The Positive Birth Book: A New Approach to Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Weeks

Product Information

On the other hand, I f I think the book does a good job of preparing women for childbirth by setting the expectation that birth is something you can do, but it's hard and not entirely controllable. Bill received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto -- the largest children’s hospital in the world, where he served as associate ward chief of the newborn nursery and associate professor of pediatrics.

I didn't feel at any stage that there was a preference for home birth over other types, but moreso that in more medicalised births, there is less to talk about / less choice and agency for women simply because that is the reality of these types of births (a woman can't perform her own c section, or decide what dose of medication she needs based on her body weight for example), which means there is less to discuss (and less time devoted to this in the book). The Positive Breastfeeding Book doesn't promise to make it easy, nor will it get up in the middle of the night for you, but it will empower you with the knowledge and encouragement you need to feed your baby with confidence. I think this book really caused me to get into my head too much and expect a negative hospital birth (even though I want a hospital birth). I had to choose carefully when was the right times to listen to it as I can find certain topics triggering, but Milli did a great job at keeping a very positive voice throughout and making the reader feel empowered, reminding them that they have OPTIONS, rights and valid thoughts.

You’ll get dozens of fresh ideas on how to cope with the reality of labour from this and many other sections of the book, which will help you on the day whether your birth is easy as falling off a log, much tougher than you expected, or somewhere in between.

When I had my children I myself would not consider that I was necessarily in pain either time, so I can see why they chose to skirt around that. The authors detail dangerous and ludicrous procedures women were put through once midwives were discredited and women became convinced that male doctors knew the most about birthing babies. Contemplating another baby, especially after having a mental health issue with a previous baby, can be daunting. Re-reading this book has helped me remember a lot of little details that I'd forgotten, especially things that did not apply to my first birth experience.

As an aside, I think it's valuable to know the philosophy of other attitudes towards childbirth than your own - only by considering alternatives can you really own your choices, attitudes and opinions. The book’s trademark Visual Birth Plan icons can be downloaded for free to help you create a birth plan for every eventuality.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. This is a concise read, but elegantly describes some of the work of Michel Odent, talking about what supports a woman giving birth.If you are struggling with worrying about whether you are 'getting it right' as a mother, it can be really helpful to know that your baby will be trying to help you. For over two years she wrote a popular column for Best magazine, and she's now a columnist for Telegraph Women .

A true feat of intimate, illuminating reporting, Birth is a profound examination of the deeply personal and structural forces that shape life-defining choices, experiences, dreams, and futures. The first question I had when I picked up this book was "can a book that's 20 years old still be worth reading?

There was an obvious, fair, and nonjudgemental, bent towards natural childbirth, which I appreciated because they were frank about their position. Sears gets extra credit for telling pregnant women there's nothing wrong with cholesterol, which was heresy during the high carb, low fat mindset of the mid 90's.