An authoritative guide to natural childbirth and postpartum parenting options from an MD who home-birthed her own four children. Sarah Buckley might be called a third-wave natural birth advocate. A doctor and a mother, she approaches the question of how a woman and baby might have the most fulfilling birth experience with respect for the wisdom of both medical science and the human body. Using current medical and epidemiological research plus women's experiences (including her own), she demonstrates that what she calls "undisturbed birth" is almost always healthier and safer than high-technology approaches to birth. Her wise counsel on issues like breastfeeding and sleeping during postpartum helps extend the gentle birth experience into a gentle parenting relationship.

Birth as every woman would like it to be • Recommended by Lamaze International as one of the top ten books for pregnant women and their families • Includes a 45-minute DVD of six live gentle births • More than 32,000 copies sold of the original edition New parents are faced with a myriad of choices about pregnancy, labor, and birth. In Gentle Birth Choices Barbara Harper, renowned childbirth advocate, nurse, former midwife, and mother of three, helps to clarify these choices and shows how to plan a meaningful, family-centered birth experience. She dispels medical myths and reimagines birth without fear, pain, or violence. Harper explains the numerous gentle birth choices available, including giving birth in an independent birth center, at home, or in a hospital birthing room; finding a primary caregiver who shares your philosophy of birth; and deciding how to best use current technologies. She also provides practical advice for couples wishing to explore the option of using a doula or water during labor and birth to avoid the unwanted effects of drugs and epidurals. The Gentle Birth Choices DVD blends interviews with midwives and physicians and six actual births that illustrate the options of water birth, home birth, and vaginal birth after a prior Cesarean section. The DVD clearly reveals the strength of women during childbirth and the healthy and happy outcome of women exercising gentle birth choices. It is a powerful instructional tool, not only for expectant parents, but also for midwives, hospitals, birth centers, and doctors.

An illustrated hands-on guide to the dynamics of the female pelvis for expectant mothers, midwives, and birth professionals • Provides fully illustrated exercises to help the expectant mother prepare her pelvis for birth and gain confidence in her body’s innate ability to birth her child • Details the anatomical intricacies of the female pelvis and its capabilities for expansion and return to its original form • Presents movements and positions to ease discomfort, enhance the productivity of contractions, aid the internal expansion of the pelvis, and prevent and treat issues that may arise such as “failure to progress” The dynamic power of the female pelvis is the key to a gentle birth. Throughout pregnancy, hormones soften the ligaments and joints of the pelvis in preparation for labor, a time when the four bones of the pelvis--the two ilia (hip bones), the coccyx (tailbone), and the sacrum--do their intimate dance of release, rotation, and counter-rotation around the soon-to-be newborn. In this hands-on guide based on 15 years of research and workshops in maternity wards, movement teachers and health professionals Blandine Calais-Germain and Núria Vives Parés detail the anatomical intricacies of the female pelvis and its capabilities for expansion and return to its original form. Providing fully illustrated exercises to help the expectant mother prepare for this pelvic transformation and gain confidence in her body’s innate ability to birth her child, they also present a variety of movements and positions for use during the different stages of labor to ease discomfort, enhance the productivity of contractions, aid the internal expansion of the pelvis, and prevent and treat issues that may arise such as “failure to progress.” Ideal for the expectant mother and her birthing partner, this book will be a welcome addition to the library of every midwife, obstetrician, doula, and movement professional who teaches pregnant women.

Why do so many American women allow themselves to become enmeshed in the standardized routines of technocratic childbirth--routines that can be insensitive, unnecessary, and even unhealthy? Anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd first addressed these questions in the 1992 edition. Her new preface to this 2003 edition of a book that has been read, applauded, and loved by women all over the world, makes it clear that the issues surrounding childbirth remain as controversial as ever.

Discover your roadmap to a positive birth! A positive birth comes in many forms - for some it's an early effective epidural for another it's a serene water birth or a calm planned cesarean. What we know for sure is that a positive birth is defined by YOU - not your best friend, Mom or even your OB or Midwife. The award winning GentleBirth program combines brain science, birth science and technology so you can feel inspired, excited and uplifted every day of your pregnancy - and beyond! Every woman wants a safe, positive gentle birth - for themselves and for their baby. Midwife, GentleBirth Founder and positive birth expert Tracy Donegan shows you how as she guides you step by step including the following: Practical tools to prepare you and your partner for a positive birth - as defined by YOU! Use brain science to reduce pain and fear in labor. Discover the ultimate stress reduction toolkit of techniques of simple meditation, hypnosis and sport psychology. Train your brain for confidence and resilience - long after your baby arrives Learn breathing techniques that work. Navigate your options with confidence for a GentleBirth for you and your baby.

Now updated! The new edition of this best-selling guide uses science to tackle some of the most important decisions facing new parents—from sleep training and vaccinations to breastfeeding and baby food. Is cosleeping safe? How important is breastfeeding? Are food allergies preventable? Should we be worried about the aluminum in vaccines? Searching for answers to these tough parenting questions can yield a deluge of conflicting advice. In this revised and expanded edition of The Science of Mom, Alice Callahan, a science writer whose work appears in the New York Times and the Washington Post, recognizes that families must make their own decisions and gives parents the tools to evaluate the evidence for themselves. Sharing the latest scientific research on raising healthy babies, she covers topics like the microbiome, attachment, vaccine safety, pacifiers, allergies, increasing breast milk production, and choosing an infant formula.

Pregnancy and birth can be ecstatic, instinctive, fulfilling and safe for you and your baby. Gentle birth abd gentle parenting lay a strong foundation for life-long health and wellbeing for all the family. In this book, Dr Sarah Buckley combines the best medical evidence with her gentle mothering wisdom.