Birth as every woman would like it to be

• Recommended by Lamaze International as one of the top ten books for pregnant women and their families

• Includes a 45-minute DVD of six live gentle births

• More than 32,000 copies sold of the original edition

New parents are faced with a myriad of choices about pregnancy, labor, and birth. In Gentle Birth Choices Barbara Harper, renowned childbirth advocate, nurse, former midwife, and mother of three, helps to clarify these choices and shows how to plan a meaningful, family-centered birth experience. She dispels medical myths and reimagines birth without fear, pain, or violence. Harper explains the numerous gentle birth choices available, including giving birth in an independent birth center, at home, or in a hospital birthing room; finding a primary caregiver who shares your philosophy of birth; and deciding how to best use current technologies. She also provides practical advice for couples wishing to explore the option of using a doula or water during labor and birth to avoid the unwanted effects of drugs and epidurals.

The Gentle Birth Choices DVD blends interviews with midwives and physicians and six actual births that illustrate the options of water birth, home birth, and vaginal birth after a prior Cesarean section. The DVD clearly reveals the strength of women during childbirth and the healthy and happy outcome of women exercising gentle birth choices. It is a powerful instructional tool, not only for expectant parents, but also for midwives, hospitals, birth centers, and doctors.

Autorentext

Barbara Harper's passion for natural birth led to the founding in 1988 of Global Maternal/Child Health Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education and research about natural childbirth. She lectures worldwide on maternity care reform and water birth and is the author of Gentle Birth Choices. She lives in Florida.

Inhalt

Foreword by Robbie Davis-Floyd

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1
Gentle Beginnings
Wonderfully Made
Ingredients for a Gentle Birth

Chapter 2
The Medicalization of Childbirth
Our Legacy of Birth
From Midwife to Physician
The Promise of Science
Pain Relief: The Era of "Twilight Sleep"
Hospital Births for Everyone
Unmasking Prenatal Testing
Medical Legal Dilemmas
The Results of Medical Intervention

Chapter 3
Dispelling the Medical Myths
Myth: The Hospital is the Safest Place to Have a Baby
Myth: Maternity Care Should Be Managed Only by a Physician
Myth: The Electronic Fetal Monitor Will Save Babies
Myth: All Babies Should be Born On or Before Their Due Date
Myth: Drugs for Pain Relief Won't Hurt the Baby
Myth: Once a Cesarean, Always a Cesarean
Myth: An Episiotomy Heals Better Than a Tear
Myth: Birth Needs to be Sterile
Myth: The Older You Are the More Difficult Your Birth Will Be
Myth: It's Better Not to Eat or Drink during Labor
Myth: Family and Friends Interfere during Birth
Myth: The Baby Needs to be Observed in a Newborn Nursery
Myth: Baby Boys Need to Be Circumcised

Chapter 4
A Gentle Revolution
Birth without Fear
Birth without Pain
Birth without Violence
Birth Reborn
Birth without Rules
Birth with Consciousness
Women Take Back Their Births

Chapter 5
Midwifery In America: A Growing Tradition
The Midwives Model of Maternity Care
The Evolution of Midwifery
Midwifery Revolution
The Politics of Midwifery
A Midwife for Every Mother

Chapter 6
Waterbirth
Why Waterbirth?
Waterbirth History
Beyond the Leboyer Bath
Labor Pools in France
Making Waves in the United States
The United Kingdom Takes the Plunge
Waterbirth around the World
Questions Everyone Asks About Waterbirth
Just For Providers
The Future of Waterbirth

Chapter 7
The Mind-Body Connection
Womb Ecology
Mind-Body Response
Listening to Your Body
Listening to the Baby
Mind-Body Preparations for a Gentle Birth
The Sexuality of Childbirth
Holistic Prenatal Preparation
Mind, Body, Spirit in Unity

Chapter 8
Creating Gentle Birth Choices
Planning Your Birth
What Women Want
Consumers Create Choices
Health Care For All Women and Children by 2015

Appendix A: Questions to Ask a Doctor

Appendix B: Questions to Ask a Midwife

Appendix C: Sample Birth Plan

Appendix D: Sample Letter to Hospital

Appendix E: Resources

Notes

Bibliography

About the Photographs and the Photographers

Index