Great ResourceNovember 20, 2008 For those women who are interested in learning about birthing approaches that allow for freedom of movement during the birthing process, this book is a great resource. It begins with an explanation of why an active birth can be advantageous without being too hard core. It then walks you through a series of yoga poses that help strengthen and ready the body for labor. In the next portion of the book, it walks the reader through the birthing process, gives guidance regarding certain situation that arises, and gives you the pros and cons of various alternatives. My birth went nothing as expected. I wanted to have a natural birth and ended up having anything but. HOWEVER, this book gave me a thorough understanding of the stages of birth and the yoga prepared my body so that I remained strong during my entire 36 hr. labor and my recovery was speedy. Yes, the pictures are a bit antiquated, but the information in the book is great.
Very HelpfulOctober 24, 2008 I found this book very helpful. I was able to have a completely "natural" birth with my daughter 2 years ago and I think this book helped me achieve it. I read it first when I was about 5 months along and then reread it about 2 weeks before I had her. I even took it to the hospital with me. After the birth of my daughter (my doctor said he had never seen anything like that), my doctor asked if he could have the book to read. He was very inspired by it. Since that time I have bought about 5 copies and given them to friends and family members that were pregnant. They were also able to go "all natural" and loved the book. I was getting ready to order another one and thought I should write up my success story.
great book to all mothers to beOctober 24, 2008 this book encourages older birthing methods - way before the medical science evolved this much. birthing is a natural process and mothers are looked upon as special not just labelled as patients; the child is nurtured and not identified as a cot number.
Very Informative and A Must Read For PregnancyJuly 7, 2008 I read this when I was first expecting. This is an easy book to read and understand. It gave detailed information as to what to expect during labor and how to prepare myself emotionally and physically. Throughout my pregancy I constantly referred back to this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is expecting. This book helped to allievate my fears and was encouraging in the sense that my body was designed to give birth naturally without any interventions. Fantastic book!
Practical and reassuringMarch 16, 2008 In searching for a good guide to natural childbirth, I read several titles from our library. The Bradley method felt a little too prescriptive (counting breaths, etc.), hypnobirthing a bit far-fetched. Henci Goer's important text is enough to scare anyone, but an essential read. Sheila Kitzinger's complete guide was very thorough and smart, but of everything, I chose to buy this instead. The yoga-based exercises are adaptable to multi-levels and presented in a great flow, and the birthing information emphasizes knowing and trusting your own body, with plenty of background on the natural processes of labor. For a woman who wants to be free to move around and labor comfortably, who believes in her own strength, flexibility, and resilience, I'd highly recommend Active Birth.
