The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Best Birthing Plan for a Safe, Less Painful, and Successful Delivery for You and Your Baby

by Amanda French, Susan Thomforde, Jeanne Faulkner

How to give birth is the most important decision of a woman’s pregnancy, but navigating the maze of options is overwhelming. The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion clearly lays out the process for eight successful birthing plans from home births and hospital births to a natural unmedicated delivery and C-sections. Each path outlines the latest research on every technique and procedure from water birthing to medications and includes “Real Deal” and “Inside Information” sections that detail the huge variations parents-to-be sometimes encounter. Written by an OB/GYN, nurse/midwife, and neonatal nurse, this photo-filled essential guide presents the most balanced and comprehensive perspective on all aspects of delivery today including red flags that indicate when another birthing plan may be more appropriate as well as helpful strategies and trimester-by-trimester schedules for the smoothest birth experience possible.

 

“Every expecting mom is hungry for information and guidance. The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion is that and so much more! In order to attain our personal best throughout pregnancy, as well as during and after childbirth, access to information and services are key. Women need to feel prepared and supported going into motherhood.”
—Christy Turlington Burns, Author, Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice, and Founder, Every Mother Counts
 

“The authors have taken a comprehensive, straightforward, and truly unbiased look at the many childbirth options available to women today. This is an indispensable guide for expectant mothers everywhere.”
—Alexa Joy Sherman, deputy editor, Natural Health magazine
 

“From the best experts in the field of childbirth, The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion is a real-life guide to the entire process of having a baby. Most importantly, it explains the spectrum of choices, from drug-free home birth to what to expect during a C-section, and everything in between. Don't go into labor without it!”
 —Peg Moline, editor-in-chief, Fit Pregnancy magazine


  

 

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a truly excellent resource covering all birthing scenarios except precipitous delivery (either assisted or unassisted), and it does so in a completely neutral voice. For example, the author explains as an MD she does not believe homebirth is safe, but she refrains from playing the dead baby card. Likewise, after explaining that labor inductions are intended only for situations in which it is unsafe to continue the pregnancy either for the mother or baby and not for convenience or as an attempt to avoid any potential complications, she does not criticize women for seeking elective inductions for non-medical reasons.

This book walks the reader through the different types of childbirth step-by-step and will help pregnant women understand what to expect with each type of delivery and make informed choices. Included at the end is a template to help mothers-to-be create a birth plan of their own.

Beginning with the least interventions and progressing to fully medicalized, this book details:
* an unmedicated, vaginal birth at home
* an unmedicated, vaginal birth in a birth center
* an unmedicated, vaginal birth in a hospital
* an epidural, vaginal birth in a hospital
* an induction of labor in a hospital
* a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
* a planned cesarean birth in a hospital
* an unplanned cesarean birth in a hospital

This book gives the most thorough description of an epidural that I have ever encountered in a text for laypeople. It also does an excellent job of providing informed consent, listing the pros and cons of each type of birth and birth intervention. Kudos to the author for not glossing or dismissing over the very real risks of standard interventions.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice photos and easy to browse.
Is biased towards hospital births. The author's fear that birth is scary comes across loud and clear in the section about home birth and in having lists of complications without stats of how often these actually happen. It includes her personal option that births are safest in the hospital, while never sharing the opinion of someone experienced in the beauty of home birth.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, straight-forward, honest, fair, unbiased and unfiltered. I really appreciated this book!

[Ning Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, realistic, informative, and unbiased.

[Sarah Bliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this one three stars based on how useful it was for me, but I fully admit to the bias in that. I can see easily see how it would be far more or far less useful for other women, depending on the stage of pregnancy at which they read it and the other resources they had used. I read it rather late in my pregnancy, and so much of the information was a review or was intended to help me make decisions I'd already made. Given that, I appreciated the structure/layout of the book that allowed me to easily skip or skim sections that didn't pertain to me.

I would recommend it to someone earlier in pregnancy and/or someone for whom creating a detailed birth plan is a high priority. I ended up writing a simple outline that was mostly consistent with my hospital's standard practices and had a lot of flexibility built in, which was good because I wound up changing my mind on some key points as labor progressed. But I was glad that I had considered these things beforehand and written down my initial preferences, and this book was one of the tools that helped me do that well. So... Maybe 3.5 stars?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a neat book because it skips all the what to do while you're pregnant stuff - leaving that to other books - and heads straight into the details of different ways to give birth to your baby. It presents each option, from uneducated home birth to planned cesarean at a hospital, in a neutral manner, offering pros and cons and giving detailed run-downs of what to expect. It also wisely advises you to read many options even if you are sure of what you'd choose - good to know about emergency cesareans in case that comes up, for example. There's a good section about writing realistic birth plans with some helpful content suggestions as well. I also like that every study referenced in the text can be found in a References section at the end. Overall, this book has some great information, and while remaining neutral, doesn't dance around some of the more important pieces of information. Written for Americans, but not so specific that it precludes a Canadian audience.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the last book I read in my pregnancy. I came across it while browsing in the library and I'm so glad I took it out. Set up in sections that cover each birthing situation (e.g. home birth, vaginal hospital birth - natural vs. with medication, c-section, etc), it was an accessible primer that helped me consider and prepare myself for whatever might come up. Turned out to be quite helpful!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for anyone approaching delivery. A no-nonsense guide explaining all the ways you can give birth. Even if you already envision one type of birth, it is good to have information on many types of births in case your situation changes. A birth plan template is included.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book talks about all the different possibilities of how and where to give birth and how best to plan for each outcome. The chapter about pain management is especially useful.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impartial with lots of helpful information.