The Birth Book (Sears Parenting Library)

by Martha Sears and William Sears

Book Overview

Since women enjoy more birthing options today than ever before, the path toward a safe and satisfying birth can be fraught with important decisions. Planning, understanding the resources available to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316779075
• Release Date: February 1994
• Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely the best book on the planet to prepare for giving birth!

Anyone preparing to deliver their child, even those with previous experience, with treasure this book filled with wisdom. It is worth its weight in gold.

I changed my birth plans 6 months into my pregnancy!

If you are pregnant for the first time and don't know much about childbirth, READ THIS BOOK ... and don't be afraid to make changes to your birth plan (birth plan?!?) if some aspect of your care doesn't sit well with you. Do whatever you can to have a wonderful birth experience - it will live in your emotions and memory forever and may even affect how you bond with your child.I was six months pregnant with our first child when I did the craziest thing ever. I changed my caregivers and I changed my hospital. Here's how it went: During my pregnancy, our kitchen was being remodeled. Attempting to escape the paint and glue fumes, I spent long days at our local library, reading books about pregnancy and childbirth. I stumbled upon "The Birth Book" and of course, in my swollen condition, I devoured it.THIS BOOK ROCKED MY WORLD.It opened my eyes to how insane birth really is in this country - how over-medicalized it is. It really put the fear of God into me, so to speak, with regard to "routine" procedures such as episiotomy, forceps/vacuum use, epidurals, C-sections, etc. I was set on a path for the typical "hospital-epidural-medical" birth, without much thought that it could be any other (better, more satifying) way, until I read this astounding book.Thanks to this book, I scrupulously questioned my OB and ultimately switched from my OB to a Certified Nurse Midwife, I switched to a hospital with a very low C-section rate and a very pro-natural birth attitude and appropriate facilities, I hired a doula, and my husband & I took a Bradley class and cancelled our Lamaze class. BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, I had a glorious, natural (drug- and intervention-free), waterbirth in the "Alternative Birthing Center" of a hospital. (Read our birth story in the upcoming book, Beautiful Births, due out in 2005! =)Of course, my husband initially thought I was stark raving mad for wanting to make so many drastic changes so far into my pregnancy, but after reading this eye-opening book, it seemed even MORE stark raving mad not to! Even if you have no intention of making any changes (some women like having fetal monitors and epidurals, and that is their prerogative!), read it. Whether you desire to birth naturally or more "medically," or if you're not sure, it is very empowering to be well informed about everything that happens within the birthing community.

Excellent Pregnancy Book (even if you're not a Sears fan)

I have to STRONGLY disagree with other reviews that this book guilts you into a natural childbirth. The book is filled with examples of women who chose epidurals and other intervention and had satisfying births. The overwhelming theme in this book is that it is the expectant parents' responsibility to educate themselves about their choices in childbirth, discuss their wishes with their caregiver, and write a birth plan to help convey these wishes to hospital staff (if they chose hospital birth). The Sears believe that if the parents are the ones making the informed decisions, rather than having decisions made for them, they will have a joyful, beautiful start to their family. The Sears clearly lay out the benefits of natural childbirth, and do discuss in detail the risks of the various tests and interventions, as well as when they are justified. My favorite part is in the back, where mothers and fathers have submitted their birth stories. It is wonderful to read first-hand accounts of the emotions and sensations of birth. As I said, all kinds of births are included: planned C-sections, home births, epidurals, birth centers, high risk, etc. What is emphasized is that when the parents are informed and able to make their own choices, they are at peace with the outcome. It is when the parents feel that their wishes were not respected or that risks and options were not explained to them that they feel angry and bitter at their caregivers. This is a great read for parents who know they want natural childbirth and for parents who want to consider it. You will never regret knowing your options. The birth and the child are your responsibility. It can be a time of joy and empowerment or a time of fear and helplessness. Having those choices, wouldn't you choose the former?

Great Book (and I'm certainly no Luddite! LOL!)

I'm a mother of two, a critical RN and certainly not a Luddite. If I had to choose one book to have prior to the birth of my first child, this one would be it. (I'm here to buy one for a family member as a gift, I already own this book!)I could write my own book with my thoughts and feelings about childbirth, childbirth prepartion, and postpartum recovery. I'll just say this,however...Childbirth hurts. Take all of the classes, read the books, get drugs, it still hurts. Go to a hospital and expect them to hold your hand during labour and you'll be disappointed, they're too busy to do that. Have someone there with you to support you through the whole thing. Preferably at least one person that has done this before. Could be a doula, could be your best friend or mother... Interventions DO lead to more interventions. Less is better for the birth, the mother,the baby and your recovery (I've done both types). If you can swing less, do that.Reading books like these, taking classes to practice positioning techniques and exercising your body actually does HELP. Having some ideas on things to try when the going gets rough HELPS. Not everything will work for everyone,but many things will work or at least help you cope. Everyone should be prepared for natural childbirth, regardless of whether or not they are planning to have drugs, even major ones. You can't get an epidural until you are at least four cm or it can stop your labour. I wasn't four cm with my first child until I was 24 hours into labour. And both times I tried an epidural, and it didn't take the first time at all, only took partially the second time. The only type of medication that will give you total relief from childbirth discomfort is general anesthesia. Having a list of things that I could do to cope made all of the difference in the world to me. The first birth I was much more passive. The second birth I was much more proactive and had a much better time of it. My recovery was night and day too.I respect Sears and his wife as both parents and healthcare professionals. Their series of books are not perfect, but I would say, after reading reams of drivel or hyperbole on the subject at hand, they actually do the overall best job for a basic book. Most folks read one, max two books pre-birth, so if you have to choose only one, this would be it. And their book "The Baby Book" is also the best one out there regarding babies.Btw, regarding the comment about the AFP test. It is famous for false positives, which can cause unneeded stress to parents. I don't have an opinion about having the test, either way beyond that. As to Down's Syndrome, some parents want to know in order to terminate the pregnancy. Looks like termination is not on their list of things to consider, so why should they have the test? (I had an amnio, much more accurate.) The way the review was written, it sounded like they had done something irresponsible. Some parents want to know, others don't. Knowing or not knowing neither

Wonderful and Empowering Book!

This book treats mothers as intelligent, capable people worthy of making informed birth decisions with their doctors or midwives. Such a refreshing change from the condescending "don't question your doctor" tone of many books! It is very thorough detailing what happens during the birth process; and also explains common interventions, when they are needed and when they are not. I liked that the information was based on scientific evidence (not just doctors' traditions.) It emphasizes natural pain relief methods, but still covers medicated pain relief in a non-judgmental way. Their family's anectdotes made the book into thoroughly enjoyable reading.Following the advice of this book for my 2nd pregnancy (wish i had had it for my first!) I had an intervention-free hospital birth. I could hardly believe how much better I felt and how much more quickly i recovered than in the more common "high-intervention" method I experienced the first time (what so many books champion.) If it hadn't been for this book, I would never have known what was possible!

Very empowering and informative!

This book is for all the women out there who have ever felt some mild anxiety all the way to a wrenching fear about the childbirth process. Dr. Sears and his wife Martha Sears, RN give readers a brief history of childbirth practices, they discuss the myths and fears surrounding birth, and then come full circle to help women understand that childbirth is a natural process. The Sears' articulate that many of today's complications of childbirth are related to the overuse of medical interventions and not enough education about the birth process itself. Although the Sears' advocate for drug free childbirth and as few interventions as medically needed, The Birth Book provides readers with the information that a woman (and her partner) need to make their own wise and individual informed decisions about medical treatments during childbirth. I found the book very empowering. I choose to have my baby at a hospital with my family practicioner and because of the information I gl! eaned from The Birth Book I was able to feel good about the many decisions I had to make surrounding my baby's birth. Many hospitals and doctors have a set of "standard procedures" for birth but I found my doctor and the hospital both were willing to work with my preferences because I was informed about the decisions I was making. Some of the decisions in my baby's birth included not to induce my labor (I went 11 days overdue), to decline the use of pitocin to "speed" my labor when it did come, to ask for pain relief when I needed it, to request not to have an episiotomy and to labor and deliver in the position of my choice. As a result, I had a wonderful (and yes, intense) first birth. Although I fully realize every woman and every labor is different, I believe that my birth experience was definately influenced positively by being educated about technologies, making informed decisions, and trusting my own body. This book helped me to do all those thi! ngs.