Doula Adventures: Book Review of "Choosing Naia"

This book is on BAI's list under the Special Circumstances section, and unfortunately, "special" does not equal "rare."

According to the CDC, approximately 6,000 babies born every year have Down's Syndrome. A study published in January, 2015, suggests that 30% of preborn babies diagnosed with Down's Syndrome will be aborted.

This tells me that the story of "Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey" is not uncommon, and for that reason alone, this was an important book to read.

via

This was a hard book to get into, but after the first two chapters, I was sucked in {although I don’t understand why the book began with an account of someone’s brother being disabled… it didn’t seem to properly introduce the story or come back at all to be relevant}. Greg and Tierney are so likable and understandable, and the most shocking part to me was reading that they let Zuckoff follow their lives and decisions while they were making those decisions.

As a staunchly pro-life advocate, it was difficult for me to read about the various choices made or hypothetically made by the people in this book. I see all life, regardless of mental or physical ability, as made in the image of God and therefore worth protecting, but obviously there are other people who have different views. I can see, however, what a hard situation this would be to face, and I appreciate Greg and Tierney’s honesty when it came to how they approached their decisions.

As a future doula, the most inspiring person to me was Alicia Craffey, the genetic counselor. She was to couples facing genetic conditions what I want to be for women going into labor: I’m here to offer information and support you whatever decision you make. I loved that Alicia was available at any and all hours, and I was surprised to learn that so much of her communication with the Fairchilds was over the phone. But that is what the Fairchilds needed and had available to them, and I love that they felt connected enough to Alicia that they called her frequently, and that she connected with them so often as well.

                                                            *****************
What do you think, friends? Share your thoughts!

Doula Adventures: Book Review of "The Labor Progress Handbook"

May was so busy I didn't even think about sharing a book review until June - oops! A tad late, but here is my review of The Labor Progress Handbook by Penny Simkin and Ruth Ancheta.

For your reading pleasure...

This book is fabulous and so, so helpful. I love that Ms. Simkin and Ms. Ancheta talk from their experiences and from research. The information they present is well-informed and balanced.

I appreciate the diagrams and the timeline that this book follows; this is how labor actually progresses. other reviewers have commented that they take this book with them to labors, and I have to say that I'll be doing the same thing.

The last chapter is the most helpful for me. The various ways to turn the baby and to soothe or comfort the mother are so pertinent. I especially like the "when to use" and "when not to use" features, because how much more straight-forward can it be!

I also appreciated that the authors were upfront about ideas that need further research, practices that are commonly used but not fully supported by research, and when their suggestions may not be effective. I think that the honesty and candidness is very useful, and I would love to get an updated copy of this book {my copy was published in 2000}, if such a thing exists, just for the added benefit of more research.

The part that was challenging for me was the highly medical-oriented terminology. This handbook was obviously written for medical professionals, not the mother herself or other lay people. That was slightly frustrating, but it was also good to get into the mindset of working with medical professionals who use the terminology. I would have appreciated a definitions page in either the beginning or end, just to be considerate. But this is my only complaint. I definitely will be purchasing this book for my doula practice.

                                                                  ************

For those future doulas out there, this book is gold. It is a teeny handbook that will fit into your birth bag and benefit you greatly. I will let you know if I find a more recent version. Happy reading!

Doula Adventures: Review of "Spiritual Midwifery"

Here we are at the end of April, sliding in a doula book review barely on time! This month I'm sharing my review of Ina Mae Gaskin's Spiritual Midwifery, which is one of my favorite books.

via

Ina Mae Gaskin has so much faith in women's bodies, and I love how this faith permeates everything she writes. The premise of Spiritual Midwifery is that women are made to have babies and that midwives {and birth workers} are there to listen to the mother, guide her through what her body is designed to do naturally, and that it is a spiritual experience for everyone involved.

As with all of Ina Mae's books, the first third of the book was my favorite. Birth stories! Ina Mae shared a wide variety of birthing situations, and her calmness through even the most tricky and difficult circumstances was encouraging.

What I appreciated the most, though, was the thoroughness of Ina Mae. She described with both the "to the parents" and the "to the midwives" sections how to proceed through each stage of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum. The diagrams of the mother's pelvis and the baby's skull were particularly useful in my understanding of the physicality of birth. Also, the various positions that the baby can be in before the birth are crucial to understand, and I believe Ina Mae's illustrations helped me vastly.

Spiritual Midwifery helped me discern the rhythm and flow of pregnancy care, labor, delivery, and postpartum activities. Reading both the parental and birth worker sections exemplified my future job description: encourager of the mother, guardian of the energy in the room, guide of the father/partner, and support for medical workers.

********************

I read this book back in November, and after re-reading my review, I will probably go back and read it again. I really do love Ina Mae!

Doula Adventures: Review of "The Complete Book of Pregnancy & Childbirth"

Barely making my goal of reviewing a doula book every month, but hey, it's still March!

This month I'm reviewing a book I read a couple of months ago - I did a lot of reading between December and February, so I'll be playing catch up for a while. This book was really, really good... well, I'll just let the review speak for itself.

The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth (Revised)* by Sheila Kitzinger

Ms. Kitzinger’s book is wonderful. Her thoroughness, gentleness, and organization all impressed me. She provided accurate and fair information, as well as practical steps and exercises expecting mothers could utilize right away. I especially appreciate Ms. Kitzinger detailing both the physical and emotional journey that pregnant mothers and their partners experience.

The section on physical and emotional changes during pregnancy was one of my favorites that I've read so far. Highlights include the segment on the baby’s growth throughout the 40 weeks of pregnancy, the focus on twins, and the pages dedicated to fathers. The nutrition section was also helpful, since that is something I can discuss with future clients.

The most helpful part for me was the discussion of support during birth. The images with various physical positions were so beneficial; I will be referencing these in the future! And the details regarding the emotional support were also critically important to me. I liked that Ms. Kitzinger included a segment on breathing, which is something other books seemed to skim over. 

Professionally, I want to own a copy of this book, and I will definitely recommend it to expectant mothers. It is a long read, but a wealth of information and so well worth the time. 

*affiliate link 

Doula Adventures: Guest Reviewer of Ina May!

Hey friends, today I am thrilled to have Victoria guest reviewing Ina May Gaskin's book! As you may recall, Victoria and I go way back {like, to 2010 or 2011, which is practically forever ago}, and she has been one of my most enthusiastic cheerleaders on this doula journey. 
A few months ago, I asked her if she would like to do guest post a book review, since she has a yummy baby and could tell us what was really useful during her labor. Victoria agreed immediately, and when I asked her which book was the most helpful, I was thrilled that she answered "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" because it's one of my favorites, too. So without any more ado, here's Victoria!

When Rebekah asked me to review Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, I said yes. It was an easy decision. I love Ina May, and I seriously love Rebekah. I'd let either one of them catch my baby. #gettingrealupinhere

After I did all the freakings out about being pregnant, I started to get a tinsy bit into a thing called childbirth.

And by a "tinsy bit" I mean makes-my-husband-uncomfortable and I-would-totally-eat-my-placenta into.

I can't remember exactly when I feel in deep like with Ina May. Probably from watching The Business of Being Born. So, yes, I am a bandwagon fan. Sorry not sorry. Let's just think of it as an introduction, ok?

What I enjoyed about Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is the non-medical nature of her writing. She writes from immense hands-on experience, but her writing is accessible to the everyday woman. Reading her book I felt as if she were my midwife, sitting across from me, explaining what I could expect during my labor and delivery. Her words were very soothing in that way.

Another fun feature of this book are the birth stories that comprise the first half. While pregnant, it was helpful to get a sense of the "variations of normal" that can occur during labor and delivery. However, if you're more interested in the guiding bit, it's totally okay to skip to that section. You won't miss a thing!

As I mentioned, Ina May's writing is very relatable. While medical resources describe birth in very flat terms - something like, "Your cervix will dilate to 10 cms and the baby will descend in the birth canal." - Ina May puts matters far more poetically, calling contractions "rushes," for example.

Think of this book as a primer on what to expect in childbirth. She discusses routine medical procedures around birth, and which ones a mother could safely reject. Ina May also shares in depth what to expect postpartum. {Postpartum bleeding? Yeah, had no idea about that until I was seven months in!} I found it to be a very thorough resource.

This pregnancy-face-glowing review of Ina May's Guide does come with a few warnings, though. To be fair, I am not completely sold out on the whole Ina May experience. I feel she has been known to take "no interventions" to extreme places that are not necessary, especially with today's medical technology. And I get the sense from reading her that she pushes {no pun intended} natural childbirth to the exclusion of other options. I delivered my daughter naturally, but I certainly don't think au naturale is for everyone. Rather, I advocate women being fully informed and fully empowered to make decisions about their births. Decisions that should never be fear-based, but decisions all the same. Want to schedule that C-section for June 10th? Go right ahead. Willing to wait for baby until 42 weeks? Be my guest. Expectant mothers should have access to care providers that would help weigh the pros and cons of each decision, but I fully believe a woman should be in charge of her health care.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth gets 5 stars in my book. Her wisdom really was that helpful to me during my labor and delivery. Though do read the book knowing Ina May comes from a clear bias. If you 1) are completely freaked out by natural birth or 2) avoid barefoot hippies like kale grass, you probably won't enjoy the read. However, if you're interested in natural childbirth, or even wonder about the mechanics surrounding birth, I think you ought to give this book a try. If you do, I'd love to hear!

Thanks for asking me to review this book, Rebekah! Love following your doula adventures!

Thank you for this awesome review, Victoria! You know I'll catch your baby anytime!

Doula Adventures: Review of "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering"

One of my 2015 goals is to share a doula book review each month, and here is January's - huzzah!

via

A few days into January, I finished reading Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices by Dr. Sarah Buckley. 

via

When this book arrived at the library for me, I was excited. Surely this book will offer great perspectives on both the medical and natural views of childbirth, I thought to myself, and how exciting to read a bit about parenting as well. I expected to find balance and straightforward information from both sides of the discussion. 

via

This book was not what I expected. I thought that a medical doctor who chose home births would offer a balanced, well-rounded perspective of the various choices women face in childbirth; I was disappointed. For making a living in the medical field, Dr. Buckley was shockingly anti-medicine. This was not the evenhanded discussion I was expecting and hoping for.

I believe Dr. Buckley to be at the far end of the “natural birth” spectrum. The emphasis she placed on several procedures seemed a bit “holier than thou” and not at all accepting of any other choices. In fact, several times I thought her general tone was preachy and condemning, which is not what mothers and mothers-to-be need.

The part of the book that I did enjoy was the chapter on the body’s chemicals during birth and how they cycle into birthing the baby. I can appreciate how medicine interferes with the hormonal cycle, but I also believe that there are going to be instances when medical intervention is necessary. Again, this “all-natural or nothing” stance was quite shocking coming from a doctor of medicine. I was disappointed in this book.

******

I wrote the above three paragraphs to submit to BAI. I didn't want to offend the people who selected this book, but I want to be honest about my reaction, and my reaction was quite strong.

There were several times I put the book down and asked myself, "what the hell did I just read?" and "did she really just say that?" Again, I was very disappointed with something that had the potential to be great. I'm not even going to use affiliate links in this post, because I do not recommend this book.

Never fear - I've got three other book reviews up my sleeve, plus a guest reviewer coming soon. Stay tuned!

"Re'and" - A Book Review

Y'all, my IRL friend Victoria is quite the writer. Some of you may remember her hosting the fantastic 31 Days of Creative Writing last October, and this month she is writing for 31 days about self-publishing because she is publishing a book on October 30th, and she let me read it early! She is fantastic like that :)

You can purchase the physical copy or the Kindle edition of Re'and the Book on Amazon or click here to visit Victoria Easter Wilson Writer and download the PDF {update 11-16-14: due to some testing periods, this link is no longer available}.
{Update on 10-28-14: these links should be working properly now - please email or comment if there are problems!}

On with the review!

This book is great. I love the character development, the snark, the detail in the setting, and the plot. "Re'and" is the name of the world and there are many countries/nations within Re'and. I won't give away the story, but I will tell you that it reminded me of Middle Earth in that humans were one of several different races in the story.

I appreciated the pace of the story... throughout the journey of the main character, I felt like we spent a goodly amount of time at each place. There were some spots I wished provided more back story or detail, but maybe it will come up in a sequel or prequel, right, Victoria!?

There were several elements that definitely could have been overdone, but they were done perfectly. I never felt like Victoria thought I was unintelligent; she described what she needed to describe and then moved on. There was nothing that made me think, "Ok, I get it already!"

Re'and is really clean - no language, no sex, and only a bit of violence, but no gore. Catherine wrote a great review as well, and she is purchasing this book for her almost-a-teenager niece.

One of the best parts of Re'and for me was the characters. I loved how we met so many different people, and that we got "closure" with so many of them. I'm definitely an optimist and I love a happy ending, so it was wonderful to discover all the minor characters - and there is a beautiful variety of them! - and how the story ended with each of them.

Now that I've told you how wonderful this book is, I have to tell you something else. Victoria is so, so generous and she offered to make me an affiliate for the purpose of funding my doula education! Isn't she the greatest!? So those links up there are affiliate links, and all the affiliate income will go directly to my doula certification process. I told you Victoria is awesome!

I'm blown away by how generous she is... but I'm not at all surprised at how great her book is {and as cheesy as that sounds, I'm not saying it because of her generosity!}. If you are looking for a good read with great character development, fantastical elements, and lots of travelling, check out Re'and!