Rating: 
Summary: very subjective
Review: My sister gave my wife and I this book. She had a succesful natural birth. However, this book tries to guilt you into natural child birth. The authors are very, very subjective. I agree with other reviewers who said they make you feel like a failure if you do not choose natural childbirth. You cannot make an informed, objective decision on your birth plan by reading this book. Incidentally, my sister is having problems with breastfeeding and feels like a failure. She has read their breastfeeding book. If it is written anything like this book, I can understand why.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Skewed but Helpful
Review: This was an informative book; however, it is definitely skewed towards a totally natural childbirth. I felt at times that if I didn't succeed in a natural childbirth I would have failed myself and my baby -- not exactly what I wanted to feel. With this in mind, the authors give wonderful suggestions on how to relax and ward off pain. In addition to these techniques, they take the approach that you should be in charge of your labor/birth and not feel intimidated by ideas of how labor should be done.
Rating: 
Summary: great book for an anxious mom-to-be
Review: I bought this book after reading a book on the Bradley method and one on Lamaze. The first book was very anti-hospital, anti-doctor, the second was "be a good girl and do what the doctor says, and give birth in a hospital, because otherwise is very dangerous." This book was the perfect guide to me. I was very anxious(as are many first-time moms-to-be) about the whole process, although I knew probably more than others, having a mother whoe was a L&D nurse for years, a sister who was doing her OB/GYN rotation as a Master's student, and married to a nurse(who had forgotten all his L&D stuff, but still had the books!). There's a good mix between medical information and what I call "mother" information. The combined writing of Dr. Sears and his wife is excellent. They make you feel like no matter where you chose to give birth, the most important thing is that you have a health care practitioner (midwife or Dr.) that supports your wishes and having your partner support your wishes. I felt much more prepared and felt like I could actually have choices and control when I was in labor. And despite going into labor on a holiday(Labor day, how appropriate!) and not having my own MD deliver, I felt in control, and got most of my wishes. I'm not so sure that I would have been so assertive if I hadn't read this book. I only wish I'd read it early on in my pregnancy. If you're only 3 or 4 months, go get this book now and read it- there's lots of good information for you now.
*note* I wasn't your typical first time delivery in that when I got to the hospital, I was already 7cm dilated. I was in labor in the hospital for only 5 hours, and got to spend a lot of time walking, despite what the dr wanted me to do! And at the end, we had a beautiful, healthy, 9lb, 3 oz boy!
Rating:
Summary: Great Information, A Few Problems
Review: This is a fantastic book for preparing for Labor and Delivery. It is very thorough and gives the birthing couple all the information they need to make informed choices about their birth. I would say this is one of the best books available for preparation for Labor and Delivery and understanding all the decisions and issues Birth entails. I do have a few complaints about the book, however. 1. The book glosses over the pain most women experience during childbirth. For most women [not all, but most], labor and delivery IS very painful. A mother who is preparing for an unmedicated birth needs to be aware of this so that she can adequately prepare herself. The Searses make birth sound more like "pressure" and "discomfort". I just don't think this is true for the majority of women. For psychological preparation for the true *reality* of birth, I recommend _Birthing From Within_ by Pam England. She does a much more honest job in preparing women for what the birth might really be like. [She does not include much of the information the Seares have included here on the 'medical' side of birth & the issues involved however; combining these two books would give the reader a very complete education]. 2. I must agree with previous reviewers that this book is somewhat biased against any medication during birth, as well as against hospital birth with an OBGYN in attendance. However, that doesn't make the information in the book any less useful - it is wonderful and very complete. 3. I also agree with other reviewers that the book is becoming a bit dated now. It is time for a revision that would include and reflect the progress that many hospitals have made in the last decade. Those issues aside, I still think this is one of the best books available on birth. Its worth having for any pregnant woman.
Rating:
Summary: The reason I was able to deliver naturally!
Review: Once again, the Sears duo comes to the rescue! I read this book after getting hooked on the Sears' advice from "The Pregnancy Book" during my first pregnancy. As I approached those last months, I wanted to find out all that I possibly could about my options in labor so that I could make informed decisions and a birth plan that I would be happy with. "The Birth Book," fully and clearly explaining each possible eventuality that can happen in childbirth, also expresses the Sears' view that natural childbirth is both possible and wonderful, and gives specific steps to achieving those results. In addition to reading this book, I also took a birthing class, but found that I could have saved my money and time without the class--this book had all the information and motivation I needed!
Rating:
Summary: ESSENTIAL FOR THAT FIRST-TIME EXPERIENCE
Review: This book will be of great benefit to any woman or couple who are expecting their first baby. It is extremely illustrative. Offering advice on both birth-plans and how to tackle any unexpected contingency, one of its strongest point is that it instills confidence, (which any inexperienced mother-to-be would appreciate). Even the last-minute exercise and relaxation options were browsed. And, everything one needed to know about labour and caeserean section were included.
There is hardly any pregnant woman who would not value the generous information that this book provides.
Rating:
Summary: IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE BIRTH BOOK_
Review: OK, you are NEVER Going to find a birth book that EVERY woman like, but lets face it, every womans birth stories are different! There is a lot of good advice in here, and a lot of comfort. YEs, there is a large emphasis on natural birth, but it is not condeming of those who do not go that route. The birth stories are very diverse and there is a good section on coming to terms with c-sections, for those of us who were heartbroken to have to have one ( or two ) At lease from reading this first, I knew I really had tried as hard as I could!
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative
Review: What an informative book...I read this along with taking a class at my hospital and felt that it offered such great information. even if you are not sold on having a totally "natural" childbirth, this book describes all steps of birth and helpful suggestions for a wonderful birth experience.
Rating:
Summary: Keep an open mind in both directions.
Review: This book has a great deal of information about birth and I really enjoyed reading it. In fact, I purchased it as a gift for a number of expectant friends as well.
One thing that I recommend to anyone who reads this is that they must take it for what it is. The Sears' are very obviously strong advocates of home births and unmedicated births. At first this was fine but then I got the sense that anything else is just not birth at all...it's something else. The shame is that this agenda may overshadow some of the very interesting and informative sections of this book. I learned a great deal and I am definitely more prepared for birth as a result of reading this, but I kept an open mind about all of my options. Not just the Sears' way. The fact is, as long as a mother is happy with her own birth and she feels she was given an adequate amount of control, given HER personality and needs, then it is a wonderful experience.
Final answer: 4 1/2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great info, tries to balance viewpoints
Review: This is one of the better birth books out there. It gives you a good comparison of the different sides to birthing. Coming from a doctor, some of the information is surprising, as I was shocked to read that a doctor would actually advocate a natural childbirth! Most doctors in my experience look at you like you are a lunatic if you say you want a natural experience.
Dr. Sears and Martha do a pretty good job at explaining pros and cons and even include info it is pretty obvious they don't support, which tells me they tried to be as unbiased as possible (although I have to say, it is pretty clear what their viewpoint is by the first chapter!).
A good general information book for first timers, and good review for those having their seconds+.
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