Creating Your Birth Plan: The Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth [Paperback]

Marsden Wagner (Author), Stephanie Gunning (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 6, 2006

Creating Your Birth Plan helps expectant mothers make informed decisions about the assistance they'll require for childbirth. Designed to encourage collaboration between pregnant women and their caregivers, it includes information on:

- What to expect when delivering in a hospital, in a birthing center, or at home
- How to select an advocate to ensure expectant mothers' wishes are honored by their caregiver
- The natural stages of labor in a problem-free birth
- Explanations of various medical or surgical interventions, and potential complications and benefits of each
- Natural alternatives to drugs, technology, and surgery

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S, an independent consultant on maternity care, has been featured in US News and World Report, Health, Mother Jones, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times, and has appeared on Dateline and Good Morning America. He is a former director of Women's and Children's Health for the World Health Organization, and the author/editor of eight books.

Stephanie Gunning is an author, editor, and publishing consultant specializing in books on health, spirituality, and personal growth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399532579
• ISBN-13: 978-0399532573
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spot on about maternity care in the US July 14, 2006

By Holli A. Askren

Format:Paperback

As a nurse midwife and a registered labor and delivery nurse, this book is absolutely accurate with regard to maternity care and being an informed consumer. I have worked in both low and high risk settings and chose to believe that women are NORMAL when they are pregnant and giving birth. Every weekend (I work then) I see very normal women who have been scared to death by physicians. They have lost faith in their bodies and in the natural process of labor and birth. This book helps to restore that faith. By addressing a women's right to choose, this book helps women ask the appropriate questions so that she receives the care that she desires.

In our culture, women just assume that physicians will do the best thing for them and their babies. While in most cases this is true, I have seen things rushed or women not being given enough time so that their physician may deliver them. This is usually presented as "Well, you tried really hard. The baby is just too big." And off we go to a c-section. This book gives women a voice and the courage to ask pertinent questions to avoid unnecessary interventions.

I highly recommend this book to any woman who is or is planning to be pregnant. Please be an informed consumer! Even if you desire interventions, read for yourself the risks and benefits, because I can asure you they will NOT be presented to you fairly in the hospital setting. You have to be assertive and able to communicate the type of birth you want. This book helps you do that. There are procedures that your physician will state as being low risk (induction of labor, epidural, planned c-section) that this book will give you the FACTS about. Every intervention carries risk and this book factually tells you about the risks and when they are acceptable. While some things your physician says might sound like a good idea, it is up to you to find out the information to make an informed decision. Please use this book!

Pregnancy is not a disease. Pregnancy is uncomfortable, labor is painful. This is NORMAL. Not something to be taken away and relieved. Knowledge helps you get through one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime. I cannot say enough for the help Dr. Wagner has provided to women by writing this book!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read book, with solid (research-backed) reasoning! August 9, 2006

By Stacy Crosby

Format:Paperback

The book was published in June of 2006 and I honestly have to say that I am utterly amazed!

The author gives women the voice that they need to be heard in the delivery room, by giving them statistically-based information on when interventions are not necessary (but why they are often forced on us), and also explains the situations in which they could be necessary.

Things such as "failure to progress" (hospitals watch the clock!), routine IVs, why episiotomies should NOT be done (think of how hard it is to rip fabric, and then of how easy it is to rip after you've made a small cut!), electronic fetal monitoring (a stethoscope is just as good... and why!)... He discusses all of these things in an easy-to-understand manner.

He also talks about the differences between midwives & doctors, the importance of doulas, and also the difference between home births with midwives and hospital births with midwives (very big difference!), as well as discusses the option of a midwife-centered birth clinic which has been growing in popularity over the years.

There is also information on the 3 stages of labour, and techniques to successfully manage each of them, including various positions and styles (squatting, birthing stool, waterbirth, and more).

The author headed up many research studies into the effects of evidence-based labour/delivery care, as opposed to "common practice care" and compiled this knowledge in a fascinating book that should be a must-read for all expecting moms and their birth partners.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guide for having the birth you want! June 13, 2006

By Jamie Aramini

Format:Paperback

This book is an excellent resource for coming up with a birth plan that fits your needs and desires. A must-read for all pregnant women! Very informative, especially if you have been questioning the safety of hospital routines for you and your baby.