Birth skills-juju sundin

[laydeebyrd]

I've got Juju Sundin's birth skills book. It all sounds very sensible and the techniques in the book feel like they could help coping with childbirth. But having never
been through childbirth, I don't know whether they will work in practice.

Has anyone used the book and had any experience of using the techniques?

I didn't read the book before I gave birth. But having read some of it afterwards, I found the parts where she talks about vocalisation (ie making a bit of a racket) were eerily similar to what I ended up doing naturally, and what certainly seemed to help me.

I am therefore planning on reading it before any future labour!

An awesome, awesome book!! Thanks to that and a birth pool I managed my first 10 hours on paracetamol, and dilated 7cms - the fastest first timer on the ward according to my trainee midwife - and then needed gas and air for the final three cms, which took about another seven hours, plus an hour and a half's pushing. It really did help soooo much.
However sod's law being what it is, my DS decided to turn transverse, mid pushing phase so I ended up with an emcs and a massive haemmorhage afterwards. Sigh, you can only plan so far. But thanks to that book I still feel so proud and empowered by my first birth experience and am keen to try another chance at giving birth. I never felt scared, I always felt busy and in charge.
My one tip is to learn as many of the different techniques as you can. Before the birth I thought I'd find the walking stomping ones most useful, or maybe the stress balls, but as it turned out, walking hurt loads and it was the vocalising that worked wonders for me. I aaaaheed and mooed like a cow apparently but it hit the spot!
Try to read up on what to do during the pushing stage as I totally forgot what I'd read... mind I never had a pushing urge, probably because my whopping son decided to take a wrong turn.
Good luck!

Thanks so much for your inspiring experiences. It's really good to hear that the techniques worked in practice. I'll get practising!

I used this book and found it really helpful both during the birth and in calming my nerves before the birth. I used a bit of vocalisation and visualisation, and the chapter on pushing was invaluable. Also I found the idea that the pain was productive pain helpful.

To add: I don't know if it was totally because of the book but I managed my birth with gas & air and water for pain relief - I think the book helped with that, although I obviously had a lot of luck as well.