Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
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Book Reviews of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Book Review: Deserves all five stars and more!
Summary: 5 Stars
I went back and checked and I believe this is the first book I've ever seen on Amazon where all reviewers gave it five stars. This book deserves that and even more! The stories of the women's childbirth were truly inspiring. Not only inspiring, but full of great tips for coping with labor and delivering without drugs or episiotomies (my biggest fear).I know as my pregnancy progresses, I will be refering to this book over and over again. I am actually looking forward to labor and to experience this truly wondrous event in my life. I am lucky enough to be moving to Sweden where midwife delivery is the norm and an OB is only there when absolutely necessary. They also lean towards more natural birthing rather than the medical intervention that is so common in the US. Which is such a big relief for me! After reading this book, I realize how lucky I am. But I also know that if I did stay in the US to have my child, I am armed with the knowledge I need to give birth to my baby as I desire.
If you are now expecting or planning on conceiving a child, please get this book!
Book Review: My Best Help!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book while preparing for the birth of my 3rd child (my first VBAC). I enjoyed reading all the birth stories in the first half of the book. Many of them were birth stories very different from my own, but it was nice to read how many women could give birth. It helped me renew faith in my body that I had lost. While in labor during my VBAC, Ina May's words would ring in my ear. I tried several of her techniques and they helped me so much! (I had a completely unmedicated VBAC!) I do wish my husband, who was my support during labor, would have read this book instead of the Bradley book I asked him to read. I think it would have helped him see more of what I needed and I wouldn't have had to explain to him why I was singing during rushes or making horse sounds. I think it would have made him overall more comfortable with the birth process. This book was extremely helpful for me, even though I was not preparing to birth in a cabin in the woods, but in a hospital downtown. Throughout my pregnancy and delivery, Ina May offered me the assurance that my body was not a lemon!Book Review: Empowering and Informative
Summary: 5 Stars
Ina May's informal approach to the topic of natural childbirth enables the reader to access detailed and empowering information about the physical, mental, and emotional process of giving birth. The first half of the book includes birth stories from many women who have experienced both medical and natural births. Their personal stories help the reader understand the impact of both approaches and make a more informed decision. This section of the book would be especially helpful to women with few friends/family from which to seek advice, or those who have heard primarily "horror stories" about birth. The second half of the book is a guide to achieving a natural birth in many different settings, from home to hospital. The book is easy to read, informative and empowering because you come away with so much knowledge. I also appreciated the fact that the author avoids using "hippy speak", or a dialect that everyone can understand. Some natural childbirth guides use more slang. Definitely read this book if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant!Book Review: Essential information for women!
Summary: 5 Stars
I finished reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth about a week and a half before the due date of my second child. I was motivated to have a different, more natural birth experience than with my first child. The birth stories told in the book were so inspirational, and the medical information so helpful. I referred to the book throughout the end of my pregnancy, for advice when confronted with an "overdue" baby, and when contractions started but did not form a pattern for more than 24 hours. More importantly, the advice in the book was at my fingertips and in my heart during labor,allowing me to have the birth experience I was hoping for. Ina May's belief that "your body is not a lemon" is evident in the birth stories told, and the research she shares serves to justify that stand. I credit this book for giving me the information I needed to make wise decisions during my pregnancy, and for inspiring me throughout labor. This book is a treasure,and the information within essential for women to know! It is also beautifully written and enjoyable to read.Book Review: The Best of The Best
Summary: 5 Stars
I was cautiously optimistic in reading this book as so many I have read (and I have read hundreds of perinatal books) fall short of my expectations. Ina May's Guide not only is superb, it is exactly what I have been looking for for years - a book not about the basics of modern technological birth, but of its essence - a normal, life affirming process. The birth process that has been repeated since the beginning of humanity with rarely a mishap... unless interfered with. Sadly todays birth is mired in interference as proven by the dismal morbidity (and I include cesarean section as morbidity, Ina May has proven in her own statistics the true rarity that major abdominal surgery should be used for birth) and mortality statistics in North America. I have been a birth professional since 1997 and recently gave birth to my fourth child a VBA3C (vaginal birth after three cesareans) and it was because of women like Ina May that I support women and have regained my own trust in my body which had been taken from me by modern obstetrics in their bid for efficiency.