Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin- Highly recommended, an excellent blend of birth stories and practical advice from the most well-known midwife in the country. It does contain graphic images of birth.

Your Best Birth: Know all Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein- Highly Recommended. This book came as an addition to the documentary, The Business of Being Born, which I also highly recommend. It is an in depth look at all the common procedures of labor and birth in society today and encourages you to evaluate all your options.

Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas- Some good information, it addresses the importance of movement and involvement during birth.

Pushed: The Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block- Highly Recommended. Great information on modern maternity care. Will help you make informed decisions on your birth options.

Childbirth Without Fear by Dr. Grantly Dick Read-The book that started it all for me and changed the way I viewed birth. Highly recommended, though the language takes a few pages to adjust to as it was written several decades ago.

Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper- Some information slightly outdated, but good information on empowering yourself to make informed decision.

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent- A memoir of a midwife who has delivered hundreds of babies. Some very touching birth stories and some great info mixed in.

The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin- A great resource for moms, dads, labor coaches, doulas, etc. Make your husband read this book!

The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine- A funny book for some good laughs, but I don’t recommend for the information, as she is much more geared toward intervention in birth.

Birthing from Within by Pan England and Rob Horowitz- A pretty good book. I didn’t really connect with her writing style, but she does offer some good advice on the emotional preparation needed for birth.

Overall, I was rather disappointed at the lack of good books on natural birth (maybe that will be my next pregnancy project…..hmmm). The books in my top ten list gave some great information though, and I would recommend them to anyone interested in natural birth.

Have a healthy week!

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Some of the techniques it is my “homework” to try for the next two weeks until my next appointment are:

• Inversion: I stand(sit?) upside down on the stairs with my arms and head about three steps lower than my legs and butt. Sound ridiculous? You have no idea! Supposedly this works wonders for turning a baby and adjusting pelvic ligaments, though it is not a position I would gladly assume, pregnant or not!
• Pelvic Tilt: Almost as fun as inversion… I put one side of the ironing board on the couch and the other side on the ground, creating an angle. I then position myself with my head on the low end and legs/butt up. I hold this position for 20 minutes, three times a day. I don’t find this one so bad, at least since I found out that the alternative is doing a full handstand for 20 minutes a day. Can Olympic gymnasts even do that?
• Handstands: This one I get to do in water (because there is nothing quite like putting on a bathing suit in the third trimester and standing on your head repeatedly for an hour at the gym pool). I am supposed to swim and perform handstands in water as much as possible. Oh well, at least I won’t look as crazy as all those people doing arthritis aquatics (who am I kidding, yeah I will!).
• Elephant Walk: This is perhaps my favorite. As much as possible during the day I get to walk around on my hands and feet, basically creating an acute angle with my bottom straight up in the air. While this is surprisingly good exercise, my 3 year old and 16 month old find this hilarious and, thinking it a game, chase me around trying to tackle me.
• I will also be trying the Webster Technique tried by a chiropractor and the homeopathic Pulsatilla.

I will update on progress. For anyone else with a breech baby, check out the Spinning Babies website for some good information on turning your bambino.

In the meantime, dear Breech Baby, please turn! Love always, Mom

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