Birthing Normally: A Personal Growth Approach to Childbirth

by Gayle Peterson, Pam England, Lyn Jones (Photographer)

Pregnancy is a time of natural stress. It is the healthy stress of changes that flow within a woman physically and emotionally, as she grows towards motherhood. Ever evolving, a woman's travels through pregnancy and birth ready her for the work of mothering and family synthesis. Birthing Normally is about the very intimate nature of personal growth in pregnancy, and woman's quest towards birth, in both physical and psychological terms. It is also a very practical guide to understanding and applying holistic principles of prenatal care for the physician, midwife, and childbirth educator interested in decreasing complications of birth, and increasing potential for normal childbearing. It is the first technical book about birth that is widely read by both the childbirth professional and by women preparing for labor and birth.

Genres: Parenting

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Gayle Peterson, MSSW, LCSW, PhD is an international expert specializing in prenatal and family development. She is the founder of: http://www.makinghealthyfamilies.com, an online resource that has won acclaim from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy for guidance about what contributes to healthy family relationships. Her articles on family relationships appear in professional journals and she is an oft-quoted expert in popular magazines such as Woman's Day, Mothering, Fit Pregnancy and Parenting. She is also the author of "An Easier Childbirth: A Guide to Birthing Normally" "Birthing Normally: A Personal Growth Approach to Childbirth" and "Making Healthy Families: A Guide for Parents, Spouses and Stepparents".

Dr Peterson trains professionals in her prenatal counseling model, available online at http://www.makinghealthyfamilies.com and has produced a CD for helping women prepare for giving birth, "Body-Centered Hypnosis for an Easier Pregnancy and Childbirth", and a Training DVD for professionals in her method, "Body-Centered Hypnosis for Childbirth: A Training DVD".

She is a clinical member of The Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and a Diplomate with the National Association of Social Work. She also serves on the advisory board for Fit Pregnancy magazine.

Gayle has written a monthly family column for the San Francisco Bay Area's Parents Press and is an expert on numerous parenting websites. She has also hosted a live Internet radio show, "Ask Dr. Gayle", answering questions on family relationships and parenting, as well as appearing on numerous radio and television interviews, including The Today Show and the Canadian Broadcast documentary "Baby's Best Chance". Dr. Peterson is also a former clinical director of the Holistic Health Program at John F. Kennedy University and has served as adjunct faculty at the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Ad Astra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really inspired by some of the passages and thoughts in this book. Passages I saw shared through someone older than me who was reading this in prep for her 3rd childbirth.

There are some great food for thought and explorations of mental perceptions, attitudes, belief, and trauma that shape our relationship with the birth process. But some of it did ultimately feel like drinking the psychedelic, new age kool aid.

Other parts were really helpful in helping me engage with perceptions and ideas that are incredibly helpful in deconstructing and reconstructing a healthy attitude about bringing a kid onto the physical plane.

All in all, I'm at a cross roads. I enjoyed this book but it did have a sort of preachy feeling that if I just felt good enough and had a healthy attitude about childbirth then everything would be fine. Sounds like religion. I've stayed for the sermon but I'm not a member.

[Gayle Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Available in paperback and kindle editions.
http://www.amazon.com/Birthing-Normal...

Editorial Reviews

"...This very special book explores and unites essential elements for birth...strength and softness, pain and pleasure, growth and change." -- Elizabeth Noble, author of Childbirth with Insight and Exercises for the Childbearing Year

"This is a terrific book. The approach is suitable for professional and families alike...I highly recommend Birthing Normally." -- Mimi Bronner, R.N., Professor of Nursing, University of Maryland

This is one of the leading groundbreaking precursors to the field of perinatal psychology, first published in 1980. Other more recent books include: "An Easier Childbirth" and "Making Healthy Families". This early work represents the foundation of the philosophy for holistic Prenatal Care presented in the Certification Training in Birth Counseling and Hypnosis in the Peterson Method. Further information at: www.makinghealthyfamilies.com

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gayle Peterson's Birthing Normally: A Personal Growth Approach to Childbirth was beyond fantastic in helping me prepare for the reality of pain and the unknown in childbirth and in understanding the myriad of influences, including my own beliefs and attitudes, that play a role in delivering normally. Although this book is primarily addressed to childbirth educators (so it is somewhat academically written), expectant mothers can also use it to help prepare for labor and delivery. It contains an incredible birth visualization exercise as well as relaxation and awareness exercises.