DO BIRTH – A Gentle Guide to Labour and Childbirth – by Caroline Flint
Book Review written by Perth doula Oona Goldsmith
To finish my doula certificate, I was asked to write a book review.
This doesn’t sound like a hard challenge but looking at the huge amount of relevant and fantastic literature for women to educate themselves for childbirth, I struggled.
Rachel Reed, Hazel Keedle, Rhea Dempsey, and the always beautiful knowledge of Penny Simkin and Ina May Gaskin, how should one choose?
So I decided to write about a book dear to my heart, because it was a gift from my beautiful daughter. She is my loudest supporter, harshest critic and cruelest manager. She got me this book one Christmas with her own money and told me to get on with my studies and work as a doula because she believed in me.
Here we go the book I want to review with you guys is “DO BIRTH – A Gentle Guide to Labour and Childbirth” by Caroline Flint.
It is a great book, covering the essentials of what to expect from childbirth and postpartum.
It is written in an easy to understand and straight forward way supporting natural birth and homebirth but doesn’t discriminate women going to hospital but rather preparing them how to advocate for themselves and make the hospital their best possible birthing place.
Caroline Flint manages to talk about birth and the different stages of birth without inducing fear but still showing the true colours without pink wash.
She is educative and supportive of natural labour but keeps it nice and short.
If you are looking for a little book for a friend starting their journey of pregnancy and childbirth, this is a great present to give. It will leave room for more but answers the essential questions.
My favourite section of the book is the chapter of how to release Oxytocin. Caroline describes how natural pain relief is connected with the own release of hormones and how to get them flowing. She talks about the benefit of nipple and clitoral stimulation and that it would be best to ask the midwife to leave the room for some privacy whilst you and your partner get steamy.
This is what I want to read in a birth book, uncensored and honest.
Thank you to the author Caroline.
My name is Oona Goldsmith, and I am a doula who has completed extensive training at the Doula Training Academy with Vicki Hobbs, and I am based in Perth, Western Australia. If you would like to talk more about birthing options, please contact me:
Name:
Oona Goldsmith Doula
Website:
https://www.oonathedoula.com
Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
0402 240 654
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