The Birth Partner - Revised 3rd Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions (Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, ) ebook

I read this book as a husband. It was the only good birthing book that I read. It was informative, didn't have all of the soft lovey dovey stuff about birth-This book teaches you actionable techniques and realities of the mother. My parents taught me nothing about birth and this book informed me about everything that I need to know to be comfortable, useful and prepared. I highly recommend this book to husbands who don't want to read all of the other soft books about your feelings on birth. This book is actually useful.

I purchased this book and read through the entire thing prior to my first child's birth. Reading through it with my wife was extremely helpful and she and I went through a couple sections more than once to review before the big day(s). Even better was the fact we took a birth course through the hospital at which we were delivering and the 8-hour course was basically this book, down to the illustrations and chapter numbers/titles. This gave me a good feeling about the information in the book and the process in general. This book has a lot of information, and for a "standard" birth you'll need maybe 30% of the book. The rest covers details for procedures and processes that might be "non-standard". Don't let it overwhelm you, as you probably won't need to worry about the majority of it. However, it's very nice to cover it prior to labor and delivery because it'll help you make an informed decision if the situation needs it.

We did not use a doula for our labor and birth. I was her support and along with the great nursing staff, we did great. I felt confident in my ability to help her and we used several of the pain mitigation techniques offered in the book. I found I did not have to reference the book more than a couple times during the whole event as I'd read through it and was prepared ahead of time. My wife was able to delivery vaginally with no epidural or other pain medication. I do find that the book is very pushy for getting a doula, which I understand as Penny is a certified doula who has helped establish a strong doula network within the U.S.

Each chapter/section talks about mama and baby first, then how the birth partner can help, and finally how a doula can help even more. For those people thinking of possibly getting a doula, the last bit may be very useful in order to help you better understand how one could help. If you know for sure you do not want one, you can read it as a way for the birth partner to help even more.

The book itself is very nicely organized by chapter and features small sections at the end of each chapter that is a summary of what the chapter talked about. These sections have a grey border, which makes them very easy to find while flipping through the book. This makes them very easy to find later while in labor and delivery, but I also found a couple small sticky notes in certain sections with subjects written on the notes, makes it even easier.

No matter if you plan on a hospital birth, home birth, with or without pain medication, I highly recommend you read through this book. Even if it isn't the first child, if you aren't feeling confident about being a good support for mama and baby, read through it and you'll know exactly what to do.

I purchased this along with a book on the Bradley method and thus far this has been much, much more practical. Sure some of it may be a little in depth for what we need and you'll never get a labor book that doesn't cover the basic biology points of delivery - but it's the little things that have helped and I'm not even at the point of delivering yet.

There's a section in the book alone that makes it well worth the money where it explains to the partner/husband that sometimes distracting the woman with questions like "what can I get you to drink" aren't as helpful as say, just bringing her a drink and seeing if she wants it. Likewise it gives tips on massage, things to have with you in the hospital, explains some of the reactions and reasons behind them that a woman might exhibit - the entire bit on a woman might lash out at you because she's frightened and you're a safe target was worth it's weight in gold. Ever since he's read it, husband has really been a lot more supportive and has helped weather some of the 9th month mood swings and crying fits with a lot more understanding and support than I'd expected. :)

This is a really fantastic resource for any person in a supportive role to a pregnant woman.

The book goes into explicit but easily digestible detail of pregnancy, different types of labor, the types of support one can offer in labor, what you'll encounter in a home birth vs a hospital birth, basic baby care after the birth, and caring for the mother throughout the entire process.

It also covers the different styles of birth from home births to hospitals and natural labor to different medications that can be used. The tone of the book is really open and doesn't push any agenda of which way is better over another. Instead, pros and cons are laid out for each, and the book is really educational so that the mother and partner can make informed decisions. It's very pro-mother and its theme is that the mother's choices are the right choices for her.

As a co-mother, I found the book to be inclusive of different support partners, as well.

The book also offers a ton of resources with a number of links to videos, references to websites and other books.

It's really a must-have read.

I was asked to be my best friend’s birth partner. I haven’t had kids and I wanted to be as supportive and helpful to her as possible. I searched high and low for a good resource and I am so glad I chose this one. I read all of it up to the last section (I didn’t want to freak myself or her out and I figure a doctor would be best to consult in an emergency situation- I sure didn’t go to med school). I kept the book with me into her labor and it made me much more comfortable during the process and most importantly made me much more helpful to her. I was even helping her understand what was going on during her pregnancy, labor and prelabor from information in this book. I felt very prepared. I highly recommend.