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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wish I'd Had This Sooner, April 23, 2008
This review is from: Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth (Paperback)
Of all the books on pregnancy I've read, this one has been the most reassuring. As another reviewer mentioned, it's written in the same styles Our Bodies, Ourselves, which remains excellent through its many editions. It's not an especially thick book, and I would have loved to have seen more pictures, and personal excerpts, but everything important was covered, and the writing style was wonderful.
This book addresses itself to older women, teen mothers, single mothers, those with female partners, those living with diseases like HIV and diabetes; in short, all of the groups who got snubbed by most of the other books. It doesn't tell you how much weight the fetus should gain in each month, but that information's easy to find elsewhere. It does focus on making informed decisions about prenatal care, pain management, and maternal/fetal health, without talking down to the reader. Issues where there is normally controversy were handled gently; breastfeeding is encouraged, but formula feeding mothers aren't judged.
It's worth noting that the book does address some topics that may be upsetting, such as choosing to abort a fetus because of genetic testing, and stillbirth. These issues are very relevant, and handled calmly, but some chapters may be best skipped by the hormonal. I was glad to see that problems like depression took precedence over heartburn, and that a huge resources section was provided at the back of the book.
Highly recommended, and will be on my gift list for friends as they have their children. I don't want to give my copy up.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great tone and references, but not as detailed as I had hoped for pregnancy., April 23, 2009
My biggest complaint about the book is that I felt it didn't give as much information on pregnancy as I wanted. You will not find the eating guides, week-by-week guidelines, and in-depth information on what to expect, and what to worry about or not worry about, beyond the obvious things like smoking. I do not feel that this book alone is adequate to fill all my pregnancy information needs, and I would need to get another book to fill in the gaps.
That said, this book has a lot of great information that I have not seen elsewhere, and a tone that is very welcoming and inclusive. This book does not assume that all pregnant women are in committed, heterosexual relationships, or that they have planned their pregnancy down to the minutia. It also does not assume that its readers come from an educated, middle/upper class background. This can be both good and bad, assuming on your point of view. The good is that the book takes a lot of very good scientific references (listed at the end of each chapter, and also at the end of the book) and distills them into chapters that are easy to understand and comprehend, without the condescending tone that other books take ("Is this bite the VERY BEST bite for your baby"? etc.). The book also covers certain delicate areas that other pregnancy books tend to avoid or only provide a cursory sidebar mention about- like the emotions you may feel surrounding motherhood if you were sexually abused as a child, or what you may be going through if you want to terminate your pregnancy because a prenatal test came back positive for a genetic disorder. The bad is that if you do come from an educated middle/upper class background, you may find some of the information overly simplistic and/or not relevant to your particular circumstance.
This book is strongest when it is presenting information that you will need to make important decisions, such as prenatal screening/testing for chromosomal abnormalities and other birth defects (it has a really helpful chart listing all the tests, what they can look for, whether or not they are definitive or only give probabilities, risks, etc.), or the stages of labor.
In fact, I felt that the section on birth was actually much better than the section on pregnancy. It covers all the stages of labor, not only what happens physically, but how you may be feeling emotionally as well. It also has a great, great table on different attitudes towards pain medication in labor, and depending on where your beliefs stand (i.e. wanting to avoid pain medication due to potential side effects vs. being willing to labor for a while but eventually wanting an epidural, and all the other possible opinions on the subject), and what your doula or birth partner should help you with both before and during labor. This includes not only physical support, but emotional support as well, including helping you understand and accept whatever decisions you need to make, or helping you come to terms with certain aspects of labor (for instance, the nurses are not allowed to refuse you pain medication if you ask for it). The book also has a lengthy, non-judgmental, supportive chapter on pregnancy loss, whether that is through miscarriage or termination.
Another issue that I had with the book was that it automatically assumes that you will be delivering at a hospital that is friendly to women, that doesn't do things like require you to have continuous fetal monitoring, will let you labor standing up, not pressure you to have episiotomies or other interventions if you don't want them, etc. I think that this is not a realistic assumption for most women, who may not have a lot of choice in where they deliver. Overall, though, I appreciated the woman-friendly view of the birth process, and the presentation of facts and options in a non-judgmental, non-scary, woman-friendly way.
The bottom line is that this book is worth reading for the birth section and the references at the end of the chapter and at the end of the book, a recommendation I would make to everyone. The pregnancy section may be worth reading if you have special circumstances or feel that other pregnancy books are not written with you in mind, but in general, more detailed information about weekly progression, physical concerns, and diet plans are missing, and you would need another book to fill in these gaps.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Confident, Empowering, & Respectful, June 13, 2008
This review is from: Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth (Paperback)
Many women view the book Our Bodies, Ourselves as an essential women's health resource and also as a radically transformative influence in their lives. I hope Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth will become to pregnant women what the original book has been to women's health and empowerment.
The book is divided into five major sections: The Journey to Parenthood; Your Pregnancy; Giving Birth; Becoming a Mother; and Knowledge is Power. Subsections include an extensive chapter on prenatal testing and other important areas such as childbearing loss, coping with pain, and breastfeeding. A chapter titled "Relationships, Sex, and Emotional Support" was a particularly good one. The book has numerous contributing authors from a variety of backgrounds and organizations. Sprinkled throughout the book are italicized snippets of anonymous birth stories, often paired statements--i.e. an "I loved being pregnant!" segment and an "I hated being pregnant" segment. Then, inset into each chapter in box format, there are more complete stories or profiles that include women's names and photos. Overall, the book has very few pictures and only one series of photos of a woman actually giving birth (and she is in the semi-sitting position).
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth is one of the only basic pregnancy books I've ever read that acknowledges the reality of violence against women during pregnancy and offers resources for seeking help if you are living with a violent mate. This book is also willing to address some unpopular or largely ignored subjects such as depression during pregnancy, HIV, STDS, and sexual abuse.
In the opening section of Chapter One the authors describe the "Climate of Confidence, Climate of Doubt" which becomes a thread running throughout the rest of the book. I love this way of articulating the messages swirling around pregnant women in our society.
The overriding attitude felt through this book is one that is the hallmark of Our Bodies, Ourselves in general--that ultimately, situations involving women's bodies are about each woman and what she wants and needs. The support offered is for HER regardless of the popularity of her choices with either the medical model or with childbirth activists---the woman wins out over anyone else's agenda. This is a truly woman-centered approach.
I had a minor critique of the persistent use of the term "breast-feeding" with a hyphen, which is not correct. In addition, the book's suggestions regarding overall newborn care routines in hospitals were surprisingly conventional and conservative.
Many of the most popular pregnancy books are rooted in medical model, conventional wisdom, and a climate of fear and doubt. This book is rooted in an empowerment oriented, woman centered midwifery model in a climate of confidence and competence. This book is a basic introduction to pregnancy and birth and is primarily directed towards the newly pregnant first time mother. I hope it finds a comfortable home on bookstore shelves next to (or in place of!) books about "what to expect" during pregnancy.
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An extended version of this review originally appeared in CfM News. Visit the Citizens for Midwifery blog at cfmidwifery.blogspot.com.
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