I sometimes get emails from friends and family asking me to recommend books about childbirth. Here is my short list of books worth picking up.
A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A lovely book with a very genuine and earnest voice. I'm not sure I would be entirely comfortable reading this book if I were a die-hard hospital birther, but on the other hand I think it has the potential to change some minds, or soften some viewpoints, and that's a good thing. This book's peek at the lives of both a midwife and the Amish is fascinating.
The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is like a less tidy version of Baby Catcher. The stories in The Midwife aren't quite as pat and refined as Baby Catcher's, which they shouldn't be, considering the differences in time and place (post-war East End London vs. modern-day California). But the writing in The Midwife is slightly clunkier, too, which makes the birthing and medical scenes abrupt and visceral.
The stories in this book are at once inspiring, heartbreaking, nauseating, disturbing, and entertaining. But prepare to be shocked - midwifery and medicine among the very poor in 1950s London was a messy business and the author tells it like it is (was).
(Just a note - I somehow ended up with the large-type edition of this book, which broke up the reading experience somewhat. I'll have to read the regular edition someday and see if I like it better. But obviously I liked it quite a bit as it was.)
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material by Ina May Gaskin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There's a lot of good stuff in here but it still comes off as crunchy at times.
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was kind of shocking and negative through most of it, with a laundry list of horrifying anecdotes. The author redeems himself at the end with real, concrete suggestions for improving the maternity care situation in this country, but still.
Also, I'm not sure this lady is the one you want as your poster child for a woman's right to refuse a C-section. I'm just sayin'.
In short, this was like the man-version of Pushed, but with a lot more hate for OBs. Like, a LOT more hate. If you had to choose one book to read on this subject, I would recommend Pushed or Birth over this one for sure.
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I already had the blogorrhea about this one a few years back.
This book is THE BEST. If you're only going to read one book about birth, let it be this one. Please.
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What I learned from this book? How to give birth naturally. If I have a second favorite (behind Pushed), it's this one. Be warned, though: the last few chapters are not a happy ending and it could be distressing if you read it while in the last stages of pregnancy.
Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution by Robin Marantz Henig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Good for background about in-vitro fertilization.
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book changed my life.
Yay! Now when someone asks for a recommendation, I can just point them to this post.
A Midwife's Story by Penny ArmstrongMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A lovely book with a very genuine and earnest voice. I'm not sure I would be entirely comfortable reading this book if I were a die-hard hospital birther, but on the other hand I think it has the potential to change some minds, or soften some viewpoints, and that's a good thing. This book's peek at the lives of both a midwife and the Amish is fascinating.
The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer WorthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is like a less tidy version of Baby Catcher. The stories in The Midwife aren't quite as pat and refined as Baby Catcher's, which they shouldn't be, considering the differences in time and place (post-war East End London vs. modern-day California). But the writing in The Midwife is slightly clunkier, too, which makes the birthing and medical scenes abrupt and visceral.
The stories in this book are at once inspiring, heartbreaking, nauseating, disturbing, and entertaining. But prepare to be shocked - midwifery and medicine among the very poor in 1950s London was a messy business and the author tells it like it is (was).
(Just a note - I somehow ended up with the large-type edition of this book, which broke up the reading experience somewhat. I'll have to read the regular edition someday and see if I like it better. But obviously I liked it quite a bit as it was.)
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material by Ina May GaskinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
There's a lot of good stuff in here but it still comes off as crunchy at times.
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden WagnerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was kind of shocking and negative through most of it, with a laundry list of horrifying anecdotes. The author redeems himself at the end with real, concrete suggestions for improving the maternity care situation in this country, but still.
Also, I'm not sure this lady is the one you want as your poster child for a woman's right to refuse a C-section. I'm just sayin'.
In short, this was like the man-version of Pushed, but with a lot more hate for OBs. Like, a LOT more hate. If you had to choose one book to read on this subject, I would recommend Pushed or Birth over this one for sure.
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer BlockMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I already had the blogorrhea about this one a few years back.
This book is THE BEST. If you're only going to read one book about birth, let it be this one. Please.
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy VincentMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
What I learned from this book? How to give birth naturally. If I have a second favorite (behind Pushed), it's this one. Be warned, though: the last few chapters are not a happy ending and it could be distressing if you read it while in the last stages of pregnancy.
Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution by Robin Marantz HenigMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Good for background about in-vitro fertilization.
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina CassidyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book changed my life.
Yay! Now when someone asks for a recommendation, I can just point them to this post.