A Good Birth, A Safe Birth : Choosing and Having the Childbirth Experience You Want, Third Revised Edition (Non) [Paperback]

Diana Korte (Author), Roberta Scaer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1992 | Series: Non

Based on a survey of two thousand women and responses from readers of the first and second editions, this complete and accurate guide enables women and their partners to take control of the childbirth experience.  Diana Korte and Roberta M. Scaer, both long-time La Leche leaders, analyze today’s childbirth options and help readers to choose among them – to find “Dr. Right” (or a midwife), and perhaps a labor assistant, too, and to pick a hospital, birthing center, or home birth.  They describe the pros and cons of medications, fetal monitoring, induction of labor, and other medical interventions during birth, and they tell readers how to avoid an unnecessary cesarean section and ensure that all their wishes are followed.  In chapters such as “If You Don’t Know Your Options, You Don’t Have Any,” “The Obstetricians Black Bag of Interventions,” and “How to Have a Normal Vaginal Birth (and Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean)”, Korte and Scaer are refreshingly frank but never dogmatic; they want their readers to decide for themselves what’s best for them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is great! Thorough, sensible, and extremely well organized, these knowledgeable authors cover topics of pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum care for mother and child in an accessible, very easy-to-follow format. (The Doula)

The authors present clear-headed information on everything from finding a birth attendant to questions for the hospital to understanding your feelings about it all. -- New Age Sourcebook

From the Back Cover

A Good Birth, A Safe Birth covers the pros and cons of todays childbirth options and helps the expectant mother plan each stage of her pregnancy and delivery. It offers tips on how to find the right doctor-and how to avoid the wrong one. It explores the various childbirth environments, including hospital, birthing center, and home. It tells expectant parents how to ensure that their wishes will be followed. The benefits and drawbacks of medications and painkillers are also discussed, so that a mother can decide before her delivery which, if any, medications are right for her. A Good Birth, A Safe Birthenables the mother to regain control of her birth experience.

A Good Birth, A Safe Birth is one of the top birth preparation books. Every woman should read it. A lot of women speak through this book. A lot of womens lives will be changed by reading it. -Peggy OMara, Publisher of Mothering Magazine

A most important book. One of the few books every woman should read during her pregnancy. -Marshall Klaus, M.D., co-author of Parent-Infant Bonding and of The Amazing Newborn

"I wish it were possible to assign this book to be read by every woman prior to conception or in early pregnancy. -John H. Kennell, M.D., co-author of Bonding: The Beginnings of Parent-Infant Attachment

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; Third Revised Edition edition (September 16, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558320415
• ISBN-13: 978-1558320413
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.8 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars full of references and studies to back up their statements November 26, 2000

By christinemm - The Thinking Mother TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

The birth of my first son did not go as I had wished, it ended up being an overly medicalized affair. I thought I had read enough and educated myself enough but I was wrong. I wanted a second child but was more scared of childbirth after having gone through that bad experience. Knowing there had to be a better way, I began reading more books. I read a dozen books before and during my second pregnancy. Each book had a different twist and something to learn from. These authors make bold statements regarding childbirth issues, compared with some of the popular mainstream childbirth books. But just when I was thinking that maybe they were wrong, they cited a reference. Everything these authors state is backed up by references and is credible. The reference section that lists these studies is 34 pages long! There is a very detailed index, which is helpful.

One unique feature this book has is a wonderful chapter on why OB/GYN physicians do what they do. It is explained in detail how the training of an OB is medical in nature, that they are trained to look for and solve medical problems and that they are surgeons by training. This was the only book that really explains in detail why a midwife and an OB have different attitudes toward pregnancy (a medical event vs. a normal life process for a woman). The authors don't doctor-bash, but are very clear about why things happen the way they do in a hospital setting and/or with an OB as the health care provider.

For those interested in home birth, it is discussed and cited as the most safe for both mother and baby, and the references are there (for anyone who doubts that issue).

This book was so full of good information that I ended up highlighting many passages, which I usually never do (as I want to keep my books clean).... To get the birth that one desires, one must know much of this information before beginning care with a health care provider. I urge anyone considering pregnancy to research the childbirth issue in the beginning. The chapter on controlling the progress of labor and pain relief is very enlightening and should be mandatory reading for all pregnant women. In the end I realized that we have to advocate for our own healthcare, by choosing a provider whom we trust and who shares the same concepts on pregnancy, labor and delivery. This book covers topics such as what your options for birth are, different types of health care providers, different types of birth settings, OB training and belief system, how to find a provider, questions to ask your provider and hospital, cesareans: why they are popular and when are they medically necessary?, getting support, the nurses role, childbirth support, doulas, and the woman's emotions. The overall tone of the book is positive and "matter of fact".

Oh, and in the end I had the birth I wanted, a normal birth in a hospital setting, with no interventions at all, attended by my midwife, my doula, my husband, and I delivered a healthy 11 lb. 11 oz. baby boy! Read more ›

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one we recommend to all our pregnant friends! October 24, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

My wife and I have read this book multiple times and recommend it to everyone we know who is pregnant.
In fact the reason we came to amazon.com today was to order some more copies to hand out to our friends.

Most people know more about choices to make when buying a car than they do when having a baby. Let's
face it, which is more important! This book gives you information that will enable you to make the
best birth choices for your family. It details the choices that you can and should make BEFORE your baby's birth.
If you're already reading "What to Expect When You're Expecting"
that's great, but go one step further and find out what to expect during birth.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read book for every pregnant couple November 3, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

After a "high-tech" and eventful birth experience with my son, I found myself anxious regarding the upcoming labor and delivery of my new baby. When I began to read this book, I felt as if the authors had written it for me. It was if someone was acknowledging what I had been through before and providing me with the information and resources to place me in control of my next birthing experience. The book is based on the real experiences of real women like myself. It was often an emotional and cathartic experience just reading the book. I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn what it's like, and can be like to give birth in the United States today.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Put this on top of your list April 23, 2003

By Peggy Vincent

Format:Paperback

There are so many (too many) how-to books for pregnant moms to read, and each seems to have a bias, a slant, a message to sell. This is the book you need. I was a midwife in Berkeley for 15 years, and I always included A Good Birth, A Safe Birth on my recommended reading lists for clients. It doesn't preach. It gives straight, evidence-based information. Most of all, it helps women to know what questions to ask - and how to ask them so they'll be assured of straight answers.
Valuable information for everyone associated with childbearing, from moms to doulas to nurses to midwives - and darn, I sure wish a few obstetricians would climb out from behind their desks and read it, too!
Buy it, and buy another one for a pregnant friend.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes you feel like you have a right to YOUR choices April 19, 2000

By Jennifer Deaven

Format:Paperback

There are so many books about childbirth that explain what *will* happen to you, how great epidural anesthesia is, etc., that it is a necessity as a pregnant woman to have read a book that tells you what choices you have -- and that they are indeed yours to make. It's far better to have that point made very strongly, as this book does, than to have gone through your only (or one of few) birth experience(s) and look back with regret. As profound an experience as giving birth is, each woman should have the best chance for the experience that will mean the most to her. This (or one like it) is a must-read for every pregnant women -- preferably before she has made all of here who/what/when choices...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book for Outlining ALL of your Choices! January 7, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is a super book with lots of information about the different
"controversies" in birth today. Some of the topics included are: monitoring,
cesarean, episiotomy, VBAC, doulas, and much more. They offer
practical advice about how to get information you need to make an
informed decision. A must read!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All Pregnant Couples Should Read This Book October 9, 2000

By Kelly TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a Certified Lamaze Instructor and this is the book that I recommend to all of my students. This book is well written and well researched. It gives you everything you need to know to make wise and informed decisions about labor and delivery.

I really wish I'd had this book when I was pregnant with my first child - it could have saved us a lot of heartache. We had a very difficult delivery with serious complications. I feel that if we had read this book beforehand it wouldn't have been as scary and we would have had the information we needed to make the right decisions for us.

This is the book I buy for all of my pregnant girlfriends the minute they tell me they are expecting!