Customer Reviews

The Big Book of Birth

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read this book, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and Ricki Lake's Your Best Birth. I am 32 weeks pregnant and will be delivering in a hospital. Frankly, I have grown weary and tired of childbirth books with an agenda. The Big Book of Birth is the only one of these three that doesn't politicize birth. Ina May's Guide and Your Best Birth made me afraid of what I might encounter in the hospital. The Big Book of Birth conveys even more information, without instilling fear. There are many instances where the authors say things like "The pros and cons of this intervention are X,Y, and Z. If this happens to you, guess what, you'll still have a beautiful baby to hold at the end!"

I highly recommend the Big Book of Birth, especially if your plan is to deliver in a hospital.

All around one of the best books I've read throughout my pregnancy. This book had exactly the information I've been looking for about childbirth. It's just plain pure useful information written in a highly readable way - far better than what we were provided in our birthing class or from what I've read in other birth books or on the internet. It's clear, to the point, up to date and, most importantly, comprehensive. I highly highly recommend this book.

I have never written a review about anything, but this book is so awesome! Being pregnant with my first child and as a registered nurse I felt I had a lot of understanding of pregnancy and labor and delivery. Also, I prepared myself for becoming a mom by reading a book on pregnancy and taking a child birth class through my local hospital. However, my labor and delivery did not go as planned and I felt soooo disappointed at how things went.

When I got pregnant the second time I knew I wanted things to go differently. I realized I needed to be much more informed. I realized that nine months of pregnancy pretty much boils down to the labor and delivery, and that that was where I needed to focus and prepare myself. With baby number one I was not prepared for the unexpected, and that is why I decided to read this book before having baby number two. If only I had known I had different options other than what my provider gave me, I could have made a couple simple choices about my care that would have made things so much better that first time around.

In this book Erica unveils the pain of child birth (she also talks about several other fears many mothers have) in a way that made me no longer fear, but rather gave me an understanding of child birth pain. Her detailed description of the entire process of labor and delivery empowered me, giving me the strength to believe that I could have that all natural childbirth I'd been dreaming of. She lets you know all the possible variables that can be encountered during the labor and delivery and what your choices are. The birth of my second child was that all natural childbirth I'd been dreaming of... I made the choices in my care, I used the tools she taught me to deal with the pain of labor and it was awesome. Thanks to Erica Lyon I was empowered to follow through with my goal of experiencing the full spectrum of the birth of a child.

Now, I don't want you to think that she is critical of medication use during labor and delivery, trying to make moms feel bad. Erica simply gives you the information unbiased and lets you make your choices and do what you feel is best for you and your baby.

The author describes every aspect of birth, from early labor, to pushing, to c-sections, in a very objective manner. Some of the other books I had read were very biased and judgmental on women who choose c-sections over vaginal deliveries, or who chose epidurals. Not here, the author lets you make up your own mind about what is best for you, while informing you of all the pros and cons of everything. This book is a must read for pregnant women who want to make informed decisions at the time of their delivery.

This book is absolutely amazing. I am pregnant with my first child. My doula service recommended this book. It is modern, easy to read, realistic, will give you some laughs & is extremely informative. I am grateful for this modern book that empowers women to feel good about the ability to give birth.

This book is excellent! It has all the information that you need for the birth of your baby. I'm preparing for my 3rd child, and I wish I could have read this book during my other 2 pregnancies. This book is very useful, espically if you are not planning on taking a child birth class. After reading this book I feel much more prepared than I did before (even after birthing 2 other kids!) Very well written, an easy read, no medical jargon, plus its not boring! It also doesn't have the graphic pictures in it, unlike majority of birthing books. I recommend this book to any soon-to-be-mother!

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me so much information regarding managing pain naturally, various pain medications (and their side effects), and natural and surgical birth. The author does seem to favor natural childbirth, and after reading the book, you probably will, too. However, she does present LOADS of instances when it is necessary/good to take advantage of medical advances, and many stories of women who had all different types of birth are included. If you're at all interested in learning about natural childbirth (or why it might not work out and what might happen, if so), I HIGHLY recommend the book.

i found this book to be incredibly informative and helpful for the birth of my daughter. i read the book almost at the end of my pregnancy - 35 wks. - and found the information to really go above and beyond the information presented in all the other books, including mayo clinic, dr. sears, etc., which i had previously read. moreover, it was the only book that actually discussed, at length, the labor and birth process. it helped me to prepare for birth, far more than the birthing classes that i had taken for over one month, and i believe was critical to help me have a nonmedicated delivery. i would recommend this without hesitation to all expectant parents, including fathers.

I am interested in trying natural childbirth, but what to know about all of my options. In looking at books on getting through childbirth naturally most of the books seemed very anti-doctor and anti-drugs. I just wanted to know all of my options without having to consider the hospital the enemy. I have found that this book is open minded and not preachy. The focus is on techniques to get through labor without drugs, but then there are sections on the drug options and the possible effects. It has great diagrams and information about everything that will be happening inside and outside of your body during birth. I'm so glad that I read it. My pregnancy books had short sections on the actual birth, but I feel much more informed reading an entire book about what might happen and why.

I was looking for an unbiased source of information on labor and delivery, and I was pleased to find it in this book. I must say that I also genuinely enjoyed Erica Lyon's writing style. She combines clear explanation, heartfelt emotion, years of experience, and a fair amount of humor, all of which makes the book an enjoyable read as well as a valuable resource for expectant mothers.