Choosing Waterbirth: Reclaiming the Sacred Power of Birth

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth reviewed by Linda Rose
Review: As a birth doula and prenatal yoga teacher I am always looking for another great book and I found this one to be just that. I teach workshops on choices and challenges of selecting birth options (other then hospital and medicated). Women are looking for ways to have a natural safe birth and are gaining back control over where and how they want to give birth. Waterbirth is a good book to read that gives you information for having a water birth and other birth related subject matter. I have a number of books on this subject and this is a very good one to add to your collection. I loved the photographs and found it helpful to use in my workshops and classes.

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth reviewed by Linda Rose
Review: As a birth doula and prenatal yoga teacher I am always looking for another great book and I found this one to be just that. I teach workshops on choices and challenges of selecting birth options (other then hospital and medicated). Women are looking for ways to have a natural safe birth and are gaining back control over where and how they want to give birth. Waterbirth is a good book to read that gives you information for having a water birth and other birth related subject matter. I have a number of books on this subject and this is a very good one to add to your collection. I loved the photographs and found it helpful to use in my workshops and classes.

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth
Review: Lakshmi Bertram has given birth to five babies, all under water. She shares her experiences in Choosing Waterbirth, a book filled with practical advice and encouragement.

Bertram knew from the beginning that she wanted home births, maintaining that "most births do not actually require doctors or hospitals or fetal monitors or forceps or episiotomies or drugs." She researched birthing methods carefully, learning about water birth shortly before her first child was born. She learned that not only did water make birthing easier and less painful for the mother, it also provided "a kind, loving, and gentle entry into this world" for the baby.

In water birth, the mother immerses her lower body in a tub of water heated to body temperature. The baby is born into the water. The baby continues to receive oxygen from the umbilical cord. It is then brought gently to the surface and handed to the mother. Babies will not try to breathe until the air hits their faces and are in no danger of drowning.

Bertram emphasizes that giving birth is a natural process for women and that, if left to their intuition, they have the ability to deliver healthy babies. Having a baby does not have to the overwhelming and frightening experience that modern methods have led women to believe. She provides lots of encouragement for women who want home births, even if they choose not to have a water birth. Alternatively some hospitals and birthing centers have water birth facilities available. Each woman must do what she feels is best for her and her baby.

For those who do choose waterbirth, Bertram provides a wealth of information on where to find birthing tubs (she purchased her first one at an animal feed store!), midwives and other attendants, and birthing centers. She also details exactly the things to expect about birth in general, and water birth in particular.

A long time yoga practitioner and certified instructor, Bertram includes a section on how expectant mothers may use yoga for relaxation and for strengthening and stretching the muscles that will be used during childbirth. The detailed instructions are accompanied by pictures.

The final section of the book is entitled "Practice," and in it Bertram has included pictures of her "water babies" and notes from her journals on their births. She says she hopes "to give women a different view of what birth can be." Her experiences helped make childbirth "a part of the joy of having children instead of a traumatic ordeal that had to be gone through in order to get children."

Sandra McLanahan, M.D. , in a preface to Choosing Waterbirth says "Lakshmi's book provides inspiration and support for women to learn to turn away from excess interventions, to return to the innate wisdom of the body and its natural resources." Every woman contemplating pregnancy, whether interested in water birth or not, will find a wealth of information and encouragement in Bertram's book.

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth
Review: Lakshmi Bertram has given birth to five babies, all under water. She shares her experiences in Choosing Waterbirth, a book filled with practical advice and encouragement.

Bertram knew from the beginning that she wanted home births, maintaining that "most births do not actually require doctors or hospitals or fetal monitors or forceps or episiotomies or drugs." She researched birthing methods carefully, learning about water birth shortly before her first child was born. She learned that not only did water make birthing easier and less painful for the mother, it also provided "a kind, loving, and gentle entry into this world" for the baby.

In water birth, the mother immerses her lower body in a tub of water heated to body temperature. The baby is born into the water. The baby continues to receive oxygen from the umbilical cord. It is then brought gently to the surface and handed to the mother. Babies will not try to breathe until the air hits their faces and are in no danger of drowning.

Bertram emphasizes that giving birth is a natural process for women and that, if left to their intuition, they have the ability to deliver healthy babies. Having a baby does not have to the overwhelming and frightening experience that modern methods have led women to believe. She provides lots of encouragement for women who want home births, even if they choose not to have a water birth. Alternatively some hospitals and birthing centers have water birth facilities available. Each woman must do what she feels is best for her and her baby.

For those who do choose waterbirth, Bertram provides a wealth of information on where to find birthing tubs (she purchased her first one at an animal feed store!), midwives and other attendants, and birthing centers. She also details exactly the things to expect about birth in general, and water birth in particular.

A long time yoga practitioner and certified instructor, Bertram includes a section on how expectant mothers may use yoga for relaxation and for strengthening and stretching the muscles that will be used during childbirth. The detailed instructions are accompanied by pictures.

The final section of the book is entitled "Practice," and in it Bertram has included pictures of her "water babies" and notes from her journals on their births. She says she hopes "to give women a different view of what birth can be." Her experiences helped make childbirth "a part of the joy of having children instead of a traumatic ordeal that had to be gone through in order to get children."

Sandra McLanahan, M.D. , in a preface to Choosing Waterbirth says "Lakshmi's book provides inspiration and support for women to learn to turn away from excess interventions, to return to the innate wisdom of the body and its natural resources." Every woman contemplating pregnancy, whether interested in water birth or not, will find a wealth of information and encouragement in Bertram's book.

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth
Review: Lakshmi Bertram has given birth to five babies, all under water. She shares her experiences in Choosing Waterbirth, a book filled with practical advice and encouragement.

Bertram knew from the beginning that she wanted home births, maintaining that "most births do not actually require doctors or hospitals or fetal monitors or forceps or episiotomies or drugs." She researched birthing methods carefully, learning about water birth shortly before her first child was born. She learned that not only did water make birthing easier and less painful for the mother, it also provided "a kind, loving, and gentle entry into this world" for the baby.

In water birth, the mother immerses her lower body in a tub of water heated to body temperature. The baby is born into the water. The baby continues to receive oxygen from the umbilical cord. It is then brought gently to the surface and handed to the mother. Babies will not try to breathe until the air hits their faces and are in no danger of drowning.

Bertram emphasizes that giving birth is a natural process for women and that, if left to their intuition, they have the ability to deliver healthy babies. Having a baby does not have to the overwhelming and frightening experience that modern methods have led women to believe. She provides lots of encouragement for women who want home births, even if they choose not to have a water birth. Alternatively some hospitals and birthing centers have water birth facilities available. Each woman must do what she feels is best for her and her baby.

For those who do choose waterbirth, Bertram provides a wealth of information on where to find birthing tubs (she purchased her first one at an animal feed store!), midwives and other attendants, and birthing centers. She also details exactly the things to expect about birth in general, and water birth in particular.

A long time yoga practitioner and certified instructor, Bertram includes a section on how expectant mothers may use yoga for relaxation and for strengthening and stretching the muscles that will be used during childbirth. The detailed instructions are accompanied by pictures.

The final section of the book is entitled "Practice," and in it Bertram has included pictures of her "water babies" and notes from her journals on their births. She says she hopes "to give women a different view of what birth can be." Her experiences helped make childbirth "a part of the joy of having children instead of a traumatic ordeal that had to be gone through in order to get children."

Sandra McLanahan, M.D. , in a preface to Choosing Waterbirth says "Lakshmi's book provides inspiration and support for women to learn to turn away from excess interventions, to return to the innate wisdom of the body and its natural resources." Every woman contemplating pregnancy, whether interested in water birth or not, will find a wealth of information and encouragement in Bertram's book.

Rating:
Summary: Good Introduction to Waterbirth options.
Review: This book is clearly written and very positive. She is not a medical professional nor a midwife but after 5 waterbirths certainly has enough experiences to tell about! I thought it was a good introduction to waterbirth but not technical enough to convince a skeptic. But still, worth reading and there are some lovely pictures of her giving birth.

Rating:
Summary: Good Introduction to Waterbirth options.
Review: This book is clearly written and very positive. She is not a medical professional nor a midwife but after 5 waterbirths certainly has enough experiences to tell about! I thought it was a good introduction to waterbirth but not technical enough to convince a skeptic. But still, worth reading and there are some lovely pictures of her giving birth.

Rating:
Summary: Choosing Waterbirth : Reclaiming the Sacred Power of Birth
Review: This book is wonderful! I was really hoping for a waterbirth for my first child, however she decided to come too early for me to have it at the birthing center. But this book was excellent in preparing me mentally what it would be like to go through labor and birth, and helped me learn the mindset to be in during labor. It has great instructions for prenatal yoga, and is a very easy read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in waterbirth, or simply getting in a more peaceful frame of mind for labor.

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Summary: Awesome Book!WaterBabys x5!:)
Review: This book ROCKS! Successfull Mom of 5 WaterBabys tells all!:) Foward by Awesome French MD/OB Michael Odent~ Father of modern Waterbirth movement in France~ A Must Read for any Mom/Dad 2B thinking about WaterBirth!:)

Rating:
Summary: Great for 1st time mom.
Review: This book supports women who are looking to give birth to and parent their baby au naturale.

Choosing Waterbirth did so much to prepare me psychologically for the road ahead, as a first-time mom planning for a non-medicated waterbirth. I read so many books that attempted to enlighten me as to what to expect from natural birth, and how to prepare for it psychologically, but could never quite 'get it'. Well this one took the cake. The author described the process in such a way that I felt like I was there going through it myself. Because she described first-person her five stories of waterbirths, she was able to take it on a very deep and personal level, which allowed me to imagine that I was her as I was reading her story. I could never get a clear picture of what to expect when reading other natural birth/ water birth books, but this novel format finally gave me the understanding I wanted. In the end, I was able to feel this woman's strength as she pushed through the pain, which gave me courage rather than fear of the pain in my own birth experience. This book also thoroughly covers the 3 stages of birth, described in a way that I could get a good understanding of without having ever gone through the process myself.

There's also an extensive chapter on prenatal yoga, with easy-to-follow pictures to learn the excercises, and guidance on relaxation and breathing techniques. She also tells you how to 'set the mood' for the occasion; how to choose and dress up the environment for maximum comfort.

The books ends with post-partum help: supportive information on breastfeeding, infant massage, and co-sleeping with your baby.

The information was obviously intended more for the birthing mother rather than the midwife/birth assistant. It covers many details and specifics that are important to the mother...attaining a tub (not building your own), finding a waterbirth center, who should & shouldn't consider waterbirth, and several resources to look into to 'make it happen'.

I thought this book complemented Water Birth by Napierala very well.