Mind Over Labor: A Breakthrough Guide to Giving Birth

by Carl Jones, Marian Tompson (Foreword), Emmett E. Miller (Foreword)

The fear and pain most women expect from pregnancy can at last be overcome. Carl Jones, a certified childbirth educator, tells how using mental imagery can help you reduce the pain of labor by controlling the fear beforehand. His easy-to-follow, eight-step method, which teaches your mind to cooperate with your body, will help make your childbirth less stressful and more natural. Whether you plan to give birth at home, in a childbearing center, or in a hospital, Carl Jones's simple exercises will put you in touch with the best instrument of birth there is—yourself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 1987

Reviews

[Katherine Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for labor preparation. I really think that labor is mostly a mental challenge. Women can endure a lot of physical discomfort/pain if they are mentally prepared and can frame the pain as something else (useful work, pressure waves, surges, the powerf of Woman, whatever you want to call it). The other half of the dealing with pain is not having a lot of fear, anxiety, or other baggage that gets in the way of letting the labor happen. This book helps women address these issues before they go into labor. Great resource for pregnant ladies and doulas, and it's available for a song online. My copy cost 80 cents. You can't even get thrift store books that cheap anymore.

[Emily Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1987 and the author mentioned a cesarean rate of 20% (!!!) which he thought then was astronomically high (which it definitely is). I thought throughout the book what the author would think of the present day cesarean rate of 32% which is absolutely outrageous. In some hospitals it’s even higher! Of the 32% cesarean rate, only about 2-5% of those are medically necessary and life saving! Just a small aspect of this book I thought about the whole time.

My midwife recommended this book for me and I enjoyed this book and loved its recognition of how a hospital can do more harm than good at the majority of births. Birth is not a medical event that needs to be controlled, it is a natural event in life that need not be disturbed. (That’s not to say that things don’t happen in birth, they do. But the way the medical system today views birth, it’s as if every little thing is a crisis and panic needs to ensue.) I digress.

This book, though written 36 years ago, is still a great resource! I am currently nearing the end of my second pregnancy and planning a homebirth this time after a traumatic hospital birth and I found a lot of this book to be encouraging and insightful.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading/re-reading various birth books lately in anticipation of my next birth. This is the first time I have read this one cover to cover.

Here's what I like:
- Good ideas for relaxation - scripts and that kind of thing. Doesn't rely on hypnosis, which I appreciate, since there is a part of my brain that is way too cynical to let that work for me.
- Concise. So many birth books are way long.
- Good explanations of the overall process. Giving good information without making doctors out to be heartless villains.
- Good tone. He doesn't sound condescending or self-righteous as some other natural birth authors tend to do. Respectful of all parties and informative throughout.

This is actually one of my favorites, and one I'd be more likely to recommend because of the more respectful tone. Too many of these authors act like there is one way to do and to see things, and anybody else is worthy of ridicule. He seems genuine in his desire to provide helpful information to a wide variety of people involved in the birth process - in and out of the hospital, varying levels of interventions - he seems to make the assumption (as I think we all should) that everyone is making their choices based on what they feel is best for their baby, even though those choices have a wide range.

My biggest complaint is somewhat ironic...it's that he doesn't appear to have any real credentials. All the book says about him is that he is a childbirth educator. Does he have any formal medical training? Where did he get his expertise in the field? In a way this shouldn't matter. His facts are accurate, and if his ideas for coping with labor work, what does it matter where he comes from? But I still would have rather known more about his background.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I'm currently pregnant; my midwife recommended this book. It was very good. If you are looking for methods to help you through delivery without relying on an epidural, this is a must-read. There are a lot of mental imagery ideas and techniques offered - none of which were too over-the-top/new-age/mother-nature-y. Most were very basic and easy to modify to fit your needs and interests. Definitely recommend to any pregnant woman.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Thank you Alicia! Absolutely empowering. At first I thought, "Hmm, a male author." But he takes a lot of opinions into consideration and offers great mental imagery. Some of the exercises were over the top, but overall I felt like this book was really encouraging.

[Meghan Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that changed my mind - a chance encounter at the thrift store. Who knows where I would be in my pregnancy journey if I hadn't picked this book up?
It's an oldie, but it is a great start in learning more about an alternative way to give birth.

[Christine Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to see visualization techniques I'm more familiar with from athletic training applied to a birth setting. This book wasn't popping as a common/popular search result on the topic, so his chapters on choosing a birth experience and care team felt a bit non-essential since many people will have already researched that far or received this book suggestion through their chosen team. The Emmett Miller forward also seems unnecessary because Jones promotes Miller's guided visualizations pretty heavily throughout the book.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind Over Labor offers great tips for dealing with labor pain without medication. The guidelines for choosing a child birth center and caregiver are especially useful, perhaps even more than the imagery techniques. However, the language drastically needs to be revised and updated. Jones consistently refers to unmedicated vaginal labors as "normal births," which is rather demeaning vocabulary.

[Amy Bodine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book much better than the Bradley Method Book. I wish I read it first. Just in reading it, it has helped me have a more positive view of my impending birth.And in the time I have left I do intend on trying and practicing some of the mental imagery. It was a much easier read and it did not seek to defend it's method over other methods. The only issue is that it is still a bit on the older side and at least in my area and at my chosen hospital certain things are no longer the issue the book makes them out to be.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it, but found it very repetitive, especially with all the positive birth stories and other articles I'd been reading. My attention span couldn't take it after a certain point, (and with one kiddo to take care of in addition to preparing for #2's birth), but it'd be good if you have the time to actually relax, meditate, or visualize things. Also, if you haven't been researching natural childbirth for a while already, there's a lot of good info that could be helpful.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was actually really surprised how much I didn't love this book this time around. I only read a few parts before I had Emmy and the delivery went so well, I contributed a lot to this book and ideas I learned. I only skimmed over it this time because it was just so over the top for me now, for whatever reason. I still was reminded of a couple good points, but other than that--nothing! Maybe 2.5...

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me as "A little hokey, but with some useful ideas." I agree 100%. I stopped reading it toward the end b/c I was sick of the "Hospitals are the worst place to give birth" attitude clearly coming through....I'm not sure I would run screaming to you for anyone to read it, but I'd recommend it with the same attitude it was recommended to me.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best birthing-companion book ever. This is my #1 favorite prep for pregnancy and labor book. The meditations and positive thinking strategies in this book are applicable to everybody. I have enjoyed using them over and over.

[Boston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This changed a lot of my views about childbirth. There are some things that are a little too much for me, but other things that made me want to take more control of my labor and delivery when it comes.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk about procrastination...my water broke while I was reading this book. I did utilize some of the imagery exercises during labor. The book although still very relevant to natural childbirth could use some updating.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a bit new-age for me at times but I got a lot of great things from it. I think there's too strong a push for 100% natural and at home birth in the book but the techniques are all great! It really was a great way for me to shape my thoughts about labor.

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good in theory, but some strange ideas, too. Somehow I didn't believe him when he said you could have a natural labor pain-free. Epidural is easier!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really read this book, I just skimmed it. I do believe that the mind and body work in conjunction, and I think that using mental imagery will help me get through labor naturally.

[Laurie Van Wagoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found the visualization techniques helpful in this book...

[Sheena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about the positive things in labor... kind of boring.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old book, but the techniques in it helped me get into the Zone for labor.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked the meditations. My sister and friends swear this is the book to read to put you into labour (I personally read it, and went into labour an hour later).

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

helped me get through two drug-free births. :)

[Joanna]

This is an excellent book to provide the laboring mother with visual imagery to aid her in achieving relaxation during her hardest work ever!

[Debbie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really works if you can actually do it! I did it at home, but it would be harder at the hospital, I think.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic for anyone who wants to deliver naturally with no epidural or medications.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Has so many great ideas and points. I will have to buy this one and give it to everyone I know going for a natural child birth.

[Emerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the methods and goals for natural childbirth. Worthwhile read.

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas but needs to be updated. It drags a lot.