Natural Childbirth

Natural childbirth was such an awesome experience for us! It was amazing! Some of you have asked for more specific details on how we prepared for our birth experience.

Here are the books I found most helpful.

Having Your Baby with A Nurse-Midwife by American College of Nurse-Midwives & Jacobs
At first I didn't really know the difference between OBGYNs and Midwives. The only thing I knew was that OBGYNs come at the very end to "catch" the baby and Midwives stay with you the entire time. Well, there is a lot more to know about Midwives and I learned all about them after reading this book. Having a midwife was the perfect option for us.
http://www.amazon.com/Having-Your-Baby-Nurse-Midwife-Everything/dp/1562828606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210378677&sr=8-1

The Official Lamaze Guide by Lothian & DeVries
http://www.amazon.com/Official-Lamaze-Guide-Giving-Confidence/dp/0684031744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210378797&sr=1-1

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Gaskin
http://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210378865&sr=1-1


HypnoBirthing by Mongan
This book helped me a great deal. It comes with a CD that has a relaxation exercise and birth affirmations. I listened to both almost daily leading up to the birth and I also listened to it the entire time I was in labor. It helped me to stay positive and relaxed throughout the entire process.
http://www.amazon.com/HypnoBirthing-natural-approach-comfortable-birthing/dp/0757302661/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210378893&sr=1-1

Instead of taking the traditional hospital childbirth classes, we took a 12 week natural childbirth class called the Bradley Method. Below is the link to the Bradley website.
http://www.bradleybirth.com/

The Business of Being Born is a documentary that takes a close look at childbirth in the United States. I watched it after Jonah was born and it invoked tears of joy and sorrow. I highly recommend you take a look at this excellent piece!
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Here is a link to recommend books, articles and research studies from the Business of Being Born website.
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/literature.htm