Books on childbirth?

[pinkcat]

Hi all! I am looking for some good books to read about labor and birth. I started Ina May's book last night, and while I'm enjoying some of it so far, some if it is a little bit TOO natural for me. 

I am hoping for an unmedicated birth, but am staying open to the idea of getting an epidural- anyone have any suggestions of books for someone who is not 100% dead set on an unmedicated birth?? 

[bassa]

This isn't the answer you're looking for (sorry! I only read Ina May's book) but just wondering, are you planning on taking any childbirth classes? Not that you need to, but I did one last time and found it very helpful. They clearly explained all the stages of labor, talked about various interventions that you may or may not need, the drug options and side effects, and had us practice (with our partners) coping mechanisms. The teacher even got on all fours and acted out dealing with a contraction - which sounds absurd, and kind of was, but turned out to be highly realistic. We did a 2-day weekend class.

[pinkcat]

Thanks bassa! Yes we are- ours will be just a 1 day class but we will take that next month. I just love to read so I figured some books on labor would be helpful as well!

[Deleted]

This is the book we used in my L&D class and DH and I wound up "dropping out" of class and just reading the book, lol.

sales.acog.org/mobile/Your-Pregnancy-and-Childbirth-Month-to-Month-Revised-Sixth-Edition-P502.aspx

[helloerrbody]

Oct 11, 2017 13:49:49 GMT -6 pinkcat said:

Hi all! I am looking for some good books to read about labor and birth. I started Ina May's book last night, and while I'm enjoying some of it so far, some if it is a little bit TOO natural for me. 

I am hoping for an unmedicated birth, but am staying open to the idea of getting an epidural- anyone have any suggestions of books for someone who is not 100% dead set on an unmedicated birth?? 

I liked Ina May’s book, but yes it’s suuuper crunchy and I rolled my eyes at some of it.

My recs might not be what you’re looking for since I was planning for unmediated, but I liked Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and Homebirth in the Hospital.

[pinkcat]

Thanks helloerrbody! Homebirth in the Hospital was on my list so I'll make sure to check it out! I am hoping for unmedicated, I am just trying to stay open minded and let myself allow for the choice of epidural too.

[helloerrbody]

Apparently I was planning for an unmediated birth instead of unmedicated haha.

[Queen Mamadala]

I liked Ina May many years ago and read the usual go-to med-free and homebirth books before and during my second pregnancy. I was pretty crunchy back then and still am, but not to that degree. Plus, for many WoC spaces, Ina has been canceled and is regarded as a racist TERF, so she's trash in my book.

I opted to do the Hypnobabies home study with #2. Its philosophy/program isn't crunchy-woo a la Ina and the early stages of the program focuses on the physiological process and fear-tension-pain cycle. It definitely fits into the med-free/low intervention birth model of care. I loved the CDs (they offer mp3 recordings now).I found the pregnancy affirmations very comforting and soothing. I liked creating a safe space/bubble to relax and let any worries slip away. You start delving into the hypnoanesthesia as your progress through the recordings and program (I believe it's 12 weeks long, but you can tweak it if you need an accelerated schedule). I really enjoyed the hypnosis recordings. I could slip in and out and my body would feel warm and loose. It was pretty cool. The hypnosis recordings teach you to slip into hypnosis while awake. It's supposed to help reduce the discomfort or pain of contractions.

I never got around to using the hypnosis with her. I was prepared to if I felt I needed it, but my labor was very fast (47 minutes) and my contractions were that bad. I also had my birthing ball and used EOs in a diffuser during my shower to help jump start labor. I kept the lights dimmed and opted for a hep lock and intermittent fetal monitoring. I planned homebirths with my next three. Hypnobabies was gaining popularity in the med-free and OOHB community back then. I had a lot of friends choose Hypnobabies and loved their experiences. One of my dear friends did the program with her third, a few months ahead of me when I was pregnant with #3, and she had a pain-free/med-free birth. 

I'll likely do the recordings again this time to help with anxiety as I approach the last few months. If everything goes smoothly, my birth plan will be pretty identical to the one I made with dd2.