Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth after Cesarean

by Lois J. Estner, Nancy Wainer Cohen

The bible of cesarean prevention. Wall Street Journal A landmark event, which will change the course of obstetric care by giving parents the informtion they need to make the decisions that are best for their own families. Comprehensive, highly readable, sensitive . . . should be read by everyone who cares about someone. Marian Tompson Director, Alternative Birth Crisis Coalition American Academy of Medicine Required reading for all childbirth professionals and prospective parents. Journal of Gynecological Nursing

Genres: Nonfiction, Womens, Health, Parenting

464 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 1983

Reviews

[missy jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I would recommend to people in their first pregnancy. I know many of us assume that if we have a cesarean it will be because of an emergency (that's what I used to think), but this book details the many factors that result in women having unnecessary and dangerous c-sections. The book has information on the side-effects of many common medical interventions, and why these interventions have become so common even though, in many cases, they actually make chilbirth considerably more dangerous. There are also many great suggestions on how to minimize your risk of having a surgical intervention, how to deal with pain naturally, and how to plan for birth.

Obviously some of the information is outdated (unfortunately, the cesarean rate in the U.S. is even higher now than when this book was first published), but most of the advice still applies. Seriously, if you're thinking about having a baby, check this book out. And photocopy the appendices, which have information on what you can expect during labor (and how to deal with each phase of labor as it comes).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd actually recommend this as a first time mom book. I think the title is horribly misleading. I almost didn't read it because I assumed it would be a really negative book. It turned out to be chock full of good advice. Most new moms have no reason to think they should avoid a cesarean first time around. This book has a lot of info on why it's good to avoid it when possible, how to avoid it, who should, what you must do and when you must do it.

Unfortunately most expectant moms won't pick this book up until they've already had a cesarean. Which is a bummer... because I think this book would better serve a first time expectant mom just looking to prepare for a safe labor and delivery.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

From all books on VBAC I've read this one is really all-compassing and very readable in its first half - the first half of the book was more scientific, the second half described more of some beliefs and practical experiences. Some information are a bit outdated, as situation has changed over the decades. Now, it's not so weird anymore to request a VBAC. However, some requests, support for a successful "purebirth" and mental work with the pregnant woman or a woman in active labor are still absolutely up-to-date. Great appendices to support labor in general and what to do in case of a non-progressive labor. The authors of this book, as far as I understood, did an amazing job popularizing and un-demonizing VBACs. I'd also recommend a book by Canadian author Marie Vadeboncoeur: Birthing normally after a Cesarean or two.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any woman who aches from the disappointment of being butchered unnecessarily to give birth, and for those first time Moms smart enough to fear unnecessary medical intervention. The best VBAC book out there. My first child was born by unnecessary C/sec and I went on to have my second child VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and I had my third child vaginally at home with a midwife. This book should be a must read by every pregnant woman in the world.

[Lorinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 years ago I was the mom of two little guys that came to this Earth via c-section. I felt robbed of the birthing experience and frustrated at being told I couldn't give birth as most women do. Silent Knife saved my sanity and inspired me to stand up to doctors and say YES I CAN! and "I am woman, hear me roar!"

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

After my first cesarean I did not to go through that again! This book was fun to read while pregnant with my second. She is pretty dramatic but says it how it is. She gives a lot of helpful tips on how to avoid a surgical birth the next time.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRULY an amazing and equipping book to cesarean prevention and VBAC... so informative and interesting. I wish more people would pick this up!!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the american way of "birthing" sucks! This book really helps women know their rights

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me prepare for a home birth. Very imformative and eye opening

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blimey, I knew this was an old book which had got even older waiting for me to get round to reading it but I didn't realise how old - 1981, before my own professional encounters with 'obstetrics'. I am not entirely sure what impact that has on its value for now but it is certainly a classic. The evidence base should, one hopes, be massively updateable (so very salutary to read they think 15% surgical birth rate is too high when rates are so very much higher now) and I wonder if the language of book might be a little different (I hope so). It is certainly embedded in North American culture - not just the US health care system (and, slightly less examined, the Canadian) but more widely. There is an assumption of theism. I also had a wry cringing smile about their comments (and cartoon) on the outdated and unacceptable practice of genital shaving in hospitals now that so many women routinely 'voluntarily' remove pubic hair.

It's a polemic, as one might expect from the title, but despite that, and despite as I say being very much written from an American perspective, it's more empathetic all round than I initially thought it was going to be. I'd quibble at their adoption of the term 'purebirth' (as might they entering the 3rd decade of the 21st century) over physiological or 'straightforward' - unfortunate connotations. It's important that anyone reading this with skin in the game sticks with it - for example there's quite a chunk about women's own psychological barriers to birthing vaginally... and then they say that there was a point for them in their own lives when they would have wanted to throw a book with such words in it across the room. They include many quotations from women who have had Caesarean births and who have intended VBAC and I appreciated the range of these. They show how planning a VBAC is empowering whether or not the eventual birth is one or not, and that women may find the experience of labour very hard going

Fundamentally, I liked it and felt it was of more than just historical interest.

[Seabreeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading before a VBAC and for all birth workers. This remains the seminal work on VBAC after 40 years, and it is devastating how little has changed between the authors’ cesareans, and my own, four decades later. I would not have gotten my own VBAC without the path this book set me on. Nancy, I cannot thank you enough for what this gave me back.

[Rebecca]

I didn't read the whole thing cover to cover - that would be challenging-but it's a great reference guide. Some ideas in this book don't seem to be mentioned elsewhere, at least not that I've read, in the labor space, like how your beliefs influence your birth.

[Chylannimal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and empowering for women wanting to take charge of their birthing bodies.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good conversation about unnecessary cesareans and how to advocate for yourself and your baby in a subsequent pregnancy. I know that those who haven't or will never deal with c-sections will understand why it bothers me so much, but it's helpful to know that I'm not alone. I know that I need to deal with my feelings about my surgery before I'm fully ready to move on from it, and this book did help me with that.

While I was reading it, I wanted to hope that, since the book was published in the 1980s, the information is outdated, but I know it's not. I know c-sections are even more common now, and some medical personnel are just as motivated to put pregnant women on the assembly line as they were then.

Most shocking? The whole "once a cesarean, always a cesarean" thing is a mantra from 1916. Seriously, what other medical advice is still valid from 1916?! None? I didn't think so.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally made it through this book! Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent book on the subject and I haven't found anything else quite like it, but it's not a fast easy read. I read it slowly so I could proces it. I loved reading certain sentences/paragraphs and saying "that is EXACTLY how I feel". It was healing in that way. It is very informative and an encouraging guide to VBAC. It is a bit dated, written in the early 80s I believe, but the issues are the same. VBAC was very rare then, and this book and the authors helped promote VBAC to become popular for several years. Unfortunately, now it is rare again (less than 10%), so this book is still needed.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, facts-filled read. Although it's 25 years old, the information is still relevant, if not a little out of date. Unfortunately, the part that's most out of date is this country's C-section rate. While the authors wrote in hopes of a decreased C-section rate in this country, it has since CLIMBED! Shows women that they can question their doctors, they can trust their bodies, and there is another way! I just wish more people would get the real facts, the real stastistics, and not merely listen to scare tactics that are inundated in our society today.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was lent to me by Gloria Lemay after I first met her. It was the first midwifery/childbirth book I read while beginning my studies to become a doula. Besides it being a book full of incredible stories (both wonderful and heartbreaking) it was also FULL of very useful information for to me absorb. I wish the authors would do an updated version so the studies and some of the information inside would be more up to date. An incredible resource for anyone considering a VBAC as well as anyone wanting to study childbirth.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really dated, but interesting... if you're interested in VBAC. I quit reading it because it turns out it is NOT on the CAPPA reading list as I thought. I'll be reading The VBAC Companion by Diana Korte instead.

[J B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Again, a very scary book.

[Seeing · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Hand Accounts of Medical Trauma and Sexism in the Birthing Industry. Insight into seed events of PTSD and Birthing Trauma. Dont miss the other book, Open Season.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource book on c-section stats and how to avoid them as well as LOTS of birth stories.

[Ramute Malasauskiene · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Morganna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, still relevant though I'd love to see todays stats

[Adelle Semrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good resource, but you have to go in knowing how strongly these women are against C-sections. Their strong feelings impact their writing and info...obviously. It's also a little dated, and I'm wishing I knew how much of it still applied. That said, they do a great job with the vbac testimonies in the back of representing the good and bad even of the "most desirable outcome."