As you probably know, I'm crazy about all most things natural, especially regarding birth and parenting. Whenever I'm pregnant I end up reading a ton of books regarding labor, parenting, and new babies. I think it's because I do a lot more resting, so I have more time to read. For any of you looking to expound your knowledge in these areas, I thought I would write up a review of what I have read over the last week.
Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding~ Ina May Gaskin
She did it again. She wrote another phenomenal book. I have read a few books on breastfeeding, and to be honest, most of them seem boring and not at all helpful. I remember reading a few large, well known books on the subject during my first pregnancy and thinking, "I've learned nothing." This book is something entirely different though. It is full of great knowledge. Gaskin has a laid back, practical outlook. She mentions things that I found really useful, even though I have experience of breastfed two children already. I felt like the book was encouraging as well as informative. Like her "Guide to Childbirth," there are many helpful and even funny stories of breastfeeding moms. There is also an amusing chapter on "Nipplephobia," and how we as a society need to embrace breastfeeding.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone breastfeeding or anyone wanting to encourage someone who is breastfeeding. I hope to buy two or three for my "library."
After reading this book, I stumbled across this add: Breastfeeding. It's a diaper add, but I love that it makes the insinuation that even when people don't respond to you like breastfeeding is normal, it actually IS. I thought it was hilarious. What do you think?
Birthing a Better Way~ Kalena Cook and Margaret Christensen, M.D.
This book looks at 12 "secrets" regarding natural childbirth. It is a mixture of stories, info, and narrative. I personally really appreciated the no nonesense info it has toward the end of the book, talking about epidurals, inductions, fear, and even circumsision. I didn't feel like the people writing the book had an "agenda," instead they seemed to want to people to know about birth, and choose what is really best for them. I also liked that the book had several doctors share experiences of birth, and of the being in the medical field. I don't know that this will be one of my "read it once a year" books, but I definitely liked it, and will probably come back to it from time to time for info or inspiration.
Calm Birth~ Robert Bruce Newman
I love the title of this book, but after reading the forward, I merely flipped through the book to see if there were any headings or subtitles that looked interesting. I read a few sentances here and there, but didn't like the book at all really. I thumbed through it and was done in less than ten minutes. Here's the thing: I'm all about deep breathing, letting go of fear, and learning to think on "what is lovely and pure." But letting my body become "energy" embracing "the light" and going to a higher consciousness? Yeah..NO. It isn't my thing at all. My summary? I'm glad I got it from the library, not from Amazon.
