Ina May's Guide to Childbirth "Updated With New Material" Paperback – March 4, 2003

I have three boys and am pregnant with #4 (a girl) due in a few months. I gave birth to my first two boys vaginally w/ medical intervention ("stalled" at 4 cm and agreed to pitocin and epidural mainly because I had no clue what was going on and wanted to indeed see my babies..and be done w/ labor!! We live 35-50 mins from the hospital and I went in both times at the first twinge of labor fearing that they baby would be born in the car if I didn't go in. BIG mistake!! I fell victim to "the system" and b/c of the pit the contractions were excruciating! Thank goodness I was healthy and my babies were healthy and we were able to withstand the interventions w/out scare and the baby's heartrate going down from pit and ending up in a c-section.)Someone told me before I had my third son to imagine my cervix opening with each contraction and to let my body go as loose as possible - not to double over and tense my body etc. esp in the stomach/uterine area. I had polyhydramnios with my 3rd son (estimated 10 lbs of extra fluid for unexplained reasons, although I think now it had to do with diet/nutrition etc. and my schedule, plus the fact I started the pregnancy off 20 lbs overweight) and went into labor on my own at home at 36 weeks 2 days. I labored at home (unknowingly in a way b/c it was so early) using these suggestions from my friend (waiting to see if I was actually in labor b/c we didn't want to be, it was still early) to deal w/ the contractions. I tried to imagine "opening" but everything else came naturally (the vocalizing/sounding like a cow lol b/c that was the only thing I *could* do if I was trying to relax my body during contractions!). I told my hubby in the car on the way to the hospital that if I was at 4 cm I would likely ask for an epidural when we got there so that gives you an idea of my pain threshhold. I had been laboring about three hours. When I got to the hospital and was checked I was at 10 cm and 100 % effaced!!!! I couldn't believe it! Unfortunately due to the polyhydramnios, when I was laid on my back and the OB broke my water, the baby turned from head down to the side and the cord came first requiring an emergency c-section. :( I wish I would have been told to squat and asked that my water break naturally to up the chances of head engaging before the cord came etc. I know the cord still could have come first but then again, maybe it wouldn't have, only the Lord knows.I am planning to vbac and came across this book and am SO glad I did. I finally understand *how* my body did what it did with my third son because of this book and am confident that I can vbac w/ out any medical intervention (because any inducing drugs raise the risk of uterine rupture esp. with scar). Because my body was "ready" to have my third son, my labor went more quickly, was way less painful (pitocin is evil LOL), and even though I did have an emergency in the end the feeling of knowing I could do it "on my own" was very empowering and amazing! There are books like "Silent Knife, Cesearean Prevention and VBAC", and others that tell you the "why" of the benefits of natural birth etc. but THIS book (Ina May's Guide to Childbirth) helped me with the "how" (along with the why) but the "how" throughout the book. I feel this was largely due to many of the beautiful, authentic, and what should be the NORMAL birth stories of so many woman. This book helped me mentally and emotionaly with the "how" for myself and what I need to know and do for my next birth. I am going into this next birth with very, very little concern of the "pain" of laboring and childbirth and with full confidence that my body knows exactly what to do because it was designed to do so! It def. helps that I have three boys already - but really I sincerely wish I had this book to read 8 years ago before I had our first son. I would actually just love to give birth at home (I would have NEVER thought I would say this, I can remember listening in terror to a story of a woman who, "oops had her baby at home because there was no time!" before I had my first son lol) but feel the hospital is where we need to be b/c of where we live and this being my first vbac. I hope this review helps you buy this book. If I could buy a thousand or more of them and give them to every pregnant woman I ever saw, I would!! Highly rec.!Disclaimer: I know that just reading this book doesn't garauntee anything but it will give you the knowledge you desperately need to know about childbirth. Childbirth in the U.S. truly is in a sad, sad state and we women need to educate ourselves. There will always be a small rate of true "emergency" so be flexible but don't give your power to birth as your body knows how to away! :)

i went into labor fully planning to go unmedicated. this book and dr. robyn thompson were the main reasons i planned on doing so. the birthing experience of people in the US is overwhelmingly negative and full of pro intervention misinformation (or complete lack thereof). the crunchy elements of ina may and the lowkey fearmongering of the thompson method (for breastfeeding) made me very very determined to have an unmedicated birth. i ended up folding like a paper bag and getting the epidural. lol. i know my experience isn’t everyone’s, but i was still able to bond and breastfeed and all that perfectly well.i like the thought of unmedicated birth, and this book may help you if that’s what you’re going for! i just ended up being a lot wimpier than i thought. giving birth is hard no matter how you do it, so do what feels right to you. good luck!

I wish I had read this book during my first pregnancy. This book has so much valuable information. It’s important to understand the cascade of interventions that hospitals place on a woman’s birth. Midwifery is truly an art and having knowledge is power when it comes to your birth. I found this book dissolved a lot of gaslighting I experienced from some medical providers during pregnancy. Definitely would recommend reading!!

I found this book the MOST helpful when preparing for birth. If you plan to go unmedicated, I highly suggest reading this book to help your mind and how you view birth.

This book was very informative. The first half of the book is birth stories. I started with the second half of the book because I was more interested in learning about the birthing process itself and then went back to read the first half which was interesting. I enjoyed the amount of topics and reassurance the book provides regarding every aspect of labor and possible complications. The only thing I found is that since the book is older (although it was updated in 2019 for some parts), many of the citations are from the 80’s and 90’s are a lot of the statistics are outdated. I had to research the actual statistics for certain things, such as how many people report paralysis or death following epidurals, etc.

This book helped me so much. I gave birth 1 month ago completely unmedicated and it is truly because of this book that I was able to do that. This book gave me confidence in my body and my ability to give birth. Ina May wrote this in such an inspiring and beautiful way. If you are considering unmedicated labor and birth, definitely read this book.