Customer Reviews

Mothering The Mother: How A Doula Can Help You Have A Shorter, Easier, And Healthier Birth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished the book in two days which is an accomplishment with four children at home. EVERY expectant mother should read this book and let it open your eyes to the TREMENDOUS help a doula can be. Even the most skeptical mothers or partners will finish this book with a new sense of what a doula is and how her services should be in EVERY hospital and birthing center. I recommend it to everyone expecting even if you have never heard of a doula. There is an entire chapter deticated to the studies of how doulas shorten labor, enhance labor experiences, lessens c-sections, lessen post partum depression....and the list goes on and on. Inform yourself, inform your partner, this book is excellent.

"Doula is a Greek word referring to an experienced woman who helps other women. The word has now come to mean a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth." That's how the authors of "Mothering the Mother" define a doula. Sound wonderful? After reading the book, you'll think so. "Mothering the Mother," written by childbirth authorities Marshall H. Klaus, M.D., John H. Kennell, M.D., (co-authors of "Parent-Infant Bonding") and Phyllis H. Klaus, M.Ed, C.S.W., is fascinating reading.

The book explains the role of the doula, how she can support the mother and father during birth, and cites studies that document how birth with a doula improves outcomes in areas such as length of labor, rates of vaginal deliveries, the use of medications and other interventions. According to the authors, doulas shorten first-time labors by an average of two hours, decrease the chance of Cesarean section deliveries by 50 percent, decrease the need for pain medications, help fathers participate in the birth with confidence, increase success in breast-feeding.

"Mothering the Mother" follows the actual course of birth in various settings and includes photos of birthing women being assisted by fathers and doulas. The book shows readers how to achieve the benefits of having a doula, and how to find and evaluate a doula.

I am a doula and the information that is contained in this book is informative and helps our clients learn about what we can and cannot do to help them. I feel that every mother should have a doula. Not because I am a Doula, but because I had a Doula myself. This book will let couples make informed decisions about having a doula at their birth.

I ordered this book from Amazon.com and read
it cover to cover the day it arrivedl It is
FULL of information about what Doulas can do
for couples wanting to have a happy birth
experience as well as how a Doula is a
unique and incredibly important addition to
to any happy childbirth experience. This book
not only tells the reader the results of the
research that's been done on how a Doula can
help shorten labor and how a Doula can improve
the feelings of the couple after the birth
both to each other and the child, but it also
explains exactly what a Doula does and what
she ACTUALLY DOES for the couple during the
birth. As a registered Doula working towards
certification, I just can not say enough good
things about this book...or about Amazon.com's
service and I recommend both liberally
whenever I get the chance.<BR

any woman or couple who is expecting a baby should take the time to read this wonderful book, then check out the opportunities for labor assistance in their area. What a difference it can make in having a birth experience that you will look back on fondly.

Inspired me to hire a doula/labor assistant- and it was definitely worth it. Find out what most of womankind throughout history has known about support in labor, and why you should rely on someone other than just your partner. He has a different role, learn what the role of a doula is

I am a soon-to-be doula in training. This was the first book I've read from the required reading list. The writing is well put together and down to earth. It was an excellent overview of the challenges ahead. It works well as a first "taste" of the service offered by loving, caring, labor assistants.

This warm hearted book describes how a doula (professional labor support) can help you decrease labor pain, decrease cesarean sections and other complications, while enhancing the experience for you and your partner. It includes sections on the medical studies concerning doulas, and certification programs available.

After seeing several references to Doulas in other pregnancy and childbirth books, I was curious about exactly what a Doula does and doesn't do. This book answered all my questions. It is well-oranged and easy to read -- I finished it in about 2 hours. The authors are certainly very pro-Doula, but I can't think of anything they're against, except mothers being forced to experience childbirth alone. I am likely to search for a Doula when I get pregnant.

The only negative is the very 70's-ish photos, which I found a bit distracting, but they certainly don't detract from the content.

This is a very good book explaining the role of the doula. I like the quote from a (female) doctor: "If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to offer it to every laboring mother." There is no substitute for being educated on what the choices are surrounding childbirth.