Natural Hospital Birth : The Best of Both Worlds

Got this in preparation for my first birth. Being pregnant for the first time all this labor stuff is terrifying, but this book was very helpful to get my head around what could happen and what I can control and what not. It is very realistic, you never know what will happen, but in case of options being offered to you, you will know what exactly it means, what are the benefits and disadvantages and you will be empowered to take the right decision for yourself. We will bring this book to hospital with us and it will be my husband's go to in case of decision-making.

Very useful and reassuring book on labour and birth. Gives amazing tips on how to approche your healthcare professional with your labour and birth wishes. Gives you a good idea of procedures / medications that can be used and how to avoid them.

I am in week 37 of my first pregnancy. I am also that person who loves researching and birth/pregnancy/child-rearing has always fascinated me. I have been reading ALL the books and am even becoming a doula. However, I am also epileptic, which means I feel the safest giving birth at a hospital with my specialist nearby, just in case. I still strive for a calm and unmedicated birth though. This book is INCREDIBLE. It gives so much practical concrete advice from how to show your Dr. your birth plan and be taken seriously to acknowledging your need to be flexible and account for multiple scenarios.I will definitely be giving this book and recommend it to my friends and clients who plan on giving birth in a hospital.

This book was ok, but I found it to be very surface level. It didn't have many concrete or specific ways to prepare for labor and delivery, it was more general concepts and other resources you would have to look up. She does go over the stages of labor, which was helpful, but I would recommend something more detailed if you are looking for specific coping strategies and how to implement them like labor positions, breathing, etc. This book didn't give me very many practical ideas to utilize to give me the natural hospital birth i am hoping for. I would recommend Susan Mcutcheon's Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, lots of exercises and great advice to prepare you!

This book helped me feel so confident and optimistic heading into my first birth experience. I can’t even describe how valuable that was to me, and how much I loved this book. Great methods for both practical and mental preparations to make and actions/ things to say and be prepared for in labor & delivery. I ended up getting a few medical interventions and I still had a wonderfully positive experience—I think at least partially because of the ways this book helped me think about birth. Highly recommend.