Reviewed by Diana

Introduction:
Birthing From Within is intended to be a multi-sensory, holistic approach to childbirth education; [involving] parents learning through interactive, creative participation, in a spirit of fun and curiosity. England’s belief is that women already know how to give birth, so as she explains: I developed a process to help them discover and validate their own knowledge, rather than directing a stream of information at them.

Good points about the book/parts you found helpful:
Clarification of my thoughts and worries about birth, and excellent techniques to work through them.

Outstanding section on drug free pain relief, teaching techniques that really do work.

Bad points, inaccuracies:
Aimed at an American audience so occasionally too much emphasis on fighting off unwanted medical interventions.

Short section on breastfeeding may draw raised eyebrows from some board members.

Comments and other opinions:
When I was pregnant, I couldn't see past the birth. I went to antenatal classes and they talked about birth. They explained what would happen: what the mother’s body does, how the baby makes its way out into the world. Everyone said it would be painful, but worth it. My trouble was that the childbirth preparation I needed was not to learn about the physiological process of birth; what scared me was the emotional journey. For me the last straw was a viewing of the ubiquitous birth video. Watching the raw emotions being played out across these women’s faces and bodies scared me to death. But it renewed my determination to find something that could help. I came across “Birthing from Within” read the Amazon reviews, and thought it was worth a try. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. By the time the big day came I was no longer scared. I felt calm and confident in my ability to birth a baby and felt I had embraced the idea that I too was about to be born
into motherhood.

The book is written in seven sections covering your journey into parenthood.

“Beginning Your Journey” starts with finding your question: what is it you need to know to give birth?

“The Art of Birthing” looks at discovering and dealing with your thoughts/fears/hopes, etc, for birth through the medium of making and exploring birth art. It is packed with case studies, showing their journey through pregnancy and birth, with contributions from professional artists and guidance for the reader on how to approach this challenge.

“Preparing Your Birth Place” is covered, be it a home or hospital birth you are planning. This section concentrates on practical preparation, e.g., what questions to ask of hospital staff, to ensure that there is nothing that you are unprepared for. It lists customs from around the world that may well spark ideas about the atmosphere you would like to birth in.

“Being Powerful In Birth” where it really gets down to the nitty-gritty. It begins by identifying and resolving any remaining thoughts that may make your birth harder. Practical tips for labour follow, and then a chapter that must have been written just for me: “Out of Control”: How To Lose It In Labor.

There are excellent explanations of different birth positions and how they influence your pelvis shape, how gravity can help, and how to protect your perineum. Finally there is a chapter on how to give birth if you need a caesarian.

Fathers and Birth Companions are not neglected in this book, but are an essential part of the preparation. Fathers feelings are also explored through birth art, and a discussion of how best to help and support their labouring partner is presented.

“Birthing Through Pain” explores beliefs and attitudes about pain, and how these might affect our ability to deal with it. Physiological processes are discussed, and there is an excellent chapter on proven techniques to cope with pain. Finally there is exploration of the compassionate use of drugs and epidurals.

“Gestating Parenthood” looks at the journey a couple makes as they prepare to become parents. It involves a section called; Baby-Proofing Your Marriage and talks about the emotional and physical care that new parents need.

Perhaps inevitably, this book is more geared towards those wanting a natural birth. However the main message is that birth is a fundamentally unplannable, unpredictable event and in order to approach in awareness it is necessary to be open to any possibility. I have focused here on the emotional preparation, but it is interspersed with physical preparations (e.g. eating well in pregnancy) and I did feel it lived up to the promise of being a truly holistic approach. What really struck me, though, was the wisdom displayed by the many contributors. Here is the advice given by an old African-American woman:

Oh honey it’s alright you cryin and not knowing why. Sometimes when a pregnant woman
is cryin over nothin, she’s cryin for her baby cause it can’t cry yet, and when she laugh over nothin’ she laugh for her baby all happy in there.

The subtitle of Birthing From Within sums everything up: it really is an extra-ordinary guide to childbirth preparation.

DJEB