Preparing for a Healthy Birth:
Information and accounts to inspire you to prepare for the best possible birth
Forewords by Sheila Kitzinger and Michel Odent

A book for pregnant women, who have the feeling they want a normal birth, with minimal intervention if at all possible - who want more information about this option and also inspiration and reassurance! The author decided to write this book after her own three straightforward births, when she kept on meeting women who'd had bad experiences. Perplexed and upset by all that she heard, she eventually concluded that women were not sufficiently prepared for birth because of all the assumptions in other books, magazines, the media - and also in the maternity care system. There seemed to be 10 reasons why most women's births 'went wrong', so she set about writing 10 chapters to prevent problems in these areas. Somewhere along the way, she decided it would be good to illustrate points with birth stories - so these were then collected systematically from several hundred women. The author also decided to include a very comprehensive glossary and additional information, not normally available to pregnant women (even on the Internet!) so as to make women properly prepared for birth. This edition includes full references to academic research and comments on this too, particularly in cases where results are inconclusive.  

In summary, this book includes:

• 614 pages of information and information
• Almost 70 pages of notes and references so you can check out the research on any given issue, then discuss things with your midwife or consultant
• A full week-by-week guide to pregnancy
• A guide to labour and birth so that you really know what to expect
• Information on pain relief and interventions
• 100 birth stories, 180 comments and 6 sample birth plans
• Accounts about getting pregnant, finding appropriate care, dealing with past sexual abuse, twins, triplets and breech babies and losing weight after the birth!
• Interviews with midwives and other experts
• Contributions from Bill Bryson, Janet Balaskas, Deborah Jackson, Angela Horn and Michel Odent
• A comprehensive glossary of terms
• 176 greyscale photographs

"Brilliant, moving, challenging and educational. The section describing what happens week-by-week is fantastic. The photos are lovely. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in childbirth as I feel it gives more than the average cliched information that most childbirth books offer."

A former Head of Midwifery

"It's difficult to write a book about birth drawing on research, analysing the effects and side-effects of interventions and also acknowledging that in the right setting and with loving, sensitive and unobtrusive support birth is a psycho-sexual process which can bring ecstasy. Sylvie has achieved this splendidly."

Sheila Kitzinger, author and anthropologist

"Usually, I recommend that pregnant women should not read too many books. But this book is an exception. It's a book written by a mother with experience of undisturbed birth, who knows what birth can be like. And that's different. It's unusual."

Michel Odent, midwife, surgeon, lecturer, researcher

 

"This is a wonderful book for a pregnant woman (and her partner and family) to dip into. Written in a deliberately user-friendly style, it’s a bit like a really juicy magazine. It’s pitched just right for pregnancy reading. There is nothing to frighten a pregnant woman or cause her undue anxiety! This is a very important book for our times, when we sure have got this whole process of birth wrong. I heartily congratulate Sylvie for her passion and all the work that went into compiling and writing this book."

Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Centre in London