Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices (Paperback)

by Sarah Buckley (Author), Ina May Gaskin (Foreword)
Key Phrases: undisturbed birth, epidural babies, bed sharing mothers, United States, Mother Nature, New Zealand (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An authoritative guide to natural childbirth and postpartum parenting options from an MD who home-birthed her own four children.

Sarah Buckley might be called a third-wave natural birth advocate. A doctor and a mother, she approaches the question of how a woman and baby might have the most fulfilling birth experience with respect for the wisdom of both medical science and the human body. Using current medical and epidemiological research plus women's experiences (including her own), she demonstrates that what she calls "undisturbed birth" is almost always healthier and safer than high-technology approaches to birth. Her wise counsel on issues like breastfeeding and sleeping during postpartum helps extend the gentle birth experience into a gentle parenting relationship.

From the Publisher
An authoritative guide to natural childbirth and postpartum parenting options from an MD who home-birthed her own four children. * Speaks to a new generation of parents who are concerned about the medicalization of childbirth and want current and science-based info about alternatives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts; 1 edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587613220
• ISBN-13: 978-1587613227
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #32 in	Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > Motherhood
  #57 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Babies & Toddlers > Infants

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Childbirth Book, January 24, 2009

By	BNA (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

I love this book. It is my favorite childbirth book for many reasons. I love the fact that it is a collection of articles which makes it super easy to read. Dr. Buckley's wisdom is priceless. I am a childbirth educator and doula and I recommend this book to all of my students and clients. In my opinion there is no better childbirth book! She opens you to a new way of thinking. I know I began to question things that are considered standard in maternity care and made different choices than I would have without the knowledge gained through her book. Her insight into the hormones in labor and breastfeeding is profound! I use her book when I teach my classes and draw on it for doula clients as well as my own pregnancies. It goes beyond childbirth into breastfeeding and parenting as well. You learn on many different levels. Thank you Dr. Buckley a hundred times over for finally getting this amazing book published in the USA so more women can benefit from the wisdom it contains!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Natural Approach To Child Birth and Parenting, February 16, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

/Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering/ was inspired by Dr. Sarah Buckley's home birth of her third child. In an era where pregnancy and birth are considered to be a medical condition, rather than a natural process that women's bodies were designed for, this book challenges such topics as testing for gestational diabetes, antibiotics for group B strep, and induction for being "overdue." Buckley discusses the cycle of intervention during labor--induction, epidurals, and hurrying along the third stage of birth. The book continues with topics on long-term breast-feeding, bed-sharing, and discusses cultural disapproval. /Gentle Birth/ includes the stories of Buckley's four births at home.

Being a proponent of natural childbirth and allowing one's body to labor sans intervention, I was excited to find this wonderfully written book on all the topics I've come to believe in and embrace. While this book won't send someone who looks at birth as "something is about to go wrong," running to set up the kiddie pool for a home birth, for those who already lean towards the natural side of birth, it'll be a wonderful addition to your pregnancy, birth, and baby-rearing collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best pregnancy/childbirth books, January 26, 2009

By	Brenda Stone (NC Chick) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have loaned this book to many people with different backgrounds and beliefs - doctors, account executives, homesteaders, home birthers, hospital birthers - and all have thoroughly enjoyed the book and found something helpful and useful. For me personally, this is a valuable resource because it does give a different and totally valid viewpoint than the standard American medicalized pregnancy/birth.