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Summary: So, very helpful. A wonderful and worthwhile book!
Review: I love this book. The thing I liked best about this book is that Henci Goer presents the information well enough to allow the reader to form his/her own opinions and make their own decisions. She gives her opinion, but it is more of an information book. It is very readable and can either by read from front to back or can be understood and works well as a reference - skipping to the information you need.
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Summary: As a mom, RN, and childbirth educator, I recommend this book
Review: This book is excellent! It is very well researched with evidence-based information about routine medical interventions in labor and birth. The author gives you the facts, her opinion about the facts, and options for the pregnant woman to consider. While some of the info Henci shares with the reader is not pleasant, it is honest. If for you ignorance is bliss, then don't read this book. If you want to know how typical birth in the US adversely affects you and your baby's health, and what you can do about it, then you will love this book. At the back of the book, the author includes a copy of the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative. Be sure to take a look at this important concensus document and the list of groups and individuals who ratified and endorsed it - all the major professional organizations of midwives, perinatal nurses, childbirth educators, and doulas. Also take notice who did not endorse it - the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
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Summary: Much-needed alternative to the party line.
Review: In all fairness, I do find the tone of this book distrustful and antagonistic toward general o.b. practices in this country. But the info is valuable, illuminating, and aided me in my decision to go natural. I should add that hypnobirthing techniques aided me even more, and helped me stay a little more positive (I'm naturally sort of negative).The surgeon/reviewer below is a great example of what I fear about doctors (male or female, and I've got several drs in the family). What he does for a living (refurbish women's 'damaged' vaginas) means that he's right and vaginal birth's a bad way to go? End of discussion. Wow. Life's too short, friend. I'm glad I chose a better man than you.
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Summary: Wonderful book.
Review: This book was comprehensive, clear, easy to read, well documented, and somewhat predictable. Each chapter talks about the pros and cons of common obstectrical practices. The cons invariably include a higher chance of C-section. The most useful parts were the chapters on how to interview a care provider. Overall I think it is a useful book, and I highly recommend it.
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Summary: If only I had read this book sooner!
Review: Henci Goer has written an excellent book that is great for anyone who wants to know more about the risks and benefits of different procedures involved in birth. The information is supported by an extensive list of research from reliable and well known sources. What I like most about this book is that it's straight forward and unbiased. It's easy to read but a bit dry. It's exactly what it claims to be- a guide for thinking women who want to know about the facts, benefits, and risks in childbirth decisions. I highly recommend this book for first time moms and those who want more information than you can get in the "What to Expect" book.
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Summary: Excellent Information- A Few Drawbacks
Review: Although I expected a natural birth perspective (which I share), I was disappointed in the book's overwhelmingly negative tone toward OB's. I would have prefered a balanced, relatively objective discussion. I expected it from a book called The Thinking Womans Guide.... If the stats are so glaring, a balanced discussion is better than dogmatics. This is an excellent book for those who have decided to give birth naturally. It is not one to recommend to friends to help them make the decision about their birth. It will turn many women off. A better book for an introduction to the benefits of natural birth and the drawbacks of managed care is Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn by Penny Simkin.
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Summary: Essential reading for those who would not be sheep
Review: I was a midwife for 15 years and wish this book had been available at that time. The attitudes of today's obstetricians have regressed to those of the 50s when women expected to be treated like sheep, and the doctors accommodated them. We had a surge of feminist autonomy during the 70s and 80s (when I caught babies in Berkeley, CA, and wrote a memoir, BABY CATCHER, Scribner 2002), but then the Epidural Epidemic struck full force. And now far, far too many women are acting like sheep again - and their doctors are just following standard procedures.
Henci Goer's wonderful book gives credit to the fact that pregnant women still have brains: they can think, read, talk, and make decisions about their own care. In order to do this, they need unbiased information about the prodigious amount of obstetrical interference that goes on under the radar screen of the average woman's awareness, especially when she's in labor. Not afraid to call a spade a spade, and a charlatan a charlatan, Henci Goer lets readers inside her own head as she reasons and rationalizes her way through tons of 'scientific evidence' to arrive at logical and user-friendly recommendations.
If you're thinking of becoming pregnant, know someone who is, or already are, DO NOT FAIL TO READ THIS BOOK.
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Summary: Beware! Contains Misleading Information!
Review: Allow me to start with the positive aspect of this book: it provides support to women who want to have a birthing experience with little or no medical intervention. I'm sure those of you considering it have been scorned, mocked or condescended to when you've shared your desire for natural childbirth with others (especially other mothers). That is tragic and for that, I am happy that this book is out there. That being said, this book is entirely biased (as the author acknowledges in her preface) and contains misinformation. The most glaring example of which is the section on epidurals. HAVING AN EPIDURAL DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE AT ANY HIGHER RISK FOR HAVING A CESAREAN SECTION. PERIOD. First, the drugs used in epidurals today vary greatly from those used in the studies discussed by Ms. Goer. More importantly, even those studies that found a higher incidence of c-sections with epidural use could not draw a causal link. In other words, the epidural was not necessarily the cause of the c-section but, rather, the woman could have been headed for a c-section regardless of the epidural. Finally, there are just as many studies that say there is no link whatsoever between epidurals and c-sections. Ms. Goer selectively omits any discussion of these studies. I strongly urge all of you to take 30 minutes and read some medical journals on your own or call the anesthesiologist at your birthing place and just ask him/her your questions to get a different perspective. I ultimately decided to have a natural birth but not because of any of the misinformation in Ms. Goer's book. I feel strongly that had I chosen an epidural, I would not have put my baby or myself in jeopardy. Now, having done one birth naturally, I will certainly choose an epidural next time. There is no reason to suffer unnecessarily.
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Summary: Excellent information
Review: This is a great book if you're hoping for a natural, non-invasive childbirth experience. The information provided will help you make informed decisions in the labor and delivery suite, helping you feel more in control. This is NOT a basic "What to Expect at Your Baby's Birth" book. This book is for you if you want to have as natural a birth as possible, and don't want potentially unnecessary interventions done by the OB staff in the hospital. The information could be overwhelming (there are so many things that can happen) to someone terrified of the whole birth experience, and this book is not a good first book about delivery. If you're fairly comfortable in medical situations and want to be informed, this is the book for you!
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Summary: The best comprehensive source of birthing information
Review: If you are pregnant or want to be, this is the single most important book you can read. You may or may not read it cover to cover, but it will provide you with the tools you need to make informed, research-based decisions about the birth you want. And in case you, like most thinking women, are reluctant to trust a single source, Goer provides all the information you need to check her sources and see the research for yourself.
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