Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally

The Mothering Magazine's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth

(2003)
Peggy O'Mara

Finished Reading: 05.2010

There are a lot of parenting and pregnancy books out there, but I have found this one to be the most useful so far. The information is presented in an easy to follow way, straight and unfiltered. The things you need to know - it's all in here (with a lean towards natural birth, but the hospital setting is well described as well). All the considerations and options are brought up, starting in the first trimester and working all the way through birth and afterwards. The book deals with how a woman feels emotionally and physically, what she needs nutritionally, and what is actually happening with her body at each stage of development. Although dads can benefit from the whole book by understanding what their wife is going through, there is a special section for men that gives advice on ways to help women most effectively.

I was particularly interested to know what I should expect during the actual birth and how a home birth differs from a hospital birth - in detail. While every birth is different of course, everything is well explained and diagrammed. The various stages of labor, the medications some women take or do not take, the surgical procedures that one could have or not have done and plenty of other interesting stuff. Clearly, giving birth in a hospital is nothing like giving birth at home. It's like comparing a microwavable dinner which comes packaged in a compartmentalized plastic tray to the experience of roasting meat over an open fire that you have hunted and caught yourself. Both methods give you a meal but that is where the similarities end.

Overly mystical and spiritual books on pregnancy and parenting don't interest me, so I skip over the sidebars in this one that recommend birth shrines, soul days, and introspective list making, but luckily these things and excerpts of short poetry are relegated to the sidebars and so you can easily choose whether or not to pay attention. If you're into that sort of thing its here, but you won't be inundated with it like with some books. However, the sidebars do contain some useful herbal remedies for various maladies as well as stretching and yoga exercises.

Whether a couple is still considering whether or not to have a natural birth or if they have already committed to that path, this book is a fantastic guide to the seemingly unknown path that lies ahead.