Episiotomies, VBACs, and doulas oh my!  That is what I am saying after reading this book.  It was written very much as a text book rather than a light read, but I learned a ton.  I am happy I read this after reading "Your Best Birth". 

The Bradley Method simply means husband coached childbirth.  This means that your husband is your main coach, and go to person, he is right there with you every step of the way during labor and he knows what is going on and knows how to rub your back, pray for you, and when to talk and when not to talk.  This isn't where the husband stands in the waiting room tapping his toe anxious to pass out cigars to all his friends and family with news that his baby has arrived.  In this situation the doctor/nurse/midwife is viewed more as a safety net if something goes wrong.  Birth is a beautiful part life...it is an emergence not an emergency.

With all that being said, I am going to look for a newer book on the Bradley Method of Childbirth, because this one was last revised in 1996 and in many ways it is really dated.  It had a ton of great information, but some of the stuff about a pregnant womans diet seemed a little off to me.  It was also kind of hard to get past the pictures of hippies giving birth.   

Brady and I are confident that when we do have babies we will use the Bradley Method.  There are others out there...most common is Lamaze, which uses planned breathing techniques are relaxation during childbirth.  There is Hyponobirthing, which uses self-hypnosis for pain management.  All I know is that Brady is the one person  who can calm me down during a freak out moment so the Bradley Method seems like the perfect fit. 

For more information on the Bradley Method you can click here to go to their website.  Also you can click on the picture of the book to buy it for yourself from Amazon. 

And little side note...I am doing horrible at my blogging twice a week New Years Resolution!  I will try to be better, and please help me stay accountable to this!

Sam

 
I recently finished reading "Your Best Birth" by Ricki Lake (yes the talk show host) and Abby Epstein.  They wrote this book after the release of their movie "The Business of Being Born" was released.  The movie was such a success and women were wanting to know even more.  If you haven't already seen this movie, I highly reccomend that you do.  I will do a review on it in the future. 

"Your Best Birth" is written using a very conversational tone and language.  Ricki and Abby provide real perspective of their personal experienes.  There are also birth stories from other famililar names such as Melissa Joan Hart and Cindy Crawford.  They explain, without too much medical terminology  and jargon, what a woman can expect during the birthing process.  The book is all about knowing your options and decoding the  language of the hospital.

I also really enjoyed that this book didn't read like a textbook, but it wasn't elementary either.  I have loved learning about natural childbirth so far and I am happy that I read this book first.  It goes into detail, but not too much and it is a great overview.  Also from what I have heard, and am already starting to notice...many natural childbirth books make you feel like a horrible woman and bad mother if you have an epidural or even worse a c-section.  But this book wasn't like that...it was very matter of fact and it layed out the pros and cons of many medical interventions.

I really loved this book and would say it is a must read for all expecting mothers or young ladies planning on having babies some day =)

As you can tell from all these "Book Review" posts...I have been quite the book worm lately.  That's what our snuggly bed and heated blanket are great for in the winter time.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

As always...click on the picture of the book to purchase it from Amazon.

Sam