Customer Reviews

I Watched my Brother Being Born: Including Children At Birth

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

 

 

This book might work well for older children- 7+ but not for toddlers for sure! I ended up giving it to my midwife.

I'm having a home birth, and my sister will be there. Both she and I want her six-year old daughter to be at the birth, and the six-year old is ecstatic about it. However, my sister wanted to prepare her daughter a bit for the birth. I ordered this book in the hopes it would be something she could read to her daughter to help explain the process.

Unfortunately, it is SOOO wordy and boring. It is an uninspiring, lengthy play-by-play of a woman's labor and birth at home, surrounded by her husband and other children. Honestly, I couldn't even bring myself to read the entire thing because it was so boring. Every page probably has four paragraphs of words on it, and one or two small photos. I can't imagine any child would be remotely interested. Even if they were, they would get lost because there's just too much detail and words.

The graphics look like point-and-shoot photos taken by an amateur, documenting certain parts of the birth process. I happen to be a birth photographer, so I know birth photos don't have to look this blah.

There is really nothing interesting or "book-like" about it. It's more like the mother wrote a super long birth story blog post, got a friend to take some snapshots, and threw it haphazardly into a book. It reads like the family's own documentation of the birth, like a family scrapbook of sorts, that no one else really cares about. It doesn't read like a children's story book or picture book, which is what I hoped for.

On the other hand, I HIGHLY recommend Hello Baby, as it was exactly what we were looking for. Beautiful illustrations, short and simple story of a home birth with midwife, father, children, present. It is truly a picture book for kids like I hoped this would be.

Although this book is thin, it really captures many feelings and experiences a young child may have being present at a sibling's birth. Told from a child's perspective, I believe this book will help my children become more comfortable with what to expect if they choose to be present at their sibling's birth. The book is real, addressing many key points. I think this book is beneficial in preparing children for the reality of birth.