Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Product Information

Ina May pushes back against the idea that midwives can only be present for “normal,” non-complicated births and includes stories of breech babies, shoulder dystocia, women who were told they had a too small pelvis, etc. But there are many good insights, ideas, and a good look at a more natural/alternative approach to the typical medical/hospital care women are more commonly accustomed to. The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report.

A little like "I have found truth and if this doesn't work for you, it's probably because you're repressed and have been brainwashed by patriarchy and big pharma.I felt like my body had betrayed me by failing at this most basic task of womanhood, which my female relatives have done countless times without issue. The birth stories in the beginning of the book were interesting and heart warming (although I'll admit, a few were just plain weird!

Many women feel so ashamed about things like miscarriages, epidurals, c-sections, breastfeeding difficulties, formula feeding, etc. The second half of the book was really helpful with information on what to expect during childbirth, what your options are, and techniques to help you during childbirth. I do definitely recommend this one, but I also recommend reading other books to fill out a more balanced view, unless you are definitely giving birth under the stars on a hippie commune and your chances of winding up in a hospital are extremely low. i liked the second part more, and found the information thought-provoking in many instances, but overall it left me worried and doubting my choice to use a doctor/hospital/epidural, etc.She covers all the important primal and spiritual aspects to natural birth that are important, but she also does so in a way that might not be deemed by certain people as overly fluffy or 'hippie'-like as other books - I know some people don't like or aren't used to that.

This taught me so much and I feel empowered and positive about birthing my first baby naturally in 5 weeks! Another downside of this book was that it was a little too "Rah, rah, rah, women's bodies can do anything! I come back to the issue of goodness of fit -- just like one looks for an OB who's a good fit, one looks for a birthing book that's a good fit. I also love the pictures throughout the book which fill me with a nice feeling of anticipation and excitement long before I even got pregnant. Even if this book is "pro-midwife" or "anti-hospital," how many hundreds of books are out there that completely ignore the points that Ina May raises in this book?We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. She emphasized a few things that focused on self-pleasure; during a time when a woman is delivering a baby into the world, I believe that herself should not be the primary thing on her mind.