But after a forced induction and a total lack of labor support (read the full story<\/a>), I came out of the experience angry and like I had had no control in the situation. \u00a0Hubby and I went to see a reading of a play called “Birth” which is the birth stories of many women. \u00a0After this is when I got serious about researching our\u00a0birth system, strengthening my beliefs and preparing for my next delivery (we decided to try for baby #2 a few months after we saw the play) and I began reading every book on birth I could get my hands on.<\/p>\n Over the years my interest in how women birth has grown and I’ve continued to read books on birth and educate myself. Which means I’ve amassed quite a collection of books on birth from the classic What to Expect When You’re Expecting<\/em>\u00a0by Heidi Murkoff<\/a>\u00a0<\/em> to the original authority on natural birth,\u00a0Childbirth without Fear\u00a0<\/em>by Grandly Dick-Read<\/a>. \u00a0I read each one\u00a0with an open mind and sucked in all the knowledge, laughed at the ridiculousness of some and cringed at the horrible way birth is presented to women in others.<\/p>\n With the impending arrival of my last baby and a big move, I recently decided it was time to clear out my collection of books on birth, keeping only those that I found most useful, insightful and wonderful.<\/p>\n Covering topics such as the medicaliztion of childbirth, dispelling myths, revolutionizing birth, midwifery, waterbirth and planning a gentle birth, this book has awesome information on all the areas of how to achieve a beautiful, natural birth. \u00a0This is the book that opened my eyes to the possibility\u00a0of waterbirth and led me to do more research.<\/p>\n This book covers pregnancy, birth and postpartum so the section on birth is only a small portion, BUT I appreciate that the information is presented in a non-judgy and non-pushy very informative way. \u00a0It does not portray one way as better than any other as many books do but rather presents clear facts on labor, pain management, complications and c-sections in an unbiased way.<\/p>\n This might be the only book I read cover to cover with Honeybun. \u00a0More of guide on how to use the HypnoBirthing method for achieving a natural birth, it is well worth a read as it also covers a lot on the natural physiological process of birth and how the mommy’s body works with the baby during the process of labor and delivery.<\/p>\n This one is definitely skewed more towards natural birth and clearly shows the harm medical interventions can cause but is very encouraging of the mother and helping her achieve a empowered and beautiful birth experience.<\/p>\n This is another trilogy covering pregnancy, birth and postpartum. \u00a0It is a lighthearted book which shows the realities of it all with anecdotes from mothers throughout the entire experience. \u00a0And while I love it mostly for the information on pregnancy progression (according to this book, my baby is currently the size of a lobster), the birth section in very short but provides TONS of real-life quotes and experiences which help to keep perspective on all the different ways birth can feel and go.<\/p>\n This book, again, skews toward the natural side of birth but is very comprehensive on the risks of many common interventions and tips for avoiding unnecessary interventions, preparing for birth and advocating for yourself during the process.<\/p>\n I’ve talked about this book before but it is awesome for learning about the way a new baby’s body and system works. \u00a0Dr. Sloan clearly describes each newborn reflex and how they stem from a place of survival. \u00a0I find it extremely fascinating!<\/p>\n If you prefer getting your knowledge from videos rather than books, definitely check out this one by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein which looks at the current system of birth in America and all the ways it is (unfortunately) failing many women.<\/p>\n Also definitely check out the DVD included with the\u00a0Gentle Birth Choices<\/em> book which shows beautiful births and commentary from midwives and doctors.<\/p>\n This one is just plain fun with lots of random information and charts on things from what day of the week most babies are born to the Ancient Chinese Birth Predictor and different birthing positions.<\/p>\n I don’t recommend reading these ones if you’re pregnant with your first child as they don’t paint the prettiest picture of birth in America today.\u00a0 A lot of the stories are flat out terrifying and the facts provided make me very angry, very quickly!<\/p>\n More of a history of birth and retelling of women’s varying birth stories.<\/p>\n The darker side of birth from forced c-sections to the criminalization of midwives.<\/p>\n A review of the medical literature on labor and birth written in a easy to read and understand manner.<\/p>\n This book by the famous midwife, Ina May Gaskin, aims to draw light to the highly-medicalized birth system which is failing many women.<\/p>\n I didn’t do a lot of research or prep before Honeybun was born or read a lot of books on birth. \u00a0I did take a Hynobirthing class and felt “prepared” after that. \u00a0I believed in my body’s ability to do the job it needed to do and wasn’t worried about things going wrong, I trusted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,388],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baby-business","category-family-life","category-the-pregnant-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8386"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13575,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8386\/revisions\/13575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}These are my favorite books on birth, from preparation to politics:<\/h2>\n
![\"SONY](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/birth-books1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMy favorites for preparing for birth:<\/h3>\n
Gentle Birth Choices<\/em> by Barbara Harper, R.N.<\/a><\/h3>\n
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth\u00a0<\/em>by The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective<\/a><\/h3>\n
HypnoBirthing\u00a0<\/em>by Marie F. Mongan, M.Ed., M.Hy.<\/a><\/h3>\n
Your Best Birth<\/em> by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein<\/a><\/h3>\n
From the Hips<\/em> by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris<\/a><\/h3>\n
The Thinking Women’s Guide to a Better Birth<\/em> by Henci Goer<\/a><\/h3>\n
On Newborns:<\/h3>\n
Birth Day\u00a0<\/i>by Mark Sloan, M.D.<\/a><\/h3>\n
On Video:<\/h3>\n
The Business of Being Born<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
Gentle Birth Choices<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
Just for Fun:<\/h3>\n
Crib Notes<\/em> by Amy Maniatis and Elizabeth Weil<\/a><\/h3>\n
The Political Side:<\/h3>\n
Birth\u00a0<\/em>by Tina Cassidy<\/a><\/h3>\n
Pushed\u00a0<\/em>by Jennifer Block<\/a><\/h3>\n
Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities<\/em> by Henci Goer<\/a><\/h3>\n
Birth Matters<\/em> by\u00a0Ina May Gaskin and Ani Difranco<\/a><\/h3>\n
Born in the USA<\/em> by Marsden Wagner<\/a><\/h3>\n
Anything I missed? \u00a0What books on birth or other resources would you add to list?<\/em><\/h4>\n
Pin it!<\/a>
![\"My](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/birht-books-680x1024.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"