Customer Reviews

Open Season: A Survival Guide for Natural Childbirth and VBAC in the 90s (Critical Studies in Education & Culture)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the May, 2001 issue of "Parent" magazine, an article states that the c-section rate has risen to 22 percent. Why do ob's prefer to do sections? This is an alarming rate that cannot be ignored. This book helped me. I had a cesarean my first birth and this book helped give me courage to birth my next 3 children as VBAC's in my home, along with a good midwife. I've met the author when she visited our city on a speaking engagement and she is the salt of the earth. Although she may come across angry at times, she comes from her heart. AND for gosh sakes...these women are being cut up and having their God given rights stripped from them! By the current statistics, we still have a problem here people!! I had hoped this book would be out of date by now, but in reference again to the May article, not much has changed. Read the book. Be informed.

Nancy Wainer Cohen is THE pioneer of VBAC in the United States. Thanks to her activism in this area, Once a c-section, always a c-section no longer applies.

This book is a marvelous collection of thoughts, insights, experiences, and tools for helping women avoid cesarean, either primary or secondary, and is well worth the reading.

I know Nancy, and this is an example of how seriously she takes her support of women through the birthing process. She is wise, bright, clever, strong, and tells the truth, just as this book does. She will give you that same support if you are one of the lucky people she "midwives" through labor, delivery, and the life that comes after.

I didn't even have a cesarean and still this book made me laugh, cry and shake with rage. If I have another baby I will require my midwife, doula or whatever to read this book! The first question on my list of midwife interview questions is "Have you read Open Season?" Yes, Nancy is angry, and I think it is completely justified. This book made me realize that everything I had suspected about American childbirth was true, and that a lot of the horror stories such as women being tied to the bed are still happening today.

I agree there is an alarming increase in cesarian delivery and birth interventions. However, I found the tone of this publication very angry and confrontational. Although truthful, the theme seemed to be stay away from hospitals because they will cesarian section you. I have been sectioned and feel a lot like many of the stories contained in the book. I also have had VBAC's with a mid-wife and birthing center afterwards. I read it as a refresher for another upcoming delivery, but I must say that I did not find many coping skills here.

I do see a value in every page of the first hand stories. Women in general need to take a firmer hand in the managing of all their medical care, not just childbirth and I think that comes across very well.

It also has many names of physicians you may want to avoid if you are seeking to not have an unnecessary cesarian section in quote form that could be important to patients not knowing their position on natural childbirth, VBAC's etc.

I do see the link it is suggesting that cesarian section can/is being used as a tool for staff time managment, patient time control management, physician convenience, income increasing for the medical profession and not always giving complete "informed consent" to the patient.

It does present many good arguments against induced labor, scheduled delivery times for induction, augmentation of labor, and scheduled first and repeat cesarian sections that are of value to the prospective laboring mother.

I was given this book to read by the health nurse after what I believe was an unnecessary cesarean with my first child. This book was hard for me to read at first, because it added to the anger I felt over my c-section. I almost couldn't finish it. As I continued to read, though, I did gain some insight into how to cope with my grief and overcome negative feelings. I managed to let go of some of the anger and sadness I felt. I eventually had a midwife attended VBAC at home, which was empowering and beautiful. If you are reading this book after having had a c-section, just beware - it is definitely difficult to read at first, but worth it to see it through to the end.

This book will doubtless be viewed as a manifesto by those who are angry and bitter at cesarean births in general, or their own birth in particular. The combination of the author's personal politics and the generally bitter stories of other women may serve as a balm to those who believe they have suffered similar experiences and need to vent. However, to the extent that the book bills itself as a guide to avoiding a second cesarean, it does not succeed. There are few if any practical tips to be found among the pages, and little up to date medical research. In short, read it to get your blood pressure up, but for practical information on how to actually succeed in a natural child birth after cesarean, try another source