Customer Reviews

The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been involved with childbirth education and homebirth for twenty years, and am currently training to be a doula. I don't remember ever seeing one book with such complete and comprehensive information, written in an easy to understand and uncomplicated format. While my own orientation is towards birthing at home, this books covers all venues for birth, enabling a woman and her supporters to make the best birthing decisions for their family. The comments on what a mother will be feeling, both physically and emotionally, should unexpected issues arise is invaluable. The book also describes the use of all possible pain medications, including their possible side effects and when and how they are administered. Ms. Simkin's direction on how to be supportive in any situation will ensure that women whose support person has read her book will be much more productive and thus create a better outcome. I recommend it highly.

All the years I was an OB nurse, a childbirth teacher, and a midwife (memoir: BABY CATCHER, Scribner 2002), I bemoaned the fact that there was no comprehensive book available to those men and women who would soon be with a pregnant woman when she gave birth. Doh! I coulduv hadda V-8! Why didn't I write this book myself???
Anyway, thank goodness Penny Simpkin got around to it, and she's done a beautiful job. Her book is structured like a series of childbirth education classes with emphasis on the partner instead of on the laboring mom herself. She deals with the stages of labor, drugs, anesthesia, Cesareans, and emergencies in an easily-comprehended and logical format - discussing helping measures and their rationale at each step in the process.
As someone from within the system, I highly recommend this book.

Childbirth books usually come in one of two forms-those that advocate an "institutional birth" and those that advocate a 100% natural birth. This book fits nicely between the two. It gives good, practical information on the pros and cons and nearly every procedure you can think of while neither judging nor condemning the use of such procedures. The best thing about it, however, is explaining to the birth partner how to help and support the birthing woman in the manner that she wishes. A must read for every person who intends to be a support person for a birthing woman.

I purchased my copy in 1989 and three children later it has been well-used and is very dog-eared! Penny Simkin has written an excellent resource manual for all of your questions and concerns regarding labour and delivery. My husband and I both read it cover to cover. We even brought it with us to the hospital in case something came up and we needed a quick insight. The book also contains an excellent chapter on establishing breastfeeding after a difficult initial attempt. Highly recommended!

This is the best book I have found on labor & delivery. As the expectant mother, I read it for my own edification and found it hard to put down. It's hard to imagine getting this much information in any other book that you can read in two sittings. Vital information (when to go to the hospital & what to take, how to tell prelabor from early labor, what to expect during a cesarean, etc.) is highlighted with darkened page borders for quick reference. The information provided covers the whole gamut from home birth to the knock-me-down-and-take-it-out fully anesthetized delivery, without showing bias toward or against any choice that the mother might make. I feel very comfortable that my husband and I, having read this book, are ready to face our options and make informed decisions when the time comes.

This book is the long-awaited book for partners of laboring women. It has been the longtime handbook for doulas (professional labor support) and now is available to the public. The book covers normal labor, breathing, comfort measures, support, and complications of labor. It even has a handy reference guide for during labor.

I am so glad that a friend recommended this wonderful book. As a first-time pregnant mom, I've quickly learned that there is quite a childbirth industry out there, with proponents of many theories trying to peddle their own approaches, often sacrificing clarity and completeness in service of their agendas. Worst of all, many books seem to be based upon the premise that all women benefit from the same approach, rather than treating each laboring woman as an individual. This book covers every aspect of labor and delivery regardless of whether one is giving birth in a hospital or at home, with pain relief or without, for the first time or later. It presents complete, unbiased information in an accessible way. Best of all, it educates the birth partner about what the mother will experience, and how to assist her according to her needs as an individual. This is a must-have.

As a Dad that has read or browsed most all of the contemporary pregnancy books. This is undoubtably my favorite. It's simple, straight-forward, detailed, yet practical. Designed as a guide for doulas, partners, midwives, and all birthpartners this book is useful to experts and beginners alike. Not only is the information solid and thorough, the presentation is warm and confident. I have memorized the material and found it to be a profound help. Very easy to refer to in a pinch. Thanks Penny -- this is a classic.

I did a lot of looking around for information on how to be something more than a useless appendage at our first childs birth. I eventually ordered this book from Amazon because of all the outstanding reviews. They were dead on. For a loving partner who wants to be an active participant in the birth of your child, this is by far the best and only reference you need. Midwives hold the author in the highest regard and the book is actually required reading in at least some midwifery programs. If you are going the hospital route, don't discount this book though, it is an excellent guide and easy read for any birth setting. I have now mailed my copy to multiple friends for their own first births and all have said that it was the best resource they had. Bottom line- you can't go wrong getting this book.

Penny Simkin created a winner here. The Birth Partner is direct, unconfrontational and extremely helpful. I highly recommend it for the analysis of pain tolerance and quick reference sections. Would be a great help to a dad or any other labor support person who feels overwhelmed by the task. Pros and cons of each intervention and procedure are thoughtful and suscinct. The one book which should accompany you to the delivery room.