Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally

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Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading the other reviews on this book, my expectations were very high. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed, this book focused repeatedly on the fact that squatting is the best postion for giving birth and not much else. The yoga exercises were handy, but compared with the other reviews this book was given, I was expecting more substance.

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Summary: MUCH REPETITION
Review: GENERALLY GOOD IDEAS BUT MANY THINGS WERE REPEATED AND THIS MADE ME GET BORED BEFORE I FINISHED. I LIKE TO SEE DETAIL AND INFORMATION IN DEPTH.

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Summary: one of the BEST books available if you want a natural birth.
Review: I am a childbirth educator and birth attendant living in Australia.I have been helping moms and their partners for nearly 20 years to be informed and confident in their native capacity to give birth normally, without all the unecessary medical intervention that is unfortunately occuring these days.There are heaps of books on birth to buy ,but still I am convinced that if a pregnant mother can only get ONE book-get this one.It is informative and very empowering and the photos in the new edition are fine and the prenatal exercises are great. The chapter on labour is good for dads to read too.It is a book for folks who would prefer a natural birth and the author is well aware of the consequences of routine medical interventions. Working as a midwife I see what goes on when women are not fully informed when they make choices about birth (more complications, more epidurals and alot more fear.)Read this book to see what options there really are available for birthing women. THEN make your choices(of birth place and caregiver).There are some other really good books around too. I am in the process of creating a website and will include these titles too, as well as info on relaxation tapes I have created for pregnant women. Meanwhile, please know that Janet Balaskas has great passion and integrity in her work to teach and empower birthing women. Any of her books are great.I have worked and trained with many people but the time I spent in UK with Janet so many years ago continues to inform my work now, and I continue to recieve fantastic feedback from the moms, dads, partners and midwives who I now teach and work with in Australia.If you are pregnant and wanting to hear and develope a positive attitude about birth (rather than the scary portrayal on popular media),you need to buy the right books and talk to the right people. Find an independent midwife in your area and have a chat. Talk to women who have a positive attitude about their birth experiences. Read this book and practice relaxation skills for birth and beyond.I hope this little book review and these suggestions are helpful.Giving birth is one of the most amazing experiences in a woman's life - a real gift..Enjoy the passion and the challenge and the opportunity to grow.

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Summary: My personal favorite childbirth book!
Review: I bought about 9 pre-natal/pregnancy/childbirth books and this was by far my favorite. Although it didn't have much on nutrition and lacked going in to detail on several topics, it was the book I kept coming back to and used most overall. I am doing natural childbirth (no drugs, semi-home birth with mid-wives) and I found this book very complimentary to my preexisting beliefs and feelings about childbith. I took a childbirth class and I felt I got more out of this book than that class! I'm really into yoga and I appreciated the yoga and stretching positions shown in this book. I also loved the photos (even thought they looked like early 80's or late 70's) of the women doing the exercizes and giving birth, it was lovely and heart touching. My husband and I also practice (I'm still pregnant) the positions for lifting and supporting during labor, and the massage drawings were helpful.

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Summary: BUY THIS BOOK!!!
Review: I cannot recommend this book enough. I bought it a few years ago as a labor and delivery nurse as an aide to me to help my patients through labor and delivery. It helped me so much changed my whole phylosophy of the way I thought about labor. Well, last month I was able to put the techniques and ideas into practice for myself when I gave birth to my first child with ease the way I wanted... absolutely naturally!!! I used the thoughts and ideas and suggestions offered in this book throughout labor. It tells you what to expect in a non threatening way and offers testimonials from people who have been there and can tell you what THEY thought labor was like. It helps take the fear out of having a baby and believe me when I say fear is the laboring mothers enemy. I have read several books on the subject and have found NO other that can touch what this book offers. I read this book at least 10 times and highlighted important parts and I used it to teach my husband how to coach me through the toughest parts and no fooling there are tough parts for me it was after 7 to 8 centimeters dilated when I transitioned. This book even tells you how you might feel at this hardest part of labor and it is pretty accurate to the way I felt and that way looking back I realise that when I wanted to jump off a bridge for about an hour until I was able to push, this is ok and nothing to feel bad about. The only thing that I found unhelpful to me was the Yoga portions, it show many positions and is very nice to read but it is very difficult to do Yoga from a book , I suggest that you take a class or get a video. But it does offer you some position suggestions taht are helpful to open your pelvis and that will aide in flexibility. It also discusses second stage labor and the different options on positioning and also miscelaneous topics such as breech presentation , c-sections, and breastfeeding basics. So buy this book and prepare yourself and remember you CAN do it you are strong and having a natural labor is very empowering and the best thing for your baby. But , remember if the pain is too much and you get intervention in labor do NOT feel guilty. Try your best and never feel like a failure the best outcome is a healty baby and a healty Mom. Good luck and enjoy your new addition.

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Summary: Really not helpful like some other books
Review: I found this book to be very basic and not generally helpful. Thanks

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Summary: This is THE book to get for an enjoyable, low pain birth!
Review: I highly recommend this book to any woman who wants an enjoyable birth. I was terrified of the pain of birth, but after reading this book felt much more comfortable. I took a Yoga class at the suggestion of the author and my birth was fantastic! I had no episiotomy, no tearing, no epidural and was able to enjoy my baby immediately! This book is a great tool as to what to expect and how to prepare for your ideal birth experience. Get this book!

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Summary: Just what I was looking for
Review: I learned so much from this book. I was really glad that I had picked it out. While I have not delivered baby #2, still have 4 weeks to go, I feel I have more to take in the delivery room than my first pregnancy. This book really reminds you how natural and instinctive labor really is. I really liked the facts that backed the book up too. There were things that I did not know and found very interesting. I hope it works!

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Summary: Confidence! If ONLY I'd known sooner!
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK! Can't say enough about it! We bought a copy for my midwife. I really didn't use the stretching part too much, but the body positions and ways to deliver, I read 30 times, highlighted and marked pages and re-read! My mom photocopied and enlarged the drawings of the positions I wanted to use and taped them to the wall so we'd remember during the delivery! I'd had 3 babies naturally, but doing my fourth one at home with an awesome midwife and my family and THIS book, was the best experience ever! I'd buy it for every pregnant woman I know could afford to!

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Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: I LOVED this book. It was one of several that I bought during my pregnancy, and certainly my favorite. I had planned for a homebirth (which was successful!), and this book reassured me that I was making a safe & healthy decision for both me and my baby. The information provided seemed very common sense once I read it, and it helped to put faith in me that my body was designed to give birth - that my labor & birth experience would be dictated by my body and the baby, and not by a medical institution. I'd recommend this book to anyone expecting a baby. I strongly believe that being educated about childbirth takes away a lot of the fear and in turn, the pain. This book does the trick!