|
The Best Birth: Your Guide to the Safest, Healthiest, Most Satisfying Labor and Delivery | 
 enlarge | Authors: Sarah Mcmoyler, Armin Brott
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $7.85
You Save: $11.10 (59%)
New (28) Used (15) from $7.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 268062
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 0738211214
Dewey Decimal Number: 618.2
EAN: 9780738211213
ASIN: 0738211214
Publication Date: April 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Move over Lamaze and Bradley! Already taking the west coast by storm, the McMoyler Method offers a modern, medically savvy approach to labor and delivery that addresses the hopes and fears of today’s expectant parents.The Best Birth prepares couples for what will be one of the most astounding, least predictable events of their lives, using simple principles such as: Any birth after which the mother and child are healthy is a success You already have the only doula you need The medical staff wants the same thing you do-healthy mom, healthy baby With the McMoyler Method, there’s no guilt or regret for choosing an epidural or having a C-section; it’s about helping moms cope, involving partners every step of the way, and working with doctors and nurses for the best birth-no matter how it happens.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 A MUST-READ: BIRTH AS A PARTNERSHIP July 11, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Sarah McMoyler brings a wealth of experience and practical guidelines to expectant mothers (and fathers, like me!) in this book. What sets the McMoyler Method apart from Bradley, Lamaze, and other 20th century gurus of birthing:
1) The father/partner CAN help! In fact, he can be the mother's primary support during the labor process-- and why not? We are in this together from the moment of conception. Instead of relegating us to working a video camera or standing helplessly on the sidelines, McMoyler provides fathers with a vital role on what might be the most important day of our lives.
2) Medication is OK! There are many advocates of "natural" birth who for prideful reasons view this incredibly grueling ordeal as some test of endurance that must be experienced in a "pure" state. Mama does not have to be macho! While they should not be resorted to unless required for the mother's and baby's comfort and health, pain and muscle-relaxing drugs are among many options expectant couples should have in their arsenal for this one process that, once underway, is really out of their complete control.
3) Medically-trained people are the best insurance for a helthy, safe birth! As long as all goes well during labor, home births and doulas are wonderful. But realistically, there are many unforeseen situations that can emerge that call for advanced medical knowledge and measures that may be beyond the capabilities of these well-meaning folk. As rare as it might be, an umbillical cord wrapped around the baby's neck or a sudden change in vital signs require instant detection and expert remediation. Having the nurse/doctor/anesthesiologist available can be the difference between life and death.
Having noted the complaints of reviewers here re: McMoyler's favorable stance on utilizing legitimate medical resources, it seems her critics are painting with too broad a brush. Yes, the medical system is screwed up, and we all acknowledge that health insurance in this country is a fiasco. Yet in those important hours during labor, the parents can be guided and supported by medical expertise and still be empowered make their own informed decisions at critical moments. This is a fundamental tenet of the McMoyler Method-- one that is easily overlooked by non-medical doulas and those with an axe to grind against hospitals as bureaucracies. Having those resources available if and when a crisis emerges offers an extra measure of assurance toward McMoyler's expressed goal: "Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby."
As a father, I am encouraged by this book's message that my child's mother should use all available resources to get through labor successfully, and by Sarah McMoyler's ability to teach me skills that make me a true partner in the miracle of birth.
 Not the best title for this book! July 11, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
As a certified and experienced childbirth educator and doula, I have a lot of concerns about this book. Probably the biggest concern I have is the philosophy of trusting in our current maternity care system that is placing our U.S. infant mortality rate in 32nd place world-wide, rising maternal mortality rates and the risk of leaving the hospital with a cesarean scar - the highest in history (nearly one in every three births). Personally, I will trust the system when the U.S. is in the top 5. For all the money we spend, we should be #1.
When Ms. McMoyler encourages us to learn to navigate the traditional healthcare [maternity care] system and to make "informed" decisions, she is suggesting that we become compliant and...obedient. However, far too often I witness out dated and non evidence-based information given to women regarding their labor, birth and lactation by the "licensed medical professional". This book does not fill that information gap nor, in my opinion, does one six hour class.
Despite the overwhelming research that finds that doulas lower intervention rates (including Cesarean Section) and improve breastfeeding rates as well as birth satisfaction, Ms. McMoyler advises "why I suggest that you don't" hire a doula. She describes doulas as "trendy", apparently forgetting that women supporting women in birth is a centuries old tradition.
I agree with her statement that birth is unpredictable. Not just the first birth, but every birth. Seeing the woman you love in labor can be frightening to most fathers or other companions. It is unrealistic to expect the father to be able to "guide and reassure" when this is the first birth he has witnessed. That fear can be eased by the presence of a doula. The doula acts as a calming factor, offering physical and emotional support, reassurance and information to both the mother and her chosen support person(s).
And...the statement "There's no such thing as a less than satisfying experience. The only objective is a `healthy mom and healthy baby---however you get there'", couldn't be further from the truth. I can attest to that personally and professionally. Just ask one of the thousands of healthy mothers with healthy babies who experienced traumatic births and/or are suffering from postpartum depression due to disempowering birth.
The useful information regarding coping techniques can be found in many other more useful books, which would be better worth your time and money.
Some that I would recommend are:
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth : Choosing and Having the Childbirth Experience You Want, Third Revised Edition
Pregnancy, Childbirth And The Newborn
Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth
Not Evidence Based! Better books on Birth are available. July 10, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
As a Childbirth Educator, Mother of Two, and advocate for woman's right for informed consent I was really disappointed in this book. You would think an RN would write a book that is evidence based right? Not the case. For one example- Though there are some nice relaxation techniques mentioned she has totally ignored the piles of research showing that birth doulas reduce the intervention rates, help woman in creating safer and happier births. I live in the Bay Area, in the same area that the author lives. The hospital 'that does not like doulas' is well known for their high intervention rates and caregivers that like their clients to be hospital obedient. I do not know this woman, but I wonder what her motives are...
If you are a thinking pregnant woman searching for a book based on evidence then I would encourage you to read Pregnancy, Childbirth and Newborn by Simpkin, Whalley and Keppler. Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide
What a waste of time! July 1, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I bought this because I thought that the approach of being open to alternatives (like natural labor) but not too dogmatic sounded great. I was looking for practical advice on what to expect during labor and non-silly tips on what I could do to be prepared for the process, but it turned out to be the silliest of anything I've read so far.
If you want to be told that your husband should go "nose to nose" to you during contractions, telling you how great you're doing, and that he should make sure to bring breath mints--or else you'll be annoyed by his breath during labor!--this is the book for you. I found it to be endlessly repetitive on the topics of how great things were going to be with proper emotional support, etc., and very light on actual info. It does suggest several positions that might be helpful during contractions. (On your knees, sit on a hard surface, bend over the hospital bed, sit on a bouncy ball, "slow dance" with your husband) and it explains some stuff about what an epidural is, what a lactation consultant is, etc. But if you've read another book or 2, you won't need it.
reality based for hospital birth June 2, 2008
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a midwife who practices in a hospital, but who also believes that women deserve a greater range of birthing choices than most typically have in America today, I find McMoyler's book to be a reality-based approach to hospital births. A woman SHOULD trust her doctor or midwife and labor nurses because she SHOULD have exercised her right to choose the person and place that best aligns with her philosophy of birthing. Not all doctors or midwives or hospitals are like, but if she has done her research fully (checked the stats and gotten satisfactory answers to tough questions), she will pick the appropriate person and place for her. Whether she desires an unmedicated birth or is certain she would like an epidural, McMoyler's explanations for position changes to move labor along and vocalization for coping with pain are proven through experience. Her emphasis on partner education and commitment to be the best labor support are also important (and set up the importance of partner support postpartum as well (I don't think she is negating doulas)). No woman should feel guilty about the way she births: every birth is unique and unpredictable and the best births are a dialogue between the woman and her attendants where every one has the goal of "healthy mom, healthy baby". Flexibility is a very important attribute of parenting, even in labor. Ultimately, this book is empowering: knowing some of the hard facts of childbirth and birthing in hospitals will allow women to make the best informed choices.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
