Book Review: Active Birth

Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas (1992) argues that movement and positioning during pregnancy and labor can have a huge impact on the birthing process. The first part of the book explains the physiology behind why certain positions during labor and birth hinder the process while others help. Then the middle portion of the book explains a series of yoga exercises  and stretches (with helpful photos) that can help strengthen and prepare you for giving birth. And the last part of the book gives practical advice on what to do during labor-- including what to do if you choose to get an epidural-- and how to help accelerate the healing process after birth.

I felt that overall this book was much more useful to me than Ina May's book. I plan on using the exercises and advice about how to stay comfortable during labor. And I liked that this book didn't make me feel like getting an epidural would be evil, since depending on my situation I may choose that option.

I would definitely recommend this book to any pregnant woman-- whether she is planning on a hospital birth, home birth, or water birth, and whether she is planning on a medicated birth or not. My only caution is that this book has many graphic photographs of completely naked women giving birth. Why, oh why? To me birth is such a private sacred thing, I don't think pictures are necessary. But other than that, I think this book is great. I plan on reading long sections of it to Brent.

Book Review: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I have been reading a lot of books in preparation to have this baby and thought I'd share some brief book reviews. 

Ina May Gaskin, the author of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, is probably one of the most influential people in the natural childbirth movement. Her book, unsurprisingly, challenges conventional thought about childbirth and aims at empowering women to believe in their natural ability to birth--with as few interventions as possible. 

The first half of the birth is comprised entirely of birth stories, most of which take place at The Farm, a birthing center in Tennessee that Gaskin founded. Her purpose in including so many birth stories is to help women see how birth works without medication and common hospital interventions--how the mind and body are connected and how birth generally can be an uncomplicated, calm experience. I skimmed this section because although some of the stories I read seemed helpful, others seemed to give my anxiety-- which ironically was the opposite of Gaskin's intended effect. (Another important note about this section: there were a lot of graphic birthing pictures-- so this is not a book you want lying around the house for anyone to pick up.) 

The second half of the book focuses a lot on the history and politics of childbirth--which I also skimmed. However, there were some helpful chapters in which Gaskin discusses the mind-body connection and gives evidence as to how labor is affected by the thoughts and feelings of the mother. She argues if there is fear or anxiety or lack of privacy, these emotions can slow or even stop labor. She says to aid in the progression of labor laughter, relaxed breathing, and increased privacy can help. In fact, she suggests that labor usually progresses very well while sitting on the toilet. She additionally advocates upright labor positions in order to maximize the help of gravity and the angle of the pelvis. 

Again, the majority of the second half of the book takes a very anti-hospital stance and tells horror stories that I suppose are meant to be educational, but primarily seemed to push her own agenda. The most interesting thing in the second half of the book is what Gaskin calls the Sphincter Law. And I'm glad I read the book just for this information. If you're interested, you can google it. I just wasn't sure how to talk about here without getting too graphic.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are interested in the history and controversies surrounding childbirth, but if you are looking for a book that will help you give birth, this probably isn't quite the right book. 

Our Little Guy

Here are some pictures of little Baby B (B for boy and Brent Jr.). We don't have a name for him yet--and probably won't until he's born, but here's a little peek at what he looked like at 18 weeks 6 days. Brent scanned these at work and put in the captions himself. My favorites are the first two on the right where it looks like he's waving at us. :-) So cute! 

These scans didn't come out as clear as the actual photos, but you get the idea. Proof that he's in there!