Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying, and Pleasurable Birth Experience [Paperback]

Elizabeth Davis (Author), Debra Pascali-Bonaro (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 8, 2010

Based on the hit documentary that inspired a vibrant online community, this innovative approach to birthing shows women how to maximize childbirth’s emotional and physical rewards

With more than 4 million babies born in the United States each year, too many women experience birth as nothing more than a routine or painful event. In her much-praised film Orgasmic Birth, acclaimed filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro showed that in fact childbirth is a natural process to be enjoyed and cherished. Now she joins forces with renowned author and activist Elizabeth Davis to offer an enlightening program to help women attain the most empowering and satisfying birth experience possible. While an orgasmic birth can, for some, induce feelings of intense, ecstatic pleasure, it is ultimately about taking control of one’s own body and making the most informed decisions to have a safe, memorable, and joyful birth day.

Whether women choose to give birth at home, in a hospital, or in a birthing center, Orgasmic Birth provides all the necessary tools and guidance to design the birth plan that’s best for them. Featuring inspiring stories from mothers and their partners and filled with practical advice and solutions, this one-of-a-kind resource is the next frontier of natural, intimate childbirth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ELIZABETH DAVIS has been a midwife, women’s healthcare specialist, and educator for more than 30 years. Cofounder of the National Midwifery Institute, she lives in CA.
DEBRA PASCALI-BONARO is a Lamaze-certified childbirth expert and award-winning documentarian. She lives in NJ.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605295280
• ISBN-13: 978-1605295282
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS! August 12, 2010

By J. Greene

Format:Paperback

I am currently almost 40 weeks pregnant and planning a home birth with a midwife who just lent me this newly released book. I have been scouring for natural birth resources for months. I have read dozens of books and seen many films, including the Orgasmic Birth film. I'm so glad this book came out before my due date! I devoured it in 3 days... it is my favorite book on natural birth thus far. This book takes the film and goes much deeper into the research and implications. I've worked with a Neurofeedback therapist for two years who talks about alpha, beta, and theta brain waves... so I was familiar with the lingo. This book did such a great job of explaining the complex connections between the mother's experience of birth and how the brain functions. The different brain wave states correspond to different hormones- fascinating and scientifically based! Yet it is explained in the book so that the layperson can understand. No other natural childbirth book presents birth in this way. What a great addition to the literature available to women. This book gives concrete scientific explanations and leads to increased confidence in approaching natural birth. Anyone who is skeptical that birth can indeed be completely natural and ecstatic needs to read this! Do not be made uncomfortable by the title, this is not a gimmick.... birth is part of our sexuality and not something to be afraid of. Thank you to the authors for presenting this material in such a clear and inspiring way.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Should be called Elizabeth Davis's Guide to Childbirth July 16, 2011

By Lydia L. Thrall

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I appreciate this book and what it has to offer parents as a guide to birth from the experience of a well-known and loved midwife. Coming out with this title does a lot to expand our cultural perception of how childbirth can be experienced, and I think this book has a lot of value for interested readers who are unfamiliar with the idea of pleasurable childbirth.

Orgasmic Birth is not strictly focused on the topic of orgasmic birth and has more general information about pregnancy, birth and postpartum which are related of course, but I was expecting something more focused on pleasurable labor and birth itself. I was hoping for a bit more of an in depth discussion on birth as a pleasurable, if not fully sexual, experience in terms of both the physiology of labor and birth and the emotional and embodiment aspects of opening to that kind of birthing experience. It does mention the information that I was looking for, but because of the way that it is organized (or rather, not organized) within the book, it is hard for me to walk away feeling like I got the information I wanted. The information given is also not much different or more detailed than other sources on the topic of birthing hormones (Sarah Buckley, Michel Odent) or brain wave states.

The book reads like a conversation with lots of tangents and information that one would expect to find in a different section randomly inserted into the middle of a chapter about something completely different (for example, episiotomy is discussed in the section about healthy food and exercise choices). This style may work for some readers, but I had a hard time with it so I'm wanting to put that out there to other folks who are considering this book.

The information presented about choosing your birth location and attendants is clearly biased toward home birth. This could be really affirming for mamas who have already chosen this option, I suppose, but there really is not enough depth or comprehensiveness to the discussion of birthing options to facilitate decision making for someone who is looking to make an informed choice. Many aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum that are discussed in this book really do not cover the wide range of perspectives and different options that are out there. So if that is what you are looking for, then look to another title. This book really is just what ONE midwife has to offer. Although she is a very experienced midwife and her suggestions are definitely worth looking into especially if you know you are looking for a sensual home birth experience.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Maximize Childbirth's Emotional & Physical Rewards October 13, 2010

By Paulina Perez, RN, BSN

Format:Paperback

The innovative approach detailed in Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying, and Pleasurable Birth Experience, imparts how a woman can maximize childbirth's emotional & physical rewards . The authors detail how a woman can experience birth as a empowering and transformative personal growth experience. This book by Elizabeth Davis & Debra Pascali-Bonaro takes the information in the much-praised film, Orgasmic Birth, and goes deeper into the subject. It features amazing stories from mothers and their partners and is filled with practical advice and solutions. This book can guide the reader to how to attain the most empowering birth experience possible for her.

The book includes the following sections:
Part One- How to Have a Orgasmic Birth
Step 1- Know Birth
Step 2- Know Your Options
Step 3- Be Healthy
Step 4- Be Vibrantly Sexual
Step 5- Expect the Unexpected
Step 6- Orgasmic Birth, Orgasmic Life
Orgasmic Birth: Your Trimester by Trimester Guide
Part Two- The Stories

The information in this important birth book is presented in a clear way and through the shadowing in the formatting the reader can "feel" the emotions of the women. This reviewer wants to thank the authors for the enormous depth that you write with as it will benefit many birthing women.

Paulina (Polly) Perez, RN, BSN, FACCE, LCCE, CD
Author of Special Women, Doula Programs, and The Nurturing Touch at Birth