The Essential Homebirth Guide

Birthing is a miraculous time when you and your baby will work together to bring about life. As you finally cradle your precious newborn in your arms, you should know deep in your soul that every decision that brought the two of you to this special moment was yours. More families than ever are choosing to birth at home. Midwives Jane E. Drichta and Jodilyn Owen answer questions about the kind of care, support, and information you need as you investigate whether this option is right for you. Birth can be an empowering and positive experience, and this book provides gentle guidance, with high regard for your wisdom and ability to successfully navigate your prenatal care, birth, and early mothering. Enriched with real birth stories from new mothers, The Essential Homebirth Guide offers thoughtful, compassionate advice on a wealth of birthing topics, including: • Building a supportive homebirth community • Caring for yourself and your baby from your pregnancy through the postpartum period • Communicating about your birthing plans with your midwife, your partner, and your family and friends • Deciding whether homebirth is safe for you • Educating yourself about common pregnancy-related issues • Preparing your home and your family for the big day

Describes different approaches to childbirth and their advantages and disadvantages, including midwife delivery and birth centers.

"What do a Dutch university lecturer, a US Marine, a Scottish artist, and an English engineer have in common? They have all experienced the transformative power of home birth, and their stories - and many others - are told in this groundbreaking book. As hospital-based maternity services become increasingly medicalised, more and more parents are deciding that birth belongs in the home. For many women, this choice may be an easy one, but for their partners, home birth raises some serious questions. For the first time, The Father's Home Birth Handbook provides a resource aimed specifically at exploring men's hopes and fears around home birth. Thorough research, balanced discussion, and dozens of home birth stories from real men all over the world make this book essential reading for all fathers-to-be and the professionals who support them."--Publisher's description.

Now in its fourth printing, The Birth Partner, 4th Edition is newly revised and updated. This is the definitive manual for any helpful companion at a birthing mother's bedside. Since the original publication of The Birth Partner, partners, friends, relatives, and doulas (professional birth assistants) have relied on Penny Simkin's guidance in caring for the new mother, from her last trimester through the early postpartum period. Fully revised in its fourth edition, The Birth Partner remains the definitive guide for preparing to help a woman through childbirth and the essential manual to have at hand during the event. This completely updated edition includes thorough information on: Preparing for labor and knowing when it has begun Normal labor and how to help the woman every step of the way Epidurals and other medications for labor Non-drug techniques for easing labor pain Cesarean birth and complications that may require it Breastfeeding and newborn care And that is just a start. For the partner who wishes to be truly helpful in the birthing room, The Birth Partner, 4th Edition is indispensable.

A full natural birth guide to broaden your understanding of birth and how to empower yourself in the process.

Childbirth is a life-altering experience for any woman, but a Cesarean delivery can be overwhelming, whether it’s unexpected or planned. Despite the fact that roughly one in four babies in the United States is delivered by c-section, very little information about the experience is included in typical pregnancy books and physicians and childbirth educators often gloss over the details. The Essential C-Section Guide is written not only for women to read in preparation for a scheduled c-section and for those considered “high risk” who know that a c-section may become necessary but also for women recovering from an unexpected surgical delivery. This book provides answers to important questions about what the surgery entails, what a woman can expect as she recovers, and what considerations should be made for future pregnancies and deliveries. With frank discussions about the physical and emotional aspects surrounding a c-section, the authors share comforting wisdom about early bonding, pain control, breastfeeding, infant care, healing from surgery, postpartum exercise, partner involvement, and much more, in detail not available anywhere else. Written by authors who have firsthand knowledge of birth by c-section, The Essential C-Section Guide is well-researched and addresses its unique concerns with intelligence and compassion. www.broadwaybooks.com

"It is the mind-body connection that will allow parents to fully experience and appreciate the emotional, physical, and spiritual beauty of childbirth. Better Birth will help guide parents through this journey of creation and destination to birth." ?Donna Karan Pregnancy should be a time of joy and celebration. But if you're not emotionally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually prepared for childbirth, it can also be a time of stress and anxiety. This groundbreaking book takes the fear out of labor and delivery and arms you with the knowledge to have an informed, safe, and peaceful birth. Better Birth will be the one resource that you can turn to again and again to get all your questions answered and feel empowered during your birthing process. Birthing expert Denise Spatafora shows you how to prepare yourself to have the childbirth you want, whether you choose to deliver your baby in a hospital, birthing center, or at home. She shows you how to tap into your mind-body connection to draw upon natural relaxation methods that promote a childbirth experience that is beautiful and fulfilling, rather than frightening. If you're pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, you and your baby deserve a better birth.

Written by a physician, this book embraces the power and possibility of integrative childbirth, in which the compassionate tradition of midwives is combined with the technical expertise of western medicine. --from publisher description.