Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I gave birth before I could finish lol

Dnf at 50%.... I did... not like this book. Somehow both extremely flowery and stress-inducing at the same time

Major TW for the birth story told from the father's POV. I'm not normally one to give away spoilers, but putting a story of infant death in the middle of a collection of positive birth stories is a horrendous move. It triggered some major anxiety for me, as I have epilepsy, and the baby died as a result of complications from the mother seizing during childbirth.

Other than that, I didn't like some of the dated language and the condescending attitude (and frankly, some of her takes on medical things are flat-out wrong -- her insistence that gestational diabetes doesn't exist, for instance). However! I did enjoy the birth stories and the positive perspective surrounding vaginal birth. There was some great information about the birth process. It's a useful book if you are preparing for an unmedicated birth, as I was.

Key takeaways:

- The body knows what to do. For the most part, you can trust it.
- Moving around and letting gravity work for you is important.
- The mind and body are very connected. Staying relaxed and calm during labour greatly helps. Labour can slow or even reverse if the mother is stressed or uncomfortable with the environment.
- The main benefit was listening to the accounts of other people's experiences. It highlighted a wide range of possible scenarios and added a high degree of familiarity and comfort with the process–at least in theory.

I wasn't intending to review any of the pregnancy/birth/childcare books i was reading, but wanted to add my notes for this one. It's not complete trash, but if you're wanting an unmedicated hospital birth, this might rub you the wrong way, as it did to me.

Stuff i found helpful or encouraging:

• Reinforcement of the fact that moving around during labor and using alternative positions can be beneficial.
• Listening to your body for cues to push may lead to a more successful birth and less risk of tearing.
• Actionable breathing and vocal tools to use during labor.
• General insistence that you are strong and capable of an unmedicated birth if that's what you desire.

Not so great:

• Comes across super discouragingly of pain medication, or any medical intervention as well as hospital birth in general. I think it's one thing to educate on the pros and cons, but this stance is not that. It trends towards fear-mongering, too.
• I had to grimace at too many instances of her reminding that we can decline any recommend medical procedure. I know what i want, but i certainly don't know more than my doctor and value her expertise for the safety of my baby and myself.
• I had the updated version, but it still felt outdated. Some of the things she laments that hospitals don't support were included in my intro paperwork as standards of care.
• The Farm gives mega cult vibes.

Get it from the library or secondhand.

I learned about the author's issues after getting it used, but before reading it, for what it's worth.