Natural Hospital Birth 2nd Edition: The Best of Both Worlds

Natural Hospital Birth has turned out to be one of my favorite birth books, and I’ve recommended it to several other expecting moms. It is all about having an empowered birth and being a part of the process – not just “along for the ride.” I recommend it even if you are considering a medicated birth, because epidural moms want to be empowered, too!The book goes into some detail about many of the common medical practices and interventions – more so than the typical birth books like “What to Expect” and “The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.” Those are good resources, but cover very little on the hospital birth experience and the cascade of interventions that too many mothers face (and are sometimes pressured into).The book helps the mom determine what kind of birth experience she wants, and how to create an effective birth plan that will be (hopefully) respected by caregivers. There is also a list of common interventions, the pros and cons for each, and steps to take to avoid the interventions.One of the most helpful parts of the book is the section on the actual birth process in detail – what it feels like, what to expect, the stages, comfort measures, etc. This is great for the first-time mom, and helpful for the mom who has had medicated births in the past but is trying for natural birth this time.I think this is a great resource for birth partners, too – especially the section on the actual birth process. The author makes it clear that the birth partner should have a deep understanding of the birth plan – when mom is in the middle of a contraction or concentrating through hard labor, she may not be able to effectively communicate. Birth partners are essential in making sure the laboring mother’s wishes are respected. The book includes scripts that birth partners can use when interacting with caregivers on mom’s behalf.Overall, this is an excellent resource for all pregnant moms. So many women recount that their birth experience was disappointing or even traumatic. This book provides great information on how to make your birth experience an empowering and positive one.OTHER BOOKS FROM MY PERSONAL READING LIST:Childbirth Without Fear (Grantly Dick-Read): First written in the 1950’s, this is still the go-to book on natural birth practices and how to avoid fear and pain. Not an easy read, but extremely empowering – especially for women who might doubt their own abilities to birth healthy babies. Dick-Read has so many positive messages for moms. Again, even if you are planning on an epidural or other medicated birth, you will still benefit from this book.HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method (Marie F. Mongan): Another natural-based birth book, but oh-so-helpful. HypnoBirthing teaches deep meditation methods that can help control not only pain, but also fear and anxiety. Even with an epidural (and especially during a c-section), many moms experience anxiety during the birth process. Hypnobirthing can really help!Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse (M. Sperlick, J. Seng): A great resource for moms who are also survivors of sexual trauma (or any PTSD survivor). Includes narratives from other survivor moms and addresses issues that they face.

I really enjoyed reading this book during my 3rd pregnancy and now again in my 4th. It definitely helped me prepare for an unmedicated birth (my 1st unmedicated) in the hospital. It is easy to read and has lots of great info, even as a 3rd & 4th time mom it is very helpful. I highly recommend it, even if you aren't planning to go unmedicated or if you are planning a home birth or birth center birth it is very informational in general and great tips for getting the mind ready.

I am about to have my first baby (39 weeks today!) and I have been striving to find the right way to achieve a natural hospital birth. I'm not comfortable doing it at home, but I also want to avoid as many unnecessary interventions as possible. I found this book on Amazon, and I have to say--it is an invaluable resource. I read through it so quickly, and now I've assigned some sections to my husband!I've read Birthing from Within, and I looked through A Thinking Woman's Guide, as well as numerous pregnancy and baby books. (I'm a Psychology MA student, and I can't decide anything without doing some research first!!) Out of all of the books I've read (seriously it's a lot--I have about 20), this one really spoke to me. I felt like many of the other books about natural childbirth had an undertone of "Well if you HAVE to go to a hospital" or "Well if you HAVE to have an OB" and this did not. I love that it acknowledges that for most women, an OB and a hospital setting is normal--and that it's OKAY! My OB is fantastic--she values natural practices and is much more willing to discuss natural alternatives and recommend those before using medical interventions. She lives her life like I do--organic, local, holistic. She has been a huge supporter of my decision to have a natural birth, and even with my medical complications has done what she can to provide me with non-medical interventions to treat them.The other thing I wanted to mention was the amazing section on "Birth Plans." I have argued with myself for nearly 6 months now about writing a birth plan. At first I thought I definitely needed one. Then I thought, "You can't PLAN birth!" so I scrapped it. Then I thought, "Well but what if..." I have struggled with this for a long time. The section on these complicated and potentially controversial "plans" helped to sort it all out for me. I decided to write a "Birth Wish List" (the word plan kept throwing me off) that uses a couple sentences for each section to describe our wishes for a natural birth and to ask for help from the hospital staff in achieving this goal. I used a lot of the advice this book gave about keeping it positive ("We'd prefer to use...") rather than confrontational ("We don't want..."). After writing it, I felt so positive and peaceful about it, and that's exactly how I want this experience to be.I am now at the point that I am no longer afraid of birthing in a hospital. After I knew that I wanted to go as natural as possible, I started to prepare myself for battle. I hated the feeling of conflict and fear that I felt about it. I wondered if maybe I should just lie during labor and force a home birth (not something I want!!) so I could avoid all of the expected confrontation. I worried about fights with the labor nurses and hospital staff, and I worried about failing in my goals. It was as if I knew that deep down, I'd never get what I really want and then I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life.After reading this book, I don't feel this way. Sure, I know that there will be things that we have to assert ourselves on. I've had lengthy discussions with my support team about being my advocates and how to stay firm but positive when presented with interventions. I've embraced the situation I'll be (slowly, painfully) walking into once I head to the hospital (hopefully in transition!!) and have decided that I am going to be positive, calm, and team-oriented in my approach to birthing my daughter. Instead of seeing the hospital as enemy territory, I'm viewing it as a sanctuary. I'm making it my own, and enlisting the staff to my team. Together, all of us--we will birth this child as naturally as possible.I don't know that I could have approached this with as much conviction as I have now without reading this book. I am confident in my decisions and know that we will achieve them. Thank you, Cynthia, so much for writing such a practical and yet inspiring book for what I feel is a growing population of mothers--the ones who value the safety of the medical field but wish to forego unnecessary utilization of the techniques and interventions available in order to be more in tune with themselves, their babies, and nature--the way it was intended to be.I highly recommend this book for all birthing mothers. It contains an unbiased, truthful overview of each and every intervention that will be offered, things to consider when deciding whether to use them, and how to respectfully and calmly refuse them if you decide not to. It also discusses ways to make your hospital birth your own and to approach it with peace. While reading this book, I felt empowered and confident--something a first time mom rarely feels about the birthing process!

Very useful and reassuring book on labour and birth. Gives amazing tips on how to approche your healthcare professional with your labour and birth wishes. Gives you a good idea of procedures / medications that can be used and how to avoid them.

Got this in preparation for my first birth. Being pregnant for the first time all this labor stuff is terrifying, but this book was very helpful to get my head around what could happen and what I can control and what not. It is very realistic, you never know what will happen, but in case of options being offered to you, you will know what exactly it means, what are the benefits and disadvantages and you will be empowered to take the right decision for yourself. We will bring this book to hospital with us and it will be my husband's go to in case of decision-making.

Great book. Very helpful. Worth the purchase.

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Nice combination of research and implications from a human perspective