Books like Pushed by Jennifer Block

As an intelligent woman, you are probably used to learning as much as you can before making major decisions. But when it comes to one of the most important decisions of your life--how you will give birth-it is hard to gather accurate, unbiased information. Surprisingly, much of the research does not support common medical opinion and practice.Birth activist Henci Goer gives clear, concise information based on the latest medical studies. The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth helps you compare and contrast your various options and shows you how to avoid unnecessary procedures, drugs, restrictions, and tests. The book covers:CesareansBreech babiesInducing laborElectronic Fetal MonitoringRupturing MembranesCoping with slow laborPain medicationEpistiotomyVaginal birth after a CeasareanDoulasDeciding on a doctor or midwifeChoosing where to have your babyand much more...

Shares the birthing stories of women who chose to have their babies at home with the help of a midwife, provides information about the safety of techniques used in the hospital before and after birth, discusses postpartum depression and maternal death, and includes resources for doulas, birth centers, and other organizations.

This lively history of childbirth begins with colonial days, when childbirth was a social event, and moves on to the gradual medicalization of childbirth in America as doctors forced midwives out of business and to the home birth movement of the 1980s. Widely praised when it was first published in 1977, the book has now been expanded to bring the story up to date. In a new chapter and epilogue, Richard and Dorothy Wertz discuss the recent focus on delivering perfect babies, with its emphasis on technology, prenatal testing, and Caesarean sections. They argue that there are many viable alternatives--including out of hospital births--in the search for the best birthing system.