Here is my review on my favorite one.
I've read a lot of this book and am so glad my friend suggested it and let me borrow it. I have a slew of natural birthing books right now that I'm cramming with and so many of them are chock full of wacky hippie ideas that I'm just not a believer in. I just want to know some techniques, some facts about the process, ideas, what the medical reasoning is for things, etc. This book is awfully non-biased for a natural book since all the others I've read are seriously slanted. I like that it doesn't say you "should" or "shouldn't" do xyz based on the authors opinion. It just gives some great advice and facts without any pressure to do things a certain way.
Some others I'm reading have really awesome quotes like this one from "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering."
"Women who have had a natural, nonmedicated birth--especially a homebirth or a waterbirth--are sometimes so internally focused that they appear disoriented and confused at the time of birth and in the moments right after...[the author] refers to this as the woman has checked out of her body and is up in the stars retrieving the soul of her baby."
"Women who have had a natural, nonmedicated birth--especially a homebirth or a waterbirth--are sometimes so internally focused that they appear disoriented and confused at the time of birth and in the moments right after...[the author] refers to this as the woman has checked out of her body and is up in the stars retrieving the soul of her baby."
And after making me nearly sick, I read this again for the sake of entertainment and then re-read it to my sister and Josh for even more entertainment. He tried to leave the room and get me quiet, but I think he heard most of it.
"Some people consume a portion of the placenta as a means of heading off postpartum depression, increasing milk supply, and helping the body to heal more quickly...If you're intending to consume the placenta, it is important to handle it carefully and to chill or freeze it as quickly as possible. Your doula is a good person to put in charge of this responsibility. She can place the placenta in a food freezer bag and put it into a cooler with ice, or straight into the freezer if a homebirth...Placental consumption is not a good idea if you have hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, or other bloodborne or infectious diseases or have any beef with being partially cannibalistic and eating part of your own body."
Okay, last few words mine, but true.
Here are a few yummy dishes if you are considering to join the placenta-eating fest.
Tom Cruise is apparently a big fan. Read this."HOLLYWOOD - In a recent interview with GQ magazine Tom Cruise said he plans to eat his baby's placenta. When he was cautioned that placentas weigh approximately one sixth as much as the babies to whom they are attached, Mr. Cruise became combative. You don't know placentas," said Mr. Cruise. "I do. I've studied placentas. I know dozens of ways to prepare them. I know what wines go with them. What do you know?"
According to Mr. Cruise, the recipes for serving placenta of which he has firsthand knowledge range from placenta tartare to placenta meat loaf. Mr. Cruise said placenta "reminds him of veal, but with a springier texture like heart." The benefits of eating placenta, he said, include reduced hemorrhaging and a decrease in the likelihood of postpartum depression."
And if you'd like to read his recipe ideas, go here. And there are articles and quotes from him about this all over the web, pretty fun.
Oh, and I've read over and over in some of these that you "don't have to have pain in labor." I laughed and read that to Josh and he goes, "I'm glad you're not totally drinking the koolaid." I'm not saying some people don't promise they don't have pain, but I'm not agreeing that it's avoidable for anyone either!
Most of the books have a serious slant to them or are really preachy, but I appreciate the good stuff in them too that help me get my mind in the game and feel more prepared. I like reading stuff that's in line with how I want things to go since I know a lot of people don't get my desire to do the natural thing, so it's uplifting and exciting to read these crazy books.
Q: have a favorite birth book or quote?
5 comments:
oh wow, some of that stuff seems very "out there", but i have heard that consuming your placenta is very good for you. AND you can have it dried and made into capsules that you can just swallow. (alot easier to stomach than some of those recipes...yikes!) celeste just did a natural water birth, but i haven't heard what she did/didn't like about it. you should ask her!
I read about a woman who gave birth herself and ate a bite of the placenta. In her words, "why not". In my words, "why"? I don't know...maybe there is truth to those ideas but I still wouldn't go there.
you'll have to let us know how your natural birth goes. i think i'm similar to you as far as natural birthing goes. there are some crazy weird things out there, that i'd never consider doing. but i'd like to go natural next time... in a hospital of course. and the placenta... i'm actually going to try to find a professional to encapsulate it for me, so i can get all the goods from it, but not actually have to fry it up and eat it. sick! anyway, good luck! i'm excited for you! whenever it's been a few days since you've posted, i think, "did she have her baby?!"
ew.
what did you think of the hypnobirthing book? i'm doing that with my next one.
So I'm dying to hear if you did a natural childbirth or not. I'm a Hypnobirther myself, but I dont know anyone else to swap stories with...I'd love to hear your birth story.
Congratulations, by the way!
Erynn (McHardy) Wilcox
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