Indie Birth

Work out what kind of birth you really want, and learn how to maximise your chances of getting it, in this refreshing, warm and witty guide to pregnancy, birth and the early weeks. Packed with vital and cutting-edge information on everything from building the ultimate birth plan, to your choices and rights in the birth room; from optimal cord clamping, to seeding the microbiome; from the inside track on breastfeeding, to woman-centred caesarean, The Positive Birth Book shows you how to have the best possible birth, regardless of whether you plan to have your baby in hospital, in the birth centre, at home or by elective caesarean. Find out how the environment you give birth in, your mindset and your expectations can influence the kind of birth you have, and be inspired by the voices of real women, who tell you the truth about what giving birth really feels like. Challenging negativity and fear of childbirth, and brimming with everything you need to know about labour, birth, and the early days of parenting, The Positive Birth Book is the must-have birth book for women of the 21st century.

From three top ob/gyn's--the personalities of the television series "Deliver Me"--comes this comprehensive pregnancy resource that's medically reliable and mom-to-mom relatable.

Since publishing Return to the Great Mother in 2013, numerous mothers, partners, and birthing attendants have come forward to share with me their stories and to express gratitude for helping them connect with the power of the Great Mother. Some are continuing to strengthen their relationship with this ancient and ongoing source of power, calling upon her whenever they are faced with situations that require them to step outside of their comfort zone and into a new way of knowing themselves or life. Within this book, you will read about these and other stories and how the Great Mother was there, always supporting-sometimes sustaining-the women and children as they moved through the sacred initiation of childbirth.In this updated edition, I have included information about the importance and power of initiations. While the focus of the book is on childbirth (the one initiation we can choose whether to participate in), it is just one of seven key steps we take on the path toward personal growth. Men have their own essential initiation processes, of course, but because this book highlights the uniquely female endeavor of giving birth, I have spoken only to the initiations of girls and women.It is through the discussion of the seven initiations of birth, puberty, menses, first sexual encounter, childbirth, menopause, and death that I hope to shed light on the life-altering effects that initiatory experiences can have on us. Like rungs on a ladder, each initiation can serve as a sturdy step upon which we feel supported as we climb upward toward greater awareness and understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

Heart and spirit-the forgotten frontiers of womanhood-are front and centre in this empowering set of stories that blaze a simultaneously ancient and radical trail for women to reclaim both birth and themselves. This book is medicine created to help us collectively heal from the lies we've been told about birth. Dive deeply into the minds, hearts, and lives of the women living the Indie Birth revolution. Equal parts history, birth stories, and visioning towards the future, this manifesta will help lead the way towards a brighter vision of birth for decades to come.

When House Speaker Paul Ryan urged U.S. women to have more children, and Ross Douthat requested “More babies, please,” in a New York Times column, they openly expressed what policymakers have been discussing for decades with greater discretion. Using technical language like “age structure,” “dependency ratio,” and “entitlement crisis,” establishment think tanks are raising the alarm: if U.S. women don’t get busy having more children, we’ll face an aging workforce, slack consumer demand, and a stagnant economy. Feminists generally believe that a prudish religious bloc is responsible for the protracted fight over reproductive freedom in the U.S. and that politicians only attack abortion and birth control to appeal to those “values voters.” But hidden behind this conventional explanation is a dramatic fight over women’s reproductive labor. On one side, elite policymakers want an expanding workforce reared with a minimum of employer spending and a maximum of unpaid women’s work. On the other side, women are refusing to produce children at levels desired by economic planners. By some measures our birth rate is the lowest it has ever been. With little access to childcare, family leave, health care, and with insufficient male participation, U.S. women are conducting a spontaneous birth strike. In other countries, panic over low birth rates has led governments to underwrite childbearing and childrearing with generous universal programs, but in the U.S., women have not yet realized the potential of our bargaining position. When we do, it will lead to new strategies for winning full access to abortion and birth control, and for improving the difficult working conditions U.S. parents now face when raising children.

Heart and spirit-the forgotten frontiers of womanhood-are front and centre in this empowering set of stories that blaze a simultaneously ancient and radical trail for women to reclaim both birth and themselves. This book is medicine created to help us collectively heal from the lies we've been told about birth. Dive deeply into the minds, hearts, and lives of the women living the Indie Birth revolution. Equal parts history, birth stories, and visioning towards the future, this manifesta will help lead the way towards a brighter vision of birth for decades to come.

"Birth Emergency Skills Training is the interface between the world of midwifery and the world of medicine. It carries the reader from the initial steps of intervention through definitive care, balancing a friendly tone and visual appeal with authoritative and clinically useful information. It is loaded with mnemonics and other aids to understanding and is richly illustrated by the author.

Heart and spirit-the forgotten frontiers of womanhood-are front and centre in this empowering set of stories that blaze a simultaneously ancient and radical trail for women to reclaim both birth and themselves. This book is medicine created to help us collectively heal from the lies we've been told about birth. Dive deeply into the minds, hearts, and lives of the women living the Indie Birth revolution. Equal parts history, birth stories, and visioning towards the future, this manifesta will help lead the way towards a brighter vision of birth for decades to come.

Offers expectant mothers seeking natural childbirth in a hospital a detailed look at pregnancy and labor, explaining how to create a mutually supportive relationship among birth-care providers and make informed choices.