Preparing for a Healthy Birth

Are you pregnant, or hoping to have a baby soon? This book is a reassuring and thought-provoking 10-step guide for women who want to go through pregnancy and birth with as little intervention and disturbance as possible, with a midwife or consultant in attendance, for the sake of safety. Based on the idea that childbirth is a healthy process and not a sickness of any kind, this book will provide you with the information and inspiration you need in order to get your baby - or babies! - born healthily. (Actually, the book features several mothers of twins or triplets, who also had completely normal births, as well as mothers who were considered 'high risk' for other reasons, such as being over 30.) The 10-step programme is presented in a chatty, easy-read format and includes information not usually easily-available to non-experts, as well as plenty of first-hand accounts or comments from women who've had entirely healthy births. (There are also a few cautionary tales from those who didn't...) Contributions come from Michel Odent (pioneer of water births), Janet Balaskas (the woman who realised we're better off not lying down when we give birth!) and Bill Bryson (the travel writer)... as well as from many other experts and 'ordinary' but extraordinary mothers, who made this book possible. In short, this is a handbook which could make a real difference to your future and also that of your babies and wider family. Most importantly, perhaps - if you're the kind of person who really likes to check things out, and if you believe in evidence-based health care - this edition includes almost 70 pages of notes and references. These will allow you to check out the academic research on any particular issue, or consider specific topics in more detail - perhaps in preparation for a discussion with your caregivers. Like the edition without notes and references, this edition includes a comprehensive Glossary and Index, which could also be very useful to you if you're new to this business of having babies, or if you want to make your experience far better than it was last time. A comment from an antenatal teacher: "What every woman will want to know, put simply and clearly." A comment from a midwife, perinatal researcher and adjunct professor (Betty-Anne Daviss): "Sylvie has created a prescription for healthy birth in a 10-step approach to keep parents focused on what is important in a potentially disastrous birth environment... She has... provided us with a book that encapsulates anything you wanted to know about keeping your birth normal and healthy..." And a comment from a mother: "Had a very late night Friday as I could not put your book down. Wow!"