family health

Yes, parts of this book and pictures seem outdated, but much of the advice is sound and helpful in preparing a woman and her partner for natural childbirth. While Dr. Bradley began this many years ago, he was well ahead of his time in development of a positive approach for the pregnant and laboring woman.

I took a Bradley class and this was the obvious companion to it. The book is easy to follow with sound health advice, a thorough description of the anatomy of the pregnant and laboring woman, and an invaluable discussion of the signposts of labor that many women may experience. While no woman's birth experience is truly "textbook," this book offers many of the varieties that may occur and how to handle various situations that may arise while staying in control of your labor. The imagery and relaxation exercises are helpful as well.

The emphasis behind this book is that the most important thing for a laboring woman is to be well educated on what her body will do for her and feel prepared to handle it. Everyone experiences pain and discomfort differently and labor IS hard work and not easy. But, this book and the Bradley class prepared me to have a natural unmedicated birth for my first two children despite painful, long labors and an uncooperative medical staff at the hospital. I am now reviewing The Bradley Method in preparation for my 3rd child and a birth-center experience and have also ordered two other books that come recommended, "Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally" and "Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation."

i find the formatting of this book makes it an easy read. some pregnancy books i have read are overwhelming. the author takes the basic facts and makes them clear and simple, and i like the notations for the dads (birth partner) to zero in on. i noticed the dated photos but the birth process hasn't changed so i don't know why reviewers bother to mention it. i found her nutrition information to correlate with dr. tom brewer's studies on protein (author of "what every pregnant woman should know")and followed them in my pregnancy and did quite well. we found the relaxation information to be extremely helpful when we were in labor.

i wish that i had discovered this book (and taken a bradley class) when i was pregnant the first two times. it would've saved me from unnecessary interventions and provided me with the know-how to communicate with the doctors, and know that i had other alternatives in my births and didn't have to follow suit with routine procedures. this book has a very common sense approach and even though some people disagree with the author's statements regarding doctors because they didn't have a negative experience, i am glad that this information was in the book when i read it. if i had this information previously, i would've have had better birth experiences.

i highly recommend you put this book on your list. it really helps you to understand the importance of trusting your body's ability to give birth and how to manage your labor. bonus points for teaching our partners how to read our body signals, emotionally and physically! there really aren't books out there that are geared toward our partners (dads) helping us in labor. and this book really made a difference for us in our birth.

This book was a wonderful tool in my child birthing experience. I recommend that all expecting mothers read this book for the best experience in child birthing.

Thank you Susan for a great book!