The New Experience of Childbirth – Sheila Kitzinger

For those of you who aren’t familiar with her name, Sheila Kitzinger is a mover and shaker in British (and international) midwifery. This book is thurough, useful, and encouraging. She is the one who convinced me to aim for childbirth with joy! A quote from her introduction: “The quality of this [birth] experience depends not only on what is taking place inside the pelvis, but on everything that is going on in our minds. It is also profoundly affected by the relationships we have with our care-givers… The purpose of this [book] is to empower women, and those who serve them in childbirth, to understand and act on this.” As well as brilliant labor descriptions and tecniques, there is a chapter included for fathers, valuable information on breastfeeding, bonding and other post-birth issues.

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Recommended Books

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin – Order through Amazon or purchase at Yugz Cafe 70 Ahuza street, Ra’anana, Israel.  This has got to be the singularly most encouraging book around for a new mother.  It takes you though personal story after personal story of real women giving birth in different circumstances and over different generations, thereby demystifying the experience for the reader.  You become informed as to the variety of possibilities of the experience as real women describe exactly how it felt for them.  These positive points of view of birth encourage one to understand that this is not a medical emergency, this is normal, and good and beautiful, and something that women have the ability to do well.

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