan a home birth you never know what might happen and you might have to go to hospital.

And things do change and are different country to country. Spain is about 30 years behind in their attitude to childbirth and so you just do not have the choices that you have in the UK or other countries.

I felt the blooming birth book was good because it didn't promote one choice over another. It presented the facts about the physical process and facts about the medical care. It also talks about the consequences of choices too.

It has a chapter on second time around and also a chapter for dads.

I also vote for Expecting by Anna McGrail and Daphne Metland, very straighforward and calm and comforting, and no in-your-face colour photos showing how big your nipples are going to get on every second page. The tone is 'well, you might like to try this, there's evidence to say this is quite good, and don't worry if you haven't done this'.

I have been avoiding What to Expect... as the bits I've read have been so awful, but am now wishing I had it so that I could demand DP brings me in muffin in bed every time I can't sleep. Anna and Daphne don't mention that and it could be where we're going wrong.

Ina May is very good for telling you what female bodies are capable of, and that you can actually get a baby out of your vagina - I started to understand what our bodies do in labour after reading that, it wasn't going in at all before, despite having read other stuff. Inspiring, even if you don't want to do it in a rural commune in Tennessee.

"I've been rubbish at practicing the breathing techniques, but even without that it's a really nice book and have found it very calming and reassuring. "

PRACTICE!

Maire Mongon book good, even better if you can afford the course.

Stand and Deliver - shit.

I consider myself told!

Sorry I am a little bit evangelical about the breathing which got me to 8cm at home with just tea and paracetamol. The actual hynosis was rubbish

ceebie - hospital procedures change. I read loads of stuff, and then was surprised that it wasn't how I expected it to be - "Oh, we stopped that ten years ago".

I also scared myself shitless with some of the 'intervention' stuff (I was having twins)which turned out to refer to the US and was totally irrelevant. IMO it's better not to read anything than to read stuff that's out of date.

Blooming Birth- can't remember who by but gave an all angles approach.

Another vote here for Ina May. She got me through both my labours. Wonderful.

Don't read Kate Figes - I started it when I was pg and had to hide it as it scared me so much.

If you're planning on having a birthing pool, I recommend Janet Balaskas' book on water birth which IIRC has lots of interesting recent research on how your hormones come into play during labour.

Ha ha ha. I'm another one who put 'What to Expect' out with the recycling. I didn't even get to the bit on labour - I'd been so annoyed by the pregnancy diet.

It was so blooming hysterical. Everything was going to harm you/your baby/both. The whole tone was "Crossing the road may not harm your baby, but why take the risk? Why not stay in the house for nine months?"

Ina May again, she is fantastic....spiritual midwifery
another book that really helped me was a MN"s one, a collection of very helpful information think it was called Mums on Pregnancy it was great, hdn"t heard of MN before that

Sorry I read about the first 20 pages of hypno birthing and that was it, not cause it was crap but cause I had the baby

Went to 2 different classes which I found both to be a bit good and a bit bad.

Oh and watched lots of babes in the wood etc

Pat Thomas's 'Your Birth Rights' is great if you are considering a home birth because it tells you what your rights are. I enjoyed Stand and Deliver, but this one was much more useful.

Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's guide to childbirth, both by Ina May Gaskin. I cannot , cannot recommend them enough. If you don't like all the hippy stuff, the books remind you that childbirth can be an exhilirating and incredible experience. and it has lots of good stuff about how your body works and helps build confidence in you.

agree janet balaskas good re water birth

stand & deliver good too