Am I the only person that didn't like Ina May's book?

tokenhoser

I tried to read it.

Twice.

I couldn't get through it. I ended up skipping the birth stories and skimming the second half. I see so many recommendations for it, sometimes I just wonder if I'm a terribly abnormal natural birthing mom. 

KristyRon33

I adored it. Are you a reader in general? I am but I like non-fiction. I also like documentaries (geek). If you don't LOVE to read (I don't - I only ready what I think is cool) or if you don't like non-fiction, especially medical, I can see how it would be a dry read. I had to read a research study on brain stimulants for a class the other day. The young kids in the class loved it. I read it three times and still have no idea what it says.

Long story long: Natural childbirth will be fine. ( Actually I didn't look at your profile. have you already done it?) Do your research around you. Find hospital with lowest ces. rates. And don't worry about enjoying other ladies' labor stories. In fact, perhaps I'm abnormal for liking it. 

K 

theladyjess

I haven't read it nor do I plan to.

KateLouise

I haven't read it, I just wanted to chime in and say that I am reading, "the complete idiot's guide to natural birth" and I absolutely loathe the writing style.

So I'm really just glossing through it, to see what new ideas I can pick up that I can read about in other books. 

Bananappeal145

I'm a big reader but I didn't find it as helpful as everyone else seems to think it is either. I got about half way through the birth stories but was getting the impression that the only way to give birth is on the farm. I read the rest of the book and there were a few helpful things in there but really it was a bit too crunchy granola even for me. I think it's a valuable resource perhaps on one perspective of natural birth but I don't think it's the only way.

flyer23

Bananappeal145:

I'm a big reader but I didn't find it as helpful as everyone else seems to think it is either. I got about half way through the birth stories but was getting the impression that the only way to give birth is on the farm. I read the rest of the book and there were a few helpful things in there but really it was a bit too crunchy granola even for me. I think it's a valuable resource perhaps on one perspective of natural birth but I don't think it's the only way.

I hear this a lot. What I took away from the book, even though I was planning a hospital birth and ended up being induced (so I had a constant IV, EFM, the whole nine yards), was a tremendous sense of NORMALCY about birth. The stories weren't all wonderful easy births, but there was no "OMG, THIS IS SO AWFUL!!!!" or "emergencies" that required a doctor to "save the day." The complete opposite of pretty much everything else about birth in our culture today.

I think the title of the book is misleading, though. I think some people read it expecting it to be, well, a guide to childbirth -- here are positions that might be helpful, here are techniques that can get you through, etc. And there, I think it does fall short, because out-of-hospital birth (especially in a commune!) is a completely different beast from what the vast majority of women today experience.

All that said, I didn't love love LOVE it so much that I felt the need to reread it when I was pregnant with my son. Even though, ironically, I ended up doing homebirth and so the stories would have been much more applicable to my experience that time around.

vszapp

OP, I'm glad you wrote. I skimmed through it and was thinking the same thing. Didn't really work for me!!

pepomntpat

I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't find it very helpful. I also didn't like how it totally demonized hospital birth. I feel that way about a lot of NB literature though.  

tokenhoser

I do love to read. I read fiction, non-fiction, I've always got a book on the go, and I read a stack of books about NB before I gave birth.

I think I just preferred the books that were more focused on helpful strategies. I also knew I'd be giving birth in a hospital with a doctor, so all the focus on how that was likely to suck didn't really make me feel great. I already had a pretty good handle on "birth = natural" as a farm girl on a cow/calf farm where hundreds of animals crank out babies every year. It just didn't resonate with me... and that's okay! I had a wonderful, natural birth.

AliW220

Bananappeal145:

I'm a big reader but I didn't find it as helpful as everyone else seems to think it is either. I got about half way through the birth stories but was getting the impression that the only way to give birth is on the farm. I read the rest of the book and there were a few helpful things in there but really it was a bit too crunchy granola even for me. I think it's a valuable resource perhaps on one perspective of natural birth but I don't think it's the only way.

 

THIS!  I was very disappointed by the book. It made me feel like hospitals and doctors are evil. I will say tho, it opened up my eyes as to how many different situations can be dealt with minus medicines. 

I have found that "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin is very very helpful for me. It seems to present all sides of labor and birthing in a more unbiased way. I 100% recommend it over Ina May's book.

chicsub

My first pregnancy I felt like it was too crunchy.  For my VBAC pregnancy I loved it b/c it reminded me that I wasn't broken and that our c/s rate is too high b/c of our institutions, not our bodies.  I had my VBAC in a hospital, but it just helped me get into a good place mentally to read those stories.  I was looking for positive birth stories as much as possible this last pregnancy.

iris427

chicsub:

My first pregnancy I felt like it was too crunchy.  For my VBAC pregnancy I loved it b/c it reminded me that I wasn't broken and that our c/s rate is too high b/c of our institutions, not our bodies.  I had my VBAC in a hospital, but it just helped me get into a good place mentally to read those stories.  I was looking for positive birth stories as much as possible this last pregnancy.

Exactly.   

julyjennifer

She has a few books, so I wasn't sure which one you were referring to.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Spiritual Midwifery

 

I liked the Guide to Childbirth better, and in fact I did love it.  But different things appeal to different people, so there's nothing wrong with not liking it! 

chillyupnorth

I didn't care so much for the birth stories, mostly because I wasn't giving birth on the farm :S, and my MW wasn't going to go for a lot of that.

I did find parts of the rest of it helpful, but not everything. Mostly it helped remind me that I COULD do it, my body COULD do it, and that if I just got the hell out of the way, it would happen.

DesignsOnYou

I did not find it helpful from a practical standpoint at all. When you're in the middle of transition, you don't give a flying flip about some birth story you read in there but what you do care about is a new position, breathing technique, etc. to help cope. I don't recall it offering those practical type of things.

theladyjess

pepomntpat:

I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't find it very helpful. I also didn't like how it totally demonized hospital birth. I feel that way about a lot of NB literature though.  

That's pretty much why I haven't read it.  I've found that there's a large part of the NB community that thinks that a hospital birth is the end of the world and to be avoided at all costs.  I have a medical background and I don't buy into a lot of the "woo" that comes with may hardcore NB supporters.

I have a great dr who's supportive of my decision to have a NB and will do everything she can to help me achive my goal of a NB.  I'm choosing to give birth in a hospital because I want the reassurance that should something go wrong, and even the most routine birth can have emergency complications, I'm only minutes away from the OR, NICU and a team of drs and nurses trained in handling complications.  The health and safety of my child are more important to me than having the perfect "birth expierence".

Fletcha

I'm trying to get through it and am struggling... So far I've read about 4 natural birth books and the hands down winner for me was Natural Hospital Birth. Very practical, up-to-date advice, lots of great info, and still very encouraging and even has some birth stoires. It really focuses on how to work WITH your care providers and get them on your side and supportive instead of entering the whole ordeal like a battle.

Since I am planning a med-free hospital birth with a CNM, I found it to be very relevant and valuable in my situation.

I always highly recommend it.

ETA: Also really liked The Birth Partner, lots of really practical advice on how to help a woman in labor. My DH read most of it and now my sister has it.

Mamasaurus

I flipped it open to a random page in a store, read something about using psychic powers to turn a breech baby, and decided not to read it. That may be a little unfair, but there are a lot of other similar books out there I want to read first before getting to one (if I ever do) that discusses telekinesis. Really, this is probably why crunchy moms get such a bad rap. They think we are all skipping epis because we want to channel spirits instead.

flyer23

theladyjess:

The health and safety of my child are more important to me than having the perfect "birth expierence".

Are you implying that birthing outside the hospital means sacrificing your child's health/safety for the perfect "birth experience?"

irish4jan1

I am almost done reading this. I skipped most of the birth stories, but found a lot of her suggestions well-taken and good reminders. I am also taking a Bradley class, which has been super informative and helpful. I like to know what I am getting myself into and reading this book was a good reference. It was suggested that I read "Homebirth in the Hospital'. Thats my next one.

fyziksgirl

flyer23:

Bananappeal145:

I'm a big reader but I didn't find it as helpful as everyone else seems to think it is either. I got about half way through the birth stories but was getting the impression that the only way to give birth is on the farm. I read the rest of the book and there were a few helpful things in there but really it was a bit too crunchy granola even for me. I think it's a valuable resource perhaps on one perspective of natural birth but I don't think it's the only way.

I hear this a lot. What I took away from the book, even though I was planning a hospital birth and ended up being induced (so I had a constant IV, EFM, the whole nine yards), was a tremendous sense of NORMALCY about birth. The stories weren't all wonderful easy births, but there was no "OMG, THIS IS SO AWFUL!!!!" or "emergencies" that required a doctor to "save the day." The complete opposite of pretty much everything else about birth in our culture today.

I think the title of the book is misleading, though. I think some people read it expecting it to be, well, a guide to childbirth -- here are positions that might be helpful, here are techniques that can get you through, etc. And there, I think it does fall short, because out-of-hospital birth (especially in a commune!) is a completely different beast from what the vast majority of women today experience.

All that said, I didn't love love LOVE it so much that I felt the need to reread it when I was pregnant with my son. Even though, ironically, I ended up doing homebirth and so the stories would have been much more applicable to my experience that time around.

I pretty much second all of this. I loved how very, very normal it made birth seems. After all of the shots of A Baby Story and horror stories from friends and relatives (even consciously knowing I disagreed with what I saw/heard), a large dose of normalcy was just what I needed to get back in a better mindset!

theladyjess

flyer23:

theladyjess:

The health and safety of my child are more important to me than having the perfect "birth expierence".

Are you implying that birthing outside the hospital means sacrificing your child's health/safety for the perfect "birth experience?"

Did I say that?  No I didn't.  Please don't put implications where there are none.

As I said, I feel more comfortable giving birth knowing that there are emergency resources right outside the door rather than several minutes to a half hour away.  I would rather have a horrible "birth expierence" and know that I did everything possible to avoid a negative outcome than to have the perfect "birth expierence" and always wonder if I could have avoided a negative outcome if I had been at the hospital where emergency medical intervention was immediately available. 

You are free to do whatever you choose.  I may not agree with your choices but they're yours to make.  I don't agree with a lot of people's choices but I do my best not to openly judge or share my opinion unless I'm asked to.  For example, I don't agree with my friend's parenting choices, however, I don't say anything because they've never asked for my opinion.  There are times when I bite my tongue but I keep my mouth shut.  I don't like unsolicited opinions/advice and therefore I try not to give it.

If you're asking if I think that giving birth outside the hospital can sacrifice a child's health/safety for the mother's "birth expierence" then my answer is yes.  I think that certian women are determined to have a home birth come hell or high water even when they've been advised not to.  There are some women out there that put their "birth expierence" above the health and safety of their child.  I don't agree with that.  That is my opinion, however, they are fee to make their own choices and must live with the consequences of those choices whether the consequences be good or bad.

mesr

julyjennifer:

She has a few books, so I wasn't sure which one you were referring to.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Spiritual Midwifery

there's also Birth Matters.

i really liked Spiritual Midwifery.  that book completely inspired me during my pregnancies.  i can't recommend it highly enough.  the other two books are okay, but Spiritual Midwifery is my all-time favorite.

HSartteach

I'm in the middle of it.  At first I liked the birth stories, but then they got to be too much.  I finally skipped ahead and started to read the rest.  I haven't fully decided yet.

I also read the preview of Birthing from Within and I liked that, so I plan on buying that one.

BakerMommy

chillyupnorth:

I did find parts of the rest of it helpful, but not everything. Mostly it helped remind me that I COULD do it, my body COULD do it, and that if I just got the hell out of the way, it would happen.

I felt the same way.  It wasn't so much a how-to for me, but a how-it-can-be.