The Doula Advantage: Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant [Paperback]

Rachel Gurevich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2003

The Doula Advantage
Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant
by Rachel Gurevich

Take Control of Your Childbirth Experience
New moms are spreading the word to pregnant women just like you: Doulas make pregnancy and childbirth the celebratory experience it is meant to be! Doulas are professionally trained women who provide support before, during, and after delivery. Research has shown that doulas help women have positive birth experiences, decrease the need for pain medication, improve breastfeeding success, and reduce the need for cesarean sections and other invasive procedures. Author Rachel Gurevich interviewed more than 235 women and birth professionals to bring you this best-kept pregnancy secret. Inside, you'll find real mothers' stories and discover how doulas make a joyful difference in childbirth. You'll learn:
·The many ways doulas provide labor support, whether you plan a "natural" or medicated birth
·How to find, hire, and choose the right doula
·How specialized doulas can help you before or after the baby's birth
·How doulas help the dad-to-be
·And more!
Foreword by Mayer Eisenstein, M.D., medical director, Homefirst Health Services
Praise for The Doula Advantage :
"Doulas really do make a difference in having a safe and satisfying birth, as you will learn in this book." — William Sears, M.D., coauthor, The Baby Book
"Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and highly moving. . . . A must read for any woman thinking of using the services of a doula." — Ann Douglas, author, The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and The Mother of All Baby Books

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Doula Advantage
Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant
by Rachel Gurevich

Take Control of Your Childbirth Experience
New moms are spreading the word to pregnant women just like you: Doulas make pregnancy and childbirth the celebratory experience it is meant to be! Doulas are professionally trained women who provide support before, during, and after delivery. Research has shown that doulas help women have positive birth experiences, decrease the need for pain medication, improve breastfeeding success, and reduce the need for cesarean sections and other invasive procedures. Author Rachel Gurevich interviewed more than 235 women and birth professionals to bring you this best-kept pregnancy secret. Inside, you'll find real mothers' stories and discover how doulas make a joyful difference in childbirth. You'll learn:
·The many ways doulas provide labor support, whether you plan a "natural" or medicated birth
·How to find, hire, and choose the right doula
·How specialized doulas can help you before or after the baby's birth
·How doulas help the dad-to-be
·And more!
Foreword by Mayer Eisenstein, M.D., medical director, Homefirst Health Services
Praise for The Doula Advantage :
"Doulas really do make a difference in having a safe and satisfying birth, as you will learn in this book." — William Sears, M.D., coauthor, The Baby Book
"Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and highly moving. . . . A must read for any woman thinking of using the services of a doula." — Ann Douglas, author, The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and The Mother of All Baby Books

About the Author

Rachel Gurevich is the assistant editor for Myria Media Inc., an award-winning Web site for moms. The author of fabjob.com's Guide to Become a Doula, she writes for ePregnancy magazine and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (March 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761500588
• ISBN-13: 978-0761500582
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nice to meet you! I'm the author of the The Doula Advantage and FabJob.com Guide to Become a Doula. I work from home, with my two children, as freelance writer and editor. I also teach writing with Long Ridge Writer's Group, and I teach advanced mathematics to private students. I'm a birth and pregnancy junkie and love to read everything I can on the subject. Parenting and self-help books are also a favorite of mine. Quite honestly, I'm just a big book junkie all around. To give you a hint to this serious addiction -- I live in a three bedroom apartment in Israel, but despite our not-so-grand living space, we own over 1,200 books. And I've actually read half of them, the ones that are mine... And I need more. To keep things exciting, we have books in English, Hebrew, Russian, French, and I think a couple in Spanish and Italian. (I stick to the English, most of the time!)

I enjoy playing with my sons, shopping in the local organic food market, writing and editing, reading, (and reading some more), and playing the piano. I also draw and listen to music almost all day. (Don't ask me how many CDs and MP3 recordings I own.) I took a year or two off from intensive writing and editing work to attend to an illness, and I'm still recovering. In the meantime, however, I've been putting together a collection of poetry, and have a few book proposals in the making. I'll keep you updated!

I'd love to hear from you sometime, [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An empowering book for the entire birthing community!, June 17, 2003

By 

"buhuiming" (Vermont and Quebec) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doula Advantage: Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant (Paperback)

I am a student in anthropology studying Chinese birthing practices among the diaspora of Montreal, and I found this book by accident while browsing the pregnancy section of a local bookstore. I couldn't put it down so I bought it, and then stayed up all night reading it cover to cover. It is concise, engaging, and written for a wide audience, which gets the message out: doulas are good for ALL types of labors from cesarean sections to nonmedicated homebirths and everything inbetween. She gives accounts of mothers, fathers, doulas and health providers to present a clear picture of what a doula can do for everyone involved in the prenatal, labor and postnatal experience. It is empowering to women and their partners without being overly philosophical or "corney" (to quote the author herself). It is an honest look at birth in the North American setting of today, that takes into account the history of birth in the US and Canada and is frank about the situation today in hospitals and out. I had originally intended on buying "The Doula Book" (formerly Mothering the Mother), but found it to be outdated in both it's writing style and the audience it addressed (the 70's mother), despite the fact that it was recently updated. I recommend this book instead of The Doula Book, for expecting mothers and fathers, people considering becoming doulas (I am seriously considering it after reading this book), and anyone who wants a clear picture of what a doula is.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking of hiring a doula?, January 8, 2004

By 

Kayleigh W (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doula Advantage: Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant (Paperback)

You need this book. The author does a terrific job of pointing out the medical and psychological benefits of doula care and otherwise making the case for doulas. The book also contains leads on other great doula resources, so it doubles as a doula sourcebook. Excellent reading.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful addition to doula literature!, May 6, 2003

By 

Staci Herrick (Evans, Co United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doula Advantage: Your Complete Guide to Having an Empowered and Positive Birth with the Help of a Professional Childbirth Assistant (Paperback)

As a doula myself,and someone who used a doula for two births, I was so eager to read a new book on the subject. Rachel did an amazing job of framing out the benefits of having a doula,,and prividing glimpses into doula attended births. So much good information, and real life tools to help women choose the best doula for their birth. I highly reccomend this book to any pregnant woman who wants to look back on their birth experience and remember a wonderful journey to motherhood.