Rating: 
Summary: A refreshing look at obstetrics
Review: I read The Thinking Woman's Guide when I was in medical school, pregnant, and expecting my first child. I already knew I was going to become an obstetrician, and the book offered a refreshing counter-point to the high-tech, high-intervention approach to obstetrics I would be taught as a resident. Some of the data is out-of-date, and even a little misleading, but for the most part, Henci Goer argues eloquently for putting birth back into the hands of laboring women.
Rating: 
Summary: BIASED!Title may not mean what you assume at first
Review: This book is helpful if you are looking for for a biased viewpoint on childbirth but it is NOT AT ALL PHILOSOPHICAL! The book is over at page p.218 out of the 364 total because the rest of the pages are literature summaries of the articles the author uses to support her opinions. The book will not give a pregnant thinking woman a collection of facts or information from which to draw her own educated conclusions which is what I expected based on the title.
I was shocked to discover,after reading the book, that the title seems to be a refernce to the self-importance of the author, as in "I am a thinking woman and this is my guide." In this sense the title is insulting as it imples that women cannot draw their own conclusions based on unbiased information and she must shove her conclusions down our throats.
I found all her compare and contrast tables to be archaic as they don't apply to the midwife care or hospital situations available to me. Things are not that black and white where I live!!! Visit your local hospitals before you beleive that the nurses will keep your baby away from you and interfere with your breast feeding, bonding etc. Check with midwives in your area before assuming they are not medical professionals and prohibited from attending to you in delivery and catching your baby in a hospital! The book is barely useful as a very general tool to read about how beneficial doulas are and how cesareans are often unnecessary etc.
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Summary: If you think M.D.s know everything, this book will scare you
Review: On the other hand, if you believe that managing your health and your child's is a partnership between you and your health care provider, you won't find anything political or trust-shaking in this book. Instead, you'll be grateful that you've been given a great resource that allows you to knowledgeably and factually discuss your options with your health care providers. And if you have the right health care provider, (s)he will be willing to do so. Unlike appallingly trite pregnancy books such as "A Girlfriend's Guide To Pregnancy" and "What To Expect While You're Expecting," Henci Goer presents ALL of the facts -- even the less pleasant ones we don't always want to hear -- and has the data to back it up. Goer didn't write this book to make Mommies feel good about their choices, she wrote it to ensure that Moms have the *data* to make the best *informed* choice. You may not like the "ugly" truth that Henci Goer brings to light -- that medicated, surgical births are often unnecessary and have never been proven safer than non-medical births. That doctors and hospitals have (gasp) financial motivations that could influence their recommended protocol. But she has indisputable data to back it up. Which is more than most pregnancy books offer nowadays.
Rating: 
Summary: A Frightened Woman's Guide to a Distrustful Birth
Review: I have had this book recommended to me quite a few times, so I picked it up. I have to say, that this book does a good job of trying to insure that the woman will not only "think", but be frightened of anything done by an OB or in a hospital during pregnancy and childbirth. If all Obstetricans are really this horrid and unfeeling, that they would willingly impose tons of dangerous and unnecessary procedures on women- why are so many women still going to an OB and delivering at a hospital? Why are the majority electing for pain meds? This is just another book in a long line of books that assume that women today are just sheep who have no common sense what-so-ever, and that all would jump at the chance at a painful natural birth in their house if only they "knew". This book also can drive a wedge of mistrust and suspicion between a woman and her doctor, leading her to not take the doctor's knowledgable advice or to refuse something in labor that can actually help, or force her to "grit her teeth" in pain through labor because she is so scared of the meds that can help. I for one, chose a doctor I feel is trustworthy who cares about me and my baby. I think women should be offended by this mentality cropping up that women are all stupid, don't care about their babies or are selfish if they chose a medicated, hospital birth. Any study done can be slanted toward a person's point of view. Talk to your doctor about procedures done in childbirth- they are human and they want you and your baby to come out healthy.
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Summary: A wonderful, research-based approach to birth
Review: Henci Goer is a serious researcher, and her book is an information-packed work just right for anyone who wants to learn what they can do to help themselves have a better birth experience. When I was writing my own book, GIVING BIRTH: A Journey into the World of Mothers and Midwives, I was impressed with Goer's research skills both here and in her book Obstetrical Myths vs. Research Realities. This book is key reading for expectant moms who want to know what they'll be dealing with in labor and birth.
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Summary: Too Angry! Other Books Say It Better
Review: I would recommend this book to others IF THERE WEREN'T other books that teach the same information in a more positive way. I think that everything this book teaches about the medical community should be mandatory learning for expectant mothers. HOWEVER, this author often speaks out of anger and (though she does her best to provide all sides) she pushes her view of how things should be done just as or more strongly than any doctor I've encountered. Most of the things she rails against are no longer standard procedures (at least not in California hospitals), and staff are usually very familiar with and accomodating to patient requests. I finished this book with (incorrect) feeling that the hospital staff is out to get me. This is why I'd recommend books like "Husband Coached Birth" by Bradley. Bradley actually was an obstetrician for many years and his books give you an inside view of how these doctors think while providing the mother AND father with ways to cope with childbirth without fear or anger. I'd suggest people read this book, but with a BIG grain of salt over the emotional anger and fear this book produces.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be required reading
Review: This book is an invaluable addition to my pregnancy library. Goer's presentation of the pros and cons of pregnancy interventions was very informative, and mostly reaffirmed my decision not to birth in a hospital. So many women seem to go into birth not really knowing what can happen to them, and what the little cut here, or a little drug there can do to them and their baby, and what other interventions will probably follow this one. I think any woman who is birthing in a hospital should definitely read this book first, and those of us who plan out of hospital births can get useful information from it as well.
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Summary: Reality in Paperback
Review: I am a believer that doctor's are not Gods and that the medical profession is more about money than safety. I really enjoyed Henci's plain English. She just tells it how it is and allows you to make up your own mind. Her factual representation is phenomenal. I am happy to finally read something that just is rather than a "sugar-coated, life's perfect" novel about pregnancy and birth. A MUST READ for people who like to think on their own. And for people who know that women can do anything including give safe and healthy births without interference.
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth Reading
Review: The author has a great deal of knowledge in the area of childbirth, but has a very clinical view, which is a real put-off. At the same time, the book scares the reader when it comes to C-sections. I'm certainly not a C-section advocate, but I also realize that sometimes a C-section may be necessary. As a woman who is simply educating myself before becoming pregnant, this book gave me second thoughts about it all the way around! I would not recommend this book under any circumstance to first time mothers or those who have a medical condition which requires a C-section - a much better read would be Birthing From Within by Pam England.
Rating:
Summary: A nice break from the zealots
Review: Of all the books about the cons of obstetric procedures I've read recently, this is the first one that I've not only finished, but enjoyed. The author does not come across as being one of those techno-phobic zealots who do little more than preach at any woman who disagrees with them. At no point did I come across the idea that if I had some procedure done, I was somehow 'betraying' my unborn child or 'shirking my duty'. Instead I was treated to accurate descriptions of what I may encounter, what each entails and how, in some instances, one leads to the other. I would definitely recommend this to any expectant mother or parents out there.
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