Two books
I was at Borders tonight (shocker) and, being the compulsive book shopper that I am, I got a couple of books. I have been lamenting the fact that I already own or have read virtually every (good) pregnancy and birth book that is out there, but I managed to stumble on a couple of goodies tonight.
Gentle Birth Choices, by Barbara Harper -- This is a classic that I read perhaps as early as a year or more before I ever got pregnant with Audrey, before we were even thinking about it. It was one of several impetuses (am I pluralizing that right? Probably not. Oh well...) that started me on my journey to birth at home. The only reason I didn't already own this book is that I kept rationalizing that I'd already read it. Tonight I gave in, not just because it's been released in a updated edition, but because IT NOW COMES WITH THE GENTLE BIRTH CHOICES DVD!!! I have seen the video already as well, but on video tape, and besides, the two together cost a mere $20. An incredible bargain. The video is decidedly low-budget (unless it's been updated as well), but the only thing I love more than a good and well-written birth story is the chance to watch birth in living color. I know; in this culture that makes me a bit odd. Birth is bloody and messy and intense. It's very earthy. But it's also a miracle, one I never get tired of.
Did I say I love a good birth story? I'm not just talking about the random ones lots of women post on the internet, my own included (though don't get me wrong; they are all valid and all women should have the right to tell their birth story from their perspective). I'm talking about the ones that make you feel you are right there. The ones that aren't afraid to use words like "vagina" or "cervix" or "perineum". The second book I got looks to be a collection of that kind of story: Adventures in Natural Childbirth, by Janet Schwegel. I am going to try to save it for later in my pregnancy, though, because 1) I think the stories will be helpful in getting my mindset ready for labor and 2) the last time I read a great collection of birth stories during this pregnancy (in Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin, the grande dame of modern midwives), I started spotting and even cramping a bit. I'm afraid my uterus got a bit TOO excited about the great stories and thought it should get started a bit too soon! I don't know if I can hold off, though...the temptation is very strong, and I am a birth story junkie.
Gentle Birth Choices, by Barbara Harper -- This is a classic that I read perhaps as early as a year or more before I ever got pregnant with Audrey, before we were even thinking about it. It was one of several impetuses (am I pluralizing that right? Probably not. Oh well...) that started me on my journey to birth at home. The only reason I didn't already own this book is that I kept rationalizing that I'd already read it. Tonight I gave in, not just because it's been released in a updated edition, but because IT NOW COMES WITH THE GENTLE BIRTH CHOICES DVD!!! I have seen the video already as well, but on video tape, and besides, the two together cost a mere $20. An incredible bargain. The video is decidedly low-budget (unless it's been updated as well), but the only thing I love more than a good and well-written birth story is the chance to watch birth in living color. I know; in this culture that makes me a bit odd. Birth is bloody and messy and intense. It's very earthy. But it's also a miracle, one I never get tired of.
Did I say I love a good birth story? I'm not just talking about the random ones lots of women post on the internet, my own included (though don't get me wrong; they are all valid and all women should have the right to tell their birth story from their perspective). I'm talking about the ones that make you feel you are right there. The ones that aren't afraid to use words like "vagina" or "cervix" or "perineum". The second book I got looks to be a collection of that kind of story: Adventures in Natural Childbirth, by Janet Schwegel. I am going to try to save it for later in my pregnancy, though, because 1) I think the stories will be helpful in getting my mindset ready for labor and 2) the last time I read a great collection of birth stories during this pregnancy (in Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin, the grande dame of modern midwives), I started spotting and even cramping a bit. I'm afraid my uterus got a bit TOO excited about the great stories and thought it should get started a bit too soon! I don't know if I can hold off, though...the temptation is very strong, and I am a birth story junkie.
posted by Andrea | 10:46 PM
2 Comments:
I am also a compulsive book buyer. Stupid books, being so good and all.
i honestly don't think I've read one childbirth story, other than on the internet. I have heard a lot at baby showers though!
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