Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

JellyTwoPointO · January 2013

Has anyone else read this book or plan on reading it? I'm in the middle of it now and I'm quickly falling in love! I expected it to be good, but personally, I'm finding it to be amazing. It's also been very empowering to me as a first time mom and having no idea what to expect from labor and birth.

Just thought I'd see if others have read it and what your thoughts were.

PrimRoseMama · January 2013

I haven't but I might pick it up! Thanks for the idea!

opheliainwaders · January 2013

I haven't started it yet, but my stepsister, who had a baby in September, LOVED it, and gave me her copy, so it's on my list Big Smile

equinus · January 2013

I read that book a few times during my last pregnancy, especially the birth stories and loved it, so informative and inspiring, and I did go on to have a med free birth. I plan on re-reading it again this pregnancy.

KdgTeacher · January 2013

I read it and loved it! I started making a list of things women did that helped with comfort/pain relief.

I'm now reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and at some point would like to read her other book Spiritual Midwifery

JellyTwoPointO · January 2013

I found the orgasmic and euphoric birth section to be a bit fascinating. It's not the first time I've heard of it, but reading the quotes really interested me. I'm kind of hoping for that same sense of euphoria and joy.

JellyTwoPointO · January 2013

KdgTeacher:
I read it and loved it!nbsp; I started making a list of things women did that helped with comfort/pain relief.
I'm now reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and at some point would like to read her other book Spiritual Midwifery

What do you think of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding so far? That was also recommended to me. It looks huge!

equinus · January 2013

Jellybean902:
I found the orgasmic and euphoric birth section to be a bit fascinating. It's not the first time I've heard of it, but reading the quotes really interested me. I'm kind of hoping for that same sense of euphoria and joy.

I ordered a copy of Orgasmic Birth from Amazon and plan on reading that this pregnancy as well. While I doubt I will actually have an orgasm during birth this time around, one can dream right ;-)

KdgTeacher · January 2013

Jellybean902:
KdgTeacher:
I read it and loved it!nbsp; I started making a list of things women did that helped with comfort/pain relief. I'm now reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and at some point would like to read her other book Spiritual Midwifery
What do you think of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding so far? That was also recommended to me. It looks huge!

I'm not super far at all; maybe 40 pages. So far it is OK...it stresses the importance of having a support system (other moms who nurse, etc) and without a doubt pushes LLL.

bunnie712 · January 2013

Read it when pg with dd and loved it! Plan to read it again. It work for inspiration for my pain med free labor and delivery with dd.

JCWhitey · January 2013

I'll be honest, I read the first story and thought "What a cracked out book!", but then I kept reading and loved it! Just a warning to anyone who hasn't read it yet- the first story is really strange if you've never read a birth story before. I haven't re-read it since then but from what I can recall it's written by a woman who just had a baby and is helping a laboring mother through her pains and gets a little graphic about some pp things I'd rather pretend don't exist right now.

This was the first time I'd heard of a labor besides that of the few friends I had at the time who'd had babies, and they all had c-sections so it was nothing like that! The rest are a little more typical from what you'd expect. And the medical part of the book is very enlightening as to what your options are and the differences between your care options.

mittensonkittens · January 2013

Great book. I read it during my first pregnancy and it gave me confidence that I could do a med-free delivery. I think that not fearing the pain was critical to getting through 17 hours of labor.

Xles10 · January 2013

I read it while pregnant with DS. I'll admit, I skipped most of the birth stories. But I really found it empowering. It helped to change my mind-set about L&D.

bobcee · January 2013

I read it during my last pregnancy and really feel like it helped give me the med free birthing experience I was hoping for.

luvmyducks · January 2013

I read it with DD. I skimmed through most of the birth stories in the first half of the book but read through the 2nd half a couple times. Overall, I liked it.

briannabeebug · January 2013

Yeah I just finished Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May and then launched into Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.......and I got tired of all the birth stories--haha! I took a break from the preggo books and read a just for fun book. So far between the two of them I've enjoyed Spiritual Midwifery more than Guide to Childbirth.

I also recommend Birthing From Within as well--it's more of an interactive book that talks about the mothers psychology during pregnancy and labor and delivery.

meltoine · January 2013

I like her books because she does a good job of explaining some of the "complications" that can arise during childbirth and distinguishing between those that are truly serious versus those that are a harmless variation of normal birth provided you are in the hands of a well-trained and capable provider. Knowing that a nuchal cord is common and why it's not a big deal (and other such situations) can really help a lot of women overcome some of their fear about birth.

JCWhitey · January 2013

ebille:
Jellybean902:
I found the orgasmic and euphoric birth section to be a bit fascinating. It's not the first time I've heard of it, but reading the quotes really interested me. I'm kind of hoping for that same sense of euphoria and joy.
I ordered a copy of Orgasmic Birth from Amazon and plan on reading that this pregnancy as well. While I doubt I will actually have an orgasm during birth this time around, one can dream right ;-)

I'm not sure if you're familiar with what Forensics Speech and Debate is or what a POI is, but basically it's a performance-type piece put together using multiple sources (books, journal articles, essays, movies, etc.). When trying to come up with a new one for my college team this past semester I came across the Orgasmic Birth documentary and decided to try that out for size. So I spent hours reading articles and doing research on the topic and it is very, very interesting!

Most women will admit that what they experienced when they claim to have an "orgasmic birth" isn't exactly like an orgasm you would have during sex, but rather a sensation that is unlike anything else they've ever experienced but since we don't have a name for it yet that's what they call it as orgasm is the feeling it comes closest to. So it's not like your kid is turning you on, I think it's more about getting to that surreal point where you're exhausted and have crazy emotions and hormone running through you and then you get to that final part and everything accumulates into one huge emotion. I don't think it's too hard stretched to think that so many women claim to experience it.

You should try to also find the essay "The Glorious Pelvic Thrust" by Maria Young Alders. Google is not showing me where I came upon when I was creating my piece. It's a great little birth story that I fully plan to take some hints and tips from (already watching a belly dancing video to learn some moves!).

And for the record, the judges LOVE my piece. I always get notes from them saying I should watch The Business of Being Born. Haha!

KdgTeacher · January 2013

JCWhitey:
-
You should try to also find the essay "The Glorious Pelvic Thrust" by Maria Young Alders. Google is not showing me where I came upon when I was creating my piece. It's a great little birth story that I fully plan to take some hints and tips from (already watching a belly dancing video to learn some moves!).

Is this it?

https://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=8c79c33e-7370-46d3-a85d-50efeb91bd74%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=9410196022

JCWhitey · January 2013

KdgTeacher:
JCWhitey:
-
You should try to also find the essay "The Glorious Pelvic Thrust" by Maria Young Alders. Google is not showing me where I came upon when I was creating my piece. It's a great little birth story that I fully plan to take some hints and tips from (already watching a belly dancing video to learn some moves!).

Is this it?

https://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=8c79c33e-7370-46d3-a85d-50efeb91bd74%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=9410196022

Yes! That's it! For some reason I kept only seeing a Mothering book on Google Books that edited out that chapter. Thanks for finding it! What I love about it most is that she has the baby in the hospital like that. I'm pretty sure it was a birth center type thing since the midwife attended the birth, but if recall (and given, I haven't read the entire thing in months, just the exerts I use in my piece) it's connected to a hospital. I love the bit about the nurse dancing with her to monitor the baby.

sonflower1427 · January 2013

I read it at least twice my last pregnancy and I am reading it now.

I'll be really honest, some of the birth stories reminded me of a bunch of hippies throwing flowers in the air and dancing. BUT, I really enjoyed the research in the second part of the book and her suggestions for allowing your body to work with your contractions to birth your baby. I want to get her other book "Spiritual Midwifery" and read it, too!

sonflower1427 · January 2013

I have read it! Well, I skimmed a few parts, but I found it really useful and encouraging. It's a lot but it goes through the anatomy and the reasons behind how breastfeeding works, which I find fascinating.

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