Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated with New Material

A must must must read for all pregnant ladies out there. Also a must read for everyone giving unsolicited advice to the pregnant ladies!

good

Excellent book on learning about natural childbirth from a highly experienced mid-wife in US.

Very poor quality. Careless delivery.

ok ok product.

I do appreciate midwifery and the value it brings to childbirth. But you don’t have to put the modern medicine down to say midwifery is superior. The book makes you feel like all doctors are rude and brainless and all medical interventions unnecessary. The whole book sounds like caesareans are unnecessary, epidurals are a crime! Expected more from this book. You cannot play down the immense benefits of interventions and doctors. Anti medicine tone is annoying. If not for modern medicine you would still see maternal mortality being as much as earlier times! Midwifery model of care is wonderful in uncomplicated pregnancies, but not a panacea!

This book quality is good and the author was just leading out of the box. This book is only applicable for those who are filthy rich and staying at countryside.

I ordered this book last month based on the reviews. However, I was not satisfied with the book, it was more of Ina May's Farm and their stories several years ago. No much emphasis on nutrition and pre-natal care. I will not recommend this book.

It helps you to have a positive mindset about birth

Highly recommend this book to any pregnant parents, midwives, or doulas! It’s fascinating, easy to understand and informative from cover to cover.

Embracing the sexuality of birth is the most helpful information I got and was a wonderful tool in labor. I might even say that it cut the perceived intensity/pain of the contractions by 50 percent. This and letting out the energy of the contractions by saying "ahhh" to open your body and keep from getting tight and focused on "pain". Contractions are intense, but you feel them coming, get prepared, ride them out, and then they go, rest and they come back with more intensity. Perinneal massage is very helpful and this book was helpful in one story it talks about how the girl knew she had to "get big" and she did. Labor and Birth are a lot about what's going on in your head. Just knowing your body is built for it and being serious about perinneal massage and learning how to relax with a bunch of pressure down there is very helpful. I was able to get through the birth process without interventions--EVEN THOUGH I HAD AN INDUCED BIRTH!!! I had the doctor cut off the oxytocin at 100ml because the contractions were getting very intense and the labor proceeded naturally; got easier and became increasingly more intense naturally. You can do it if you know you got in this mess the same way your going to get out of it--use your sexuality. You can do it. I had an induced birth because of heart reasons in the baby a day and a week after the due date. Baby was 8.2 pounds. I did take Demerol which was helpful and gave me a bit of a rest before transition; but still used the methods I learned in this book; I believe if someone told me that when I was 8cm dialated that that was the worst of it may be I could've skipped it; but a little extra relief is helpful when it comes down to it. I was planning to do a Hypnobirth; but found the breathing impossible to get a hold of during labor may be because of induction or may be just because. It felt like I was drowning trying to breathe through them. I DO however also recommend Hypnobirth to have more tools in labor and the book helps eliminate the feeling of fear going into this. I also recommend watching videos via YouTube about natural birth so you can see how other woman get through this and have more ideas in your head when you go into labor. This is how you prepare for this. Even if you plan on getting a epidural you need these tools of how to cope until you are able to take the meds. No matter how you go you need to be prepared. I wanted a natural birth; but when I look back on the experience even if you completely don't want a natural birth you still need to figure out how your going to deal with it before you get the pain relief. This book is great. I even read all of the birth stories in the beginning when I was finished with it. This book is great because of the methods, stories, and thoughts it stirs about a positive birth experience.

Amazon book to profoundly change your perspective on birth. The book was one of the key factors why I ended up having a homebirth and this was just the right decision for our family. I’ve gifted the book to multiple other pregnant women and it was a highly appreciated gift. It should really be a staple for mums to be.

I bought it for my wife, and ended up reading it all before her. It shines light on what childbirth really is, and it's exactly what I needed as a father to understand the whole process. Definitely recommended.