Customer Reviews

The Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Experience: Birth Stories by Parents and Professionals

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

 

 

Wonderful birth stories, by both parents and their carers - plenty of inspiration. Importantly, this book includes comments on medical aspects of particular births by professionals. The mix of personal stories and professional comment give the reader a broader understanding of what is involved in their endeavour to achieve a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean).

The stories in this book, which I read when I was 7 months pregnant with my second child, inspired me to make the tough decision to have a home birth and to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). It crystallized my thinking, especially a key quote: "Take control of that which you can control and let go of that which you cannot control. That is the secret of safe and simple birthing." Thanks largely to this book I had smooth, uncomplicated and unmedicated home birth.

This book is a must-read if you are considering a VBAC. I am a homebirth midwife, who had a VBAC at home after reading this book 8 years ago. The wonderful birth stories will empower you to create your birth and trust your body, in way that no other book can. It also gives you insight into what the practitioners are thinking, and the comments provide a look into the various environments in which they work: some friendly, some quite hostile.

I am delighted to see that this book is still in print. I read this book 18 years ago and to this day I have never read another book which had such a profound impact on my life. The author describes the experience of women's ceaserean birth followed by their vaginal delivery of her next baby. In addition there is running commentary from a group of professionals that comment on aspects of the mother's health, labor, and experience. I felt like I was healing from the pain of the ceaseran birth of my son and learning what I needed to approach my next birthing experience at the same time.I am deeply grateful to the author for her wisdom and understanding that this combination of narratives and information have empowered women to successful VBAC deliveries!!

It's tough to review since I have not finished it. I got this book as inspiration to help achieve a VBAC myself and was hoping that reading the stories would elevate my positivity. I had read Ina May Gaskin's Guide To Childbirth with my first pregnancy and felt invincible and empowered by those stories. Unfortunately, for me, the stories in this book tended to give me more anxiety than empowerment and I stopped reading it early on. But this may just be because of my particular experience and state of mind. I still think it's a good idea to read about other women who have accomplished this beautiful feat if you are trying to do it yourself. And if you haven't read Ina May's book then you must before anything else. It's tremendous.