My favorite of all the natural childbirth books I've read. Written by a British childbirth advocate, Active Birth is both a history and a guide for women seeking natural childbirth. Natural childbirth being defined as childbirth with as few medical interventions as possible where the mother actively participates, moving around and changing positions during labor, and remains in an upright position to give birth.

Aside from some modified yoga exercises that prepare a woman's body for childbirth, this book focuses exclusively on labor and delivery. It illustrates every birth position except lithotomy (lying flat on one's back) and explains the benefits and most useful situations for each. A chapter on water birth is also included.

While this 1992 edition does contain outdated 1980's fashion photos and slightly outdated statistics (the author cites the cesarean section rate in the United States as 25% when as of 2007 it had risen to 32% according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the majority of book's information, instructions, and advice continues to be perfectly applicable and sound.