Book Reviews

While this little one sleeps so much I figured I'd work on the book reviews I'd mentioned earlier.  These aren't going to be terribly in depth because there are so many and because I'm kinda lazy.  So, here they are.

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth - Henci Goer
What I liked:
 This book contains in depth descriptions of the practices you might encounter when having a hospital birth.  The information is unbiased and informative rather than fear based.  When I finished I felt as if I'd learned something rather than feeling like everything in the world could go wrong with my birth.
What I disliked:
Some of the information is out of date (episiotomy rates) and there's not much mention of why women should decline Cytotec (Misoprostol) as an induction agent.
Was it helpful for me?
Yes.
Should you read it?
Absolutely, particularly if you're going to be having a hospital birth because I feel that you should be informed about procedures by someone who is not affiliated with a for-profit hospital/practice.

Special Delivery - Rahima Baldwin Dancy
What I liked:
 The author does a good job explaining her point of view (homebirth is best) in such a way that does not lambast the opposing viewpoint.  There is some information about potential complications, how to handle them, and when transferring care to a hospital would be necessary.
What I disliked:
When I finished it, nothing; but after reading others I realized it was not quite as comprehensive as I had thought.  However, the information I found in other books was generally minor things.
Was it helpful for me?
Yes.  It was ridiculously hard for me to find information about complications specifically related to homebirth that wasn't extremely biased toward the medical industry.  Also, it helped calm some of my worries.
Should you read it?
Yes.  Even if you're not considering a homebirth you might find it calming to read a book about birth outside of a medical setting.

Homebirth - Sheila Kitzinger
 What I liked:
Generally the same things about the above book apply to this one.  This book was more informative and less personal, but had the same general information.
What I disliked:
Uh...
Was it helpful for me?
Yes, it helped calm my mind even more.
Should you read it?
Yes.  Especially if you're planning a homebirth.

The Pregnancy Book - William Sears, M.D., and Martha Sears, R.N.
 What I liked:
It is sectioned by month and has information about how you might be feeling, concerns you might have, and how baby is developing in each section.  Some of it was helpful and some of it was redundant for me.
What I disliked:
I can't really put my finger on it, but some of the stuff I read in it was off-putting.  You can definitely tell it's written by a medical professional.
Was it helpful for me?
Kind of, but by the time I got to it I had read almost all of the information elsewhere so most of it was review.
Should you read it?
Eh.  If you have a choice of this book or What to Expect When You're Expecting, please read this one.  Otherwise my recommendation goes either way, I don't feel like it's a must read, but it also has a bit of helpful info.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin
 What I liked:
 The beginning of this book is stories from women about birth.  There are good stories and bad stories.  The second half is full of information about birth (home or otherwise) and has some helpful things in it.
What I disliked:
The stories were making me cry because I was reading it while in the later half of pregnancy and I was more emotional in the later trimesters.
Was it helpful for me?
Yes.  The stories - while they did make me cry - gave me some confidence in my own ability to achieve the task in front of me.  And the information was helpful, though redundant because of the other books.
Should you read it?
I think so.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding - La Leche League (Seventh Revised Edition)
What I liked:
This book is super helpful.  There's sections about the various breastfeeding complications and how to correct them.
What I disliked:
It was nice to read descriptions of proper latch technique and how to hand express your milk, but the best way for me to learn that is by seeing/doing or with hands on instruction.
Was it helpful for me?
Yes.
Should you read it?
Absolutely.  The eighth edition is now out and I hear that it's better than the seventh (and I hear it's not as good).  I can say that the seventh was super helpful for me.

Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding - Ina May Gaskin
What I liked:
It has some really interesting anecdotal chapters as well as the information it contains.
What I disliked:
Hrm...
Was it helpful for me?
It was more interesting than helpful, but that's only because I read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding first.
Should you read it?
Absolutely.  It is a great supplemental book to the one above.  If you have to choose which to read, however, I would opt for The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and maybe pick this one up later if you can.

What to Expect When You're Expecting - Arlene (Afterword by), and Hathaway, Sandee (Afterword by), and Murko Eisenberg
What I liked:
...
What I disliked:
This book assumes no other birthing options except hospitalization.  There's even a whole page devoted to instructing you to lay flat on your back and put your legs up if you're not going to make it to the hospital to have your baby.
Was it helpful for me?
No: it actually freaked me out.  This is the only book that mentions Deep Vein Thrombosis as a pregnancy symptom and at the time my right leg hurt when I got up from sitting down for along periods of time.  I spent a good part of my day worrying that I had DVT and that I'd need to go on blood thinners.
Should you read it?
The one I read was the original apparently, so I can't speak for the new editions, but I would strongly advise against reading this book.  It might just freak you out even though it contains the same information the other books do.  Just the way it's written is sort of alarmist.


So that's it.  I think these are pretty accurate.  It has been a while since I read all of these so I may have mixed up one or two of them (which was missing info, or book structure) but I'm pretty sure I've remembered them correctly.

Also, when I comment on whether or not the book was helpful I am referring to whether it helped prepare me for the birth process as a new momma - someone who had no idea what to expect.  The reason I left it until after little Oliver was born is because had I reviewed them before, I would have been talking out of my bum.  I didn't know if they were helpful for me until after I experienced birth for myself.