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Joyous Childbirth Changes the World
“No matter how science has progressed, childbirth, in essence, has remained unchanged from ancient times . . . [It] is the last natural process left to us,” writes internationally lauded obstetrician Dr. Tadashi Yoshimura. “The fact that it has remained unchanged means that there is truth in it.” The truth and power of birth is the subject of Dr. Yoshimura’s first book published in the United States. Yoshimura describes babies born so directly into the arms of their mothers that they do not cry, and women so transformed with pride and passion in their ability that they are joyous and forever changed. Instead of a medical emergency, Yoshimura describes birth as a transcendent and natural process that cannot be perfected, and that, when performed through the innate power of women, reveals what he calls a “mystic beauty.” Full of delightful stories of birthing women and peaceful smiling infants, and helpful tips from his childbirth preparation program, Joyous Childbirth Changes the World is a must-read for all expectant parents and those who care for them. Yoshimura’s clinic serves as a testament to the kind of compassionate birth culture that is possible if we prioritize the health and experience of women and babies.
- GenresNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 8, 2014
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85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 2, 2020
This book is absolute garbage. I can’t believe this was on a recommended pregnancy reading list.
First, I have a problem with the fact that this doctor is male. He doesn’t actually know what it’s like to do this process. You can see something a million times and still not know what it feels like. Not only is he a male, but he follows the traditional patriarchal doctor-patient model. This is a problem when speaking to the childbearing woman’s experience.
Second, Yoshimura says a lot in this book that “nobody knows” something. For example, he says the cervix is cartilaginous and then softens and says “no one knows why this is”. Really? No one has investigated this? It seems very Trump-ian to just assume no one knows something. There is also an instance where he says that after two hours, labor becomes “abnormal” and says “no one knows who made this rule”. Really? No one has done a study on this? I haven’t done my own research on PubMed yet, but I find it hard to believe that there’s not science behind this.
Third, he makes broad generalizations such as that babies born in his facility are relaxed and babies who were pulled out by force look scared. Has he been to all pregnancies? What a ridiculous thing to say. What arrogance. He is very anti-C section. It is fine to have this OPINION but I think it’s important to look at all the pros and cons of having a c-section. He never does this and thinks it’s terrible. As a physician I think it is irresponsible to not share all the data and facts with a woman to help her make the best decision for himself. Not up to some dude’s opinion because he thinks the mother won’t bond with her baby as well. Somebody come tell this guy to STFU. This guy needs to cite his sources from scientific medical journals or stop talking.
At one point he says “I will never believe in ‘evidence-based medicine.’ I only believe in what I see with my eyes and feel in my heart.” Nope. Not how this works. Please stop practicing medicine. You should no longer have your license.
He says that textbooks lie. This is not totally false but it is too broad of a statement to make any coherent points. Of course one should use critical thinking when presented with information and not blatantly believe something because it is printed in a book. That being said, this guy clearly only believes what he sees and that is dangerous. He is not the end-all, be-all of natural childbirth.
Fourth, he says that women since caveman times have been delivering naturally. I hate when people say this because the rate of dying during childbirth is also historically higher than rates with modern medicine. Who does this guy think he is? Yes, human bodies are amazing but there are reasons why modern medicine was invented. In this case to help women survive childbirth. Why should a woman have to risk her life to “fully appreciate” the experience? What a misogynist.
Fifth, he says sh*t like “an indecisive woman who gets frightened in the middle of birth and begs for the operation will never experience true childbirth.” Bish whettttt F off
He also says “no vegging out, no pigging out, and no freaking out”. Has this dude met any westerners ever????? Especially Americans? Dude, take a vacation outside the woodlands of Japan. Wtf.
Reason number 183739 I hate this book:
He speaks of a woman who has been depressed for most of her life and encourages her to stop taking her medications so she can become pregnant. She stops taking the meds and sticks to a healthy diet with exercise. This is incredibly dangerous for someone with severe depression. Somebody take this guy’s license away.
In the next section, he speaks of a man who was violent toward his wife and after the came to his clinic, they were all happy. Again, this is DANGEROUS and statistically unrealistic. This is not an okay message to send out to women or any person for that matter. Shame on this man.
He keeps bringing up childbirth during the Edo period. The Edo period in Japan was from 1603 to 1868. How in the world does this guy know the Japanese pregnant women’s plight from this time period? Is he a wizard? Is he 400 years old? What is this guy smoking?
Yoshimura also goes on weird tangents about thoroughbred horses and how children can’t be confined like horses? I think this guy had dementia or something when he wrote this. He goes on to rant about our capitalistic society, which I don’t think is completely wrong, but not what I’m looking for when I’m reading about natural childbirth. I’m not looking for your life philosophy on economics and education dude. That’s a whole other book. Stick to the topic.
Don’t even get me started on leaving fertility and pregnancy “up to God”. Leave religion out of this! He also tiptoes around “killing babies” in his old abortion days. This guy is off his rocker and yelling at people on his lawn in book form.
I looked him up and the internet says he died in 2017. Good riddance and I hope the women who were under his care are actually happy and healthy now despite his psuedoscience and delusions.
First, I have a problem with the fact that this doctor is male. He doesn’t actually know what it’s like to do this process. You can see something a million times and still not know what it feels like. Not only is he a male, but he follows the traditional patriarchal doctor-patient model. This is a problem when speaking to the childbearing woman’s experience.
Second, Yoshimura says a lot in this book that “nobody knows” something. For example, he says the cervix is cartilaginous and then softens and says “no one knows why this is”. Really? No one has investigated this? It seems very Trump-ian to just assume no one knows something. There is also an instance where he says that after two hours, labor becomes “abnormal” and says “no one knows who made this rule”. Really? No one has done a study on this? I haven’t done my own research on PubMed yet, but I find it hard to believe that there’s not science behind this.
Third, he makes broad generalizations such as that babies born in his facility are relaxed and babies who were pulled out by force look scared. Has he been to all pregnancies? What a ridiculous thing to say. What arrogance. He is very anti-C section. It is fine to have this OPINION but I think it’s important to look at all the pros and cons of having a c-section. He never does this and thinks it’s terrible. As a physician I think it is irresponsible to not share all the data and facts with a woman to help her make the best decision for himself. Not up to some dude’s opinion because he thinks the mother won’t bond with her baby as well. Somebody come tell this guy to STFU. This guy needs to cite his sources from scientific medical journals or stop talking.
At one point he says “I will never believe in ‘evidence-based medicine.’ I only believe in what I see with my eyes and feel in my heart.” Nope. Not how this works. Please stop practicing medicine. You should no longer have your license.
He says that textbooks lie. This is not totally false but it is too broad of a statement to make any coherent points. Of course one should use critical thinking when presented with information and not blatantly believe something because it is printed in a book. That being said, this guy clearly only believes what he sees and that is dangerous. He is not the end-all, be-all of natural childbirth.
Fourth, he says that women since caveman times have been delivering naturally. I hate when people say this because the rate of dying during childbirth is also historically higher than rates with modern medicine. Who does this guy think he is? Yes, human bodies are amazing but there are reasons why modern medicine was invented. In this case to help women survive childbirth. Why should a woman have to risk her life to “fully appreciate” the experience? What a misogynist.
Fifth, he says sh*t like “an indecisive woman who gets frightened in the middle of birth and begs for the operation will never experience true childbirth.” Bish whettttt F off
He also says “no vegging out, no pigging out, and no freaking out”. Has this dude met any westerners ever????? Especially Americans? Dude, take a vacation outside the woodlands of Japan. Wtf.
Reason number 183739 I hate this book:
He speaks of a woman who has been depressed for most of her life and encourages her to stop taking her medications so she can become pregnant. She stops taking the meds and sticks to a healthy diet with exercise. This is incredibly dangerous for someone with severe depression. Somebody take this guy’s license away.
In the next section, he speaks of a man who was violent toward his wife and after the came to his clinic, they were all happy. Again, this is DANGEROUS and statistically unrealistic. This is not an okay message to send out to women or any person for that matter. Shame on this man.
He keeps bringing up childbirth during the Edo period. The Edo period in Japan was from 1603 to 1868. How in the world does this guy know the Japanese pregnant women’s plight from this time period? Is he a wizard? Is he 400 years old? What is this guy smoking?
Yoshimura also goes on weird tangents about thoroughbred horses and how children can’t be confined like horses? I think this guy had dementia or something when he wrote this. He goes on to rant about our capitalistic society, which I don’t think is completely wrong, but not what I’m looking for when I’m reading about natural childbirth. I’m not looking for your life philosophy on economics and education dude. That’s a whole other book. Stick to the topic.
Don’t even get me started on leaving fertility and pregnancy “up to God”. Leave religion out of this! He also tiptoes around “killing babies” in his old abortion days. This guy is off his rocker and yelling at people on his lawn in book form.
I looked him up and the internet says he died in 2017. Good riddance and I hope the women who were under his care are actually happy and healthy now despite his psuedoscience and delusions.
May 20, 2018
I did like the general advice this book gives, which is that childbirth is completely natural and that we should leave it in Nature’s/God’s/Universe’s hands. To which I fully agree!
But there were other things I didn’t like as much about this book. At first, I found myself a little annoyed. I began reading this book as if it was a guide or handbook for joyous childbirth. Therefore, the numerous references of “in my clinic...” and “...since I’ve attented 20,000 births myself” annoyed me. I constantly felt that this was more of a fantasy than a real thing. I mean, a five-day birth that goes smoothly and perfectly sounds good, but is kind of impossible to realize.
Then, stating that women should stop working as soon as they get pregnant, that men should work and bring in money, and that THAT is true gender equality? I didn’t like it.
Oh, and the statement that women only become True Women and True Mothers when they experience natural childbirth. I really, passionately disagree. A woman who got a necessary c-section can ALSO be a True Woman and a True Mother. And women who don’t become mothers in their life can be True Women. And it’s not for a man to decide who is a True Woman and who isn’t. He kinda lost me there, unfortunately.
Other than that, once I began reading this a a tale, I was less annoyed and could enjoy it more. For, of course, a world in which natural childbirth as natural as this is a world I would like to live.
But there were other things I didn’t like as much about this book. At first, I found myself a little annoyed. I began reading this book as if it was a guide or handbook for joyous childbirth. Therefore, the numerous references of “in my clinic...” and “...since I’ve attented 20,000 births myself” annoyed me. I constantly felt that this was more of a fantasy than a real thing. I mean, a five-day birth that goes smoothly and perfectly sounds good, but is kind of impossible to realize.
Then, stating that women should stop working as soon as they get pregnant, that men should work and bring in money, and that THAT is true gender equality? I didn’t like it.
Oh, and the statement that women only become True Women and True Mothers when they experience natural childbirth. I really, passionately disagree. A woman who got a necessary c-section can ALSO be a True Woman and a True Mother. And women who don’t become mothers in their life can be True Women. And it’s not for a man to decide who is a True Woman and who isn’t. He kinda lost me there, unfortunately.
Other than that, once I began reading this a a tale, I was less annoyed and could enjoy it more. For, of course, a world in which natural childbirth as natural as this is a world I would like to live.
April 5, 2025
Incredibly moving book! I appreciate that this is a translation and the language actually makes it an easy read with simple vocabulary and repetitive ideas.
I read it in preparation to support a friend in her birth and feel like it has even transformed many of my thoughts surrounding birth, relationships, god, and nature. Definitely recommend to anyone generally interested in birth!
I read it in preparation to support a friend in her birth and feel like it has even transformed many of my thoughts surrounding birth, relationships, god, and nature. Definitely recommend to anyone generally interested in birth!
July 19, 2018
Dr. Yoshimura wrote quite a rant of a book! I did find numerous small gems of reflection and wisdom surrounding childbirth though in amongst his wildly inflammatory, ridiculous ideas about "true" womanhood and motherhood, "real" life and "real" childbirth. (*skip to the end to see some of these)
I would encourage readers to keep in mind that this book is from a Japanese perspective and is primarily addressed to the Japanese and as such is coming from a historically collectivist culture.
I would also encourage readers to consider that the overarching point seems to be not really childbirth (despite the book title), but a return to simplicity and an intuition/sense/spiritual/agrarian based life. He is not in any way alone in urging people to retreat from industrialized life back to a love for the land.
Dr. Yoshimura also takes his obsession with the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868) too far and while he acknowledges at one point that he knows the world cannot go back, his conclusion? "I guess that only people engaged in agriculture will survive in the end" (102).
I really really do appreciate some of his hidden gems though and unfortunately they will be overlooked by those who cannot read past his statements of all pregnancy/childbirth issues resulting from women "pigging out, vegging out, and freaking out" and countered by his 3 pieces of advice regarding "exercise, natural [japanese] foods, and respect for life."
Some gems:
"Childbirth is not an intellectual activity, it is a sensory activity"
"All doctors have to do is bring out women's birthing ability...doctor's role is to teach her how to give birth by herself"
"childbirth is too important an experience to miss by taking a short cut"
He takes issue with obstetrics due to its basic purpose being eliminating medical abnormality in a sterile atmosphere. "all they have to do is save lives" he says "it has no philosophy" he says
"doctors believe that as long as there are no medical or biological problems, it is an ideal childbirth. It doesn't occur to them that childbirth is a religious [sensory] experience"
He believes many interesting things, among them that if you don't risk anything entering into childbirth that you won't gain anything, due to birth being such a life-changing event for mother and for baby. He is openly fatalistic, stating that those who will live will live and those who will die will die and that alone will be too much for most readers. It is too much for me.
I would encourage readers to keep in mind that this book is from a Japanese perspective and is primarily addressed to the Japanese and as such is coming from a historically collectivist culture.
I would also encourage readers to consider that the overarching point seems to be not really childbirth (despite the book title), but a return to simplicity and an intuition/sense/spiritual/agrarian based life. He is not in any way alone in urging people to retreat from industrialized life back to a love for the land.
Dr. Yoshimura also takes his obsession with the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868) too far and while he acknowledges at one point that he knows the world cannot go back, his conclusion? "I guess that only people engaged in agriculture will survive in the end" (102).
I really really do appreciate some of his hidden gems though and unfortunately they will be overlooked by those who cannot read past his statements of all pregnancy/childbirth issues resulting from women "pigging out, vegging out, and freaking out" and countered by his 3 pieces of advice regarding "exercise, natural [japanese] foods, and respect for life."
Some gems:
"Childbirth is not an intellectual activity, it is a sensory activity"
"All doctors have to do is bring out women's birthing ability...doctor's role is to teach her how to give birth by herself"
"childbirth is too important an experience to miss by taking a short cut"
He takes issue with obstetrics due to its basic purpose being eliminating medical abnormality in a sterile atmosphere. "all they have to do is save lives" he says "it has no philosophy" he says
"doctors believe that as long as there are no medical or biological problems, it is an ideal childbirth. It doesn't occur to them that childbirth is a religious [sensory] experience"
He believes many interesting things, among them that if you don't risk anything entering into childbirth that you won't gain anything, due to birth being such a life-changing event for mother and for baby. He is openly fatalistic, stating that those who will live will live and those who will die will die and that alone will be too much for most readers. It is too much for me.
January 3, 2015
I wanted so badly to like this book, but found it perpetuates a lot of the same sexist baloney about femininity and "true womanhood" currently circulating in society. There is a lot of good advice in it, but that's mixed in with terrible advice like "quite your job once you get pregnant," "make your man support you financially," and "devout the rest of your life to child rearing." Go fig it was written by a 76-year-old man. Kind of surprised I made it through the whole thing.
October 25, 2017
Misogyny abounds in this time written by a leftover of the Victorian Era. Apparently women who cannot give birth vaginally are not feminine, pregnant women shouldn’t work, and by only giving birth naturally are women “True Women”. (Yes he capitalized Women and Woman when talking about how you become feminine and beautiful when giving birth naturally with no drugs).
What about families who adopt? What about families who use iVF? What about families that use a surrogate?
What about a woman who just says “NAH” and gets an epidural and is just as happy when her baby is born?
Load of bullshit. Mansplaining is the main theme.
What about families who adopt? What about families who use iVF? What about families that use a surrogate?
What about a woman who just says “NAH” and gets an epidural and is just as happy when her baby is born?
Load of bullshit. Mansplaining is the main theme.
March 30, 2023
Almost finished this one before I lost it😬Been a while since I read a birth book, and surprise this one was written by a man! It was very pro-“”natural”” birth, almost to the extent that the whole thing is an opinion piece. Not very forgiving/nor understanding the subconscious reasons the medical industrial complex has such a grip on us. However this guy has helped in thousands of births, very knowledgeable. Like the Fukuoka of birth. Would love to visit his clinic in Japan. This book is super gendered and if you wanna learn about birth I’d look elsewhere but it was definitely cool to gain this perspective!
February 2, 2018
Some really great stuff in here, a lot dispelling common myths of pregnancy and labor. Yoshimura was a typical OB until he shifted his views - and saw a shocking amazing shift in pregnancies and labor. Inspiring book for any mama-to-be to understand how beautiful pregnancy and labor can be. Some of his comments are a bit outdated and I didn't like.
April 13, 2018
Though Mr Yoshimura states some very controversial thoughts on which I don't fully agree on, he states beautiful inspiring thoughts as well which we should all listen to. Keeping childbirth natural and holy is the essence of a good start at life!
December 28, 2015
This book says a lot of the same things as other natural birth professionals have been saying only he's saying it in a different part of the world. He has the same ideas as Marsden Wagner and Michel Odent and even Ina May Gaskin. I love to see the message spread all over the world. We have forgotten what our bodies are capable of and what they should be allowed to do! He does have some ideas however that are likely to gain criticism. Such as women are supposed to stay home and take care of the house and children and not ever ever ever work an office job like a man. He fails to recognize that women have brains that are capable of much more than that. He fails to realize that many women get bored out of their minds only doing the domestic stuff even if they are doing so by choice. Otherwise, a great addition to the crowd of doctors that are realizing that they are not the most important part of childbirth and that it is actually the woman.
April 27, 2015
This man has built so much in his lifetime and has an incredible amount of wisdom to share with the world. Like many of the other reviews state, it's unfortunate that the book is quite scattered and full of personal opinions on how women should live their lives. I would have been far more interested to know, for example, the details behind how he supported a woman who was at 10cm for 3 days. Skimmed the last third of the book.
December 23, 2015
As other have said, the somehow sexist tone of the book has annoyed me a little, but I tried to put it back in its cultural context and was then able to make abstraction of it. I enjoyed the way the author writes what he really thinks, even when it goes against usually accepted believes. He says women should be really active, walking for hours everyday, thats really interesting.
February 14, 2015
My full review can be found on my blog at:
https://melissabowers.wordpress.com/2...
https://melissabowers.wordpress.com/2...
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