Today, we hear stories of over-worked midwives and short-staffed hospitals, but the truth is that childbirth has never been easier. For our grandmothers, pregnancy was a journey into the unknown. Rather than ponder which pushchair to buy or fret over towelling versus disposable nappies, they worried about what lay ahead. Home births were often lonely affairs with the midwife or doctor only visiting when birth was imminent. During hospital births, medical staff rarely gave explanations and would push and prod with little offer of pain relief let alone sympathy. Standard care in labour was the O.B.E. - Oil, Bath and Enema. Nursing staff gave firm rules on how long to stay in bed, how to lie in bed and even when to go to the toilet. And life didn't get much easier after giving birth. Taking care of a home and baby was hard work when there were few washing machines, no disposable nappies and heating came from coal carried in from the back yard.

    Two ends of the same spectrum. And sometimes the only person standing between is a tired, overworked resident with personal problems of her own.Welcome to the world of Catching Babies. In the halls of a busy metropolitan teaching hospital, a group of OB/GYN doctors complete their residencies and embark on ambitious careers, all while trying to hold their lives together at the seams. Jay is running from a life he’s tried to leave behind, while Katie sacrifices everything she has to serve an endless parade of needy patients. Anna is out trying to save the world, while Tracy is trying to save twins dying in utero. Based on true stories from delivery rooms and labor decks, Catching Babies spins the doctors’ stories into a gripping mosaic of the obsessions, the anxieties, and the heroism of doctors who have chosen to preside over life’s greatest medical drama—high-risk childbirth.

    Chapter 1.The birth you want: what motivates the willing woman?Chapter 2.Reality hurts: birth in the labour-bypass eraChapter 3.It’s a fine line: reframing pain in labourChapter 4.Approaching labour: what pain type are you?Chapter 5.Crisis of confidence: when self-belief crumblesChapter 6.The right support: who will get you through?

    Applying the wisdom of yoga throughout the stages of pregnancy and labor, author Dorothy Guerra presents an eight-step pathway for connecting with your mind, body, and spirit from start to finish.This easy-to-use guide will help you prepare for a positive and joyful childbirth. Learn how to manage pain, eliminate anxiety, and encourage labor progression with breathing and meditation techniques, affirmations, and yoga poses. Couples choose an intention that becomes a focal point for embracing a calm state of mind throughout the physical and emotional challenges of labor. You'll also find guidance in drafting a birth plan, labor-support techniques for birth partners, helpful illustrations, information on medical intervention, and a go-to chapter with detailed advice on all stages of labor to use when the big day arrives.Praise: A beautiful mind-body-spirit approach to birth!--Penny Simkin, PT, author of The Birth Partner

    Male midwife Mark Harris seeks to redress the balance with this new book, drawing on his decades of experience with couples as they make the transition to being new parents.Covering topics from massage to sex, and pain relief during labour to breastfeeding, this is a lively, honest and frank discussion of pregnancy and birth from a man’s point of view. Mark explores how to harness the power of birthing hormones, how to remain calm and aware in the birthing room, how to communicate effectively, and ultimately how to live the process of becoming a father to the full.

    In this compelling first-person narrative she transports you into her world at the bedside in the maternity wards where childbirth dramas take place. In the challenging environment of urban clinics and crowded labor rooms the midwife strives to bring personalized care, dignity and a sense of empowerment to every patient. Like an updated U.S. version of "Call the Midwife," the British best seller and television series, this book describes some of the most unforgettable births, the most heartwarming -- and the rare heartbreaking -- experiences of her career. Memorable patients include Mia, a mentally ill woman whose stomach ache turns out to be a baby; teenager Shaniqua who breezes through birth despite her youth; and Jeremiah, a little boy born HIV-infected who captures the love of the entire staff. Through these stories, readers will gain insight into many variations in pregnancy and birth, and learn what is special about the midwifery approach to care. You may be surprised to learn how similar Cohen's patients' childbirth experiences were to your own, and where they differed.

    

    This is the perfect companion for parents-to-be and all professionals who are engaged in and witness to the miracle of birth. "One of the most important books on childbirth...A colorful, anecdotal, and research-supported journey from both the mothers' and midwives' perspectives...A classic." (Pam England, nurse-midwife and author of Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation)

    And while the evidence in the medical literature may be solidly, often unequivocably, against whatever the doctor said, without access to that evidence, the pregnant woman is quite reasonably going to follow her doctor. This book is an attempt to make the medical literature on a variety of key obstetric issues accessible to people who lack the time, expertise, access, or proximity to a medical library to research concerns on their own. This compact, accurate, yet understandable reference is designed for people without medical training and organized for easy access.After an introductory chapter giving basic information about the different types of medical studies, how to evaluate them, and some basic statistical concepts, Goer provides chapters on cesarean issues, pregnancy and labor management, and a review of alternative approaches. Each chapter begins with a stated myth, followed by an examination of the reality. Goer then analyzes the mainstream belief, pointing out its fallacies. Then comes a list of significant points gleaned from the studies and keyed to her abstracts. Next is the outline by which the abstracts are grouped. Finally come the numbered abstracts of relevant articles published, in most cases, after 1980. The book concludes with a glossary of medical terms and an index. This compact, accurate, and understandable reference tool is designed for people without medical training as well as care givers.

    Centuries old, its practice has always enjoyed wide popularity among individuals looking for safe and effective ways to treat illness as well as to improve their health.The Complete Homeopathy Handbook is the definitive guide for using homeopathic remedies at home. It includes A-to-Z listings for external and internal remedies, with explanations for correctly diagnosing the symptoms of any particular injury or illness. The book also includes ten case studies and specific dos and don'ts to follow when treating more than seventy conditions.

    Sifting through nearly five decades of providing care for women in rural Greene County, she relates the tales that capture the life-and-death struggle of the birthing experience and the traditions, pharmacopeia, and spiritual attitudes that influenced her practice. She debunks images of the complacent southern “granny” midwife and honors the determination, talent, and complexity of midwifery.Fascinating to read, this book is part of the new genre of writing that recognizes the credibility of midwives who have emerged from their own communities and were educated through apprenticeship and personal experience. Past descriptions of southern black midwives have tended to denigrate their work in comparison with professional established medicine. Believed to be the oldest living (though retired) traditional African American midwife in Alabama, Smith is one of the few who can recount old-time birthing ways. Despite claims that midwives contributed to high infant mortality rates, Smith’s story emphasizes midwives' successes in facing medical challenges and emergencies.

    Michelle Harrison kept throughout her months of residency in OB/GYN--draws us into the serious and thrilling work of delivering new life into the world...and into Dr. Harrison's own struggle to reconcile the often startling difference between patient care and hospital convenience. She writes about her patients, for whom she never had quite enough time; about her colleagues, with whom she did not always agree; about the excitement of learning new procedures; about the pressures that never let up. She brings us as close as most of us are likely to come to the intense inner life of a big hospital."

    Judith Walzer Leavitt's study focuses on the traditional woman-centered home-birthing practices, their replacement by male doctors, and the movement from the home to the hospital. She explains that childbearing women and their physicians gradually changed birth places because they believed the increased medicalization would make giving birth safer and more comfortable. Ironically, because of infection, infant and maternal mortality did not immediately decline. She concludes that birthing women held considerable power in determining labor and delivery events as long as childbirth remained in the home. The move to the hospital in the twentieth century gave the medical profession the upper hand. Leavitt also discusses recent events in American obstetrics that illustrate how women have attempted to retrieve some of the traditional women--and family--centered aspects of childbirth.

     Life could not have been happier until the tragic death of her own baby in the first hour of life, led to depression, loneliness and despair. This true story tells of Julie’s struggle to triumph over adversity and follows her journey to fulfill her dream and become the midwife she was born to be.

    She has been teaching women about "active birth" ever since. In this updated and Americanized guide, Balaskas explains how to prepare for and experience a truly natural birth. She leads the pregnant woman through yoga-based stretching exercises and massage practice, and describes the stages of labor and comfortable positions for each, at home or in a hospital. Balaskas has also included a chapter on water birth as well as postpartum exercises.