Good Birth Companion: Your Essential Guide to Having the Best Labour and Birth

by Nicole Croft

All expecting mothers have an innate capacity to give birth safely and naturally, but it's easy to be distracted by stories of traumatic births and a deep anxiety that you won't be in control.Experienced doula and Active Birth Associate, Nicole Croft, takes the fear out of labour and childbirth in this empowering and practical guide. Full of wise advice and simple skills to prepare you mentally and physically, Nicole tells you everything you need to know to ensure you have a very positive experience giving birth, whether you labour naturally or require medical intervention.- Be calm, relaxed and prepared for childbirth- Feel less pain during labour and help your birth progress naturally- Remain confident and in control throughout the birth- Feel very positive about your birth, with or without medical intervention- Flourish with your baby in the first weeks after birthWarm, wise and incredibly reassuring, The Good Birth Companion will give you all the information and resources you need to give birth safely to your baby.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2011

Reviews

[FH · Rating 4 out of 5]

To put in the hands of every future mom, their partner, close friends, or anyone who wants to understand what a pregnant woman goes through (our own mother for instance!)
Practical, explanatory, no shame, complete, the best I've read (listened to actually) so far!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great practical guide through labor and delivery, I liked that it was not completely inclined to med-free delivery and it explains also epidurals and c-sections, along with disadvantages of each.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, accessible and very informative. The best pregnancy book I've read so far.

[Hayley Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lent to me by a friend. Easy to read, informative, and (pre-birth at least!) a helpful overview of what to expect.

[Hannah Braime · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. This is a down-to-earth and empowering guide to birth that demystifies labour and birth without being militant about a particular approach. The pros and cons of different interventions are discussed and she provides much information about the biology of birth and different things you can do to have the best chance of experiencing the birth you want. The final chapter on the fourth trimester is also a useful reminder that birth is only the beginning and it's worth preparing for those first few weeks of parenthood in advance.

Overall this is an excellent book I'd highly recommend to anyone who is pregnant. I wanted to give this four or five stars and there's two reasons I haven't:

1) Some of the options are presented as either/or when they aren't. For example, she says you can either have a managed third stage or do delayed cord clamping. When I checked with my midwife, she said there is no reason you can't do both. Perhaps this is a policy change since the book was published or something that differs between NHS trusts but if I had only gone on the advice in the book, I would have assumed I had to make a choice between one or the other.

2) She mentions homeopathic remedies several times without clarifying there is no scientific evidence homeopathy has any benefits beyond the placebo effect. This is a small personal peeve but I would have found it useful if she'd covered other remedies/options for postpartum recovery too.

[Deena Goldie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend of mine recommended this book and I'm glad I read it. The advice and tips are informative, well-reasoned and helpful. I believe that as a result I was better prepared to know what to expect during labour (as comprehensive as this book is, I don't think you could ever be prepared for what might happen so keep an open mind and go with it!). Having said that it would be best to read this type of book during early pregnancy and then use certain chapters for reference as your term progresses. Enjoy.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really encouraging and positive overview of the process of a complication-free birth. It's astounding to read the amount of help your body will give you and the capacity it has to cope with childbirth. Croft emphasises the innate ability of a woman's body to go through labour, without dismissing necessary interventions or holding up 'natural' birth as somehow better. A great read to give confidence in a natural and normal birth, though it's probably helpful to supplement it with reading on complications that can arise so as to be pepared.

[Laura Darling · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book really helped me during my pregnancy to deal with the fears of labour, and it made me feel empowered to give birth naturally.
However, my birth did not go tom plan at all, and as a result of feeling so positive I now feel disappointed and upset my birth went as bad as it did.
That is not this books "fault" but I feel there could have been more about 'after the birth' or dealing with feeling towards a birth that didn't go very well.

[Jessie Wittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A balanced approach to natural birth (ie, doesn't jeopardise health of the mother or baby in desperate attempt to ONLY go natural). She had some really helpful things to say about birth that shaped my perspective and expectations, it also made me feel safe, excited, and empowered about it. Written for people in the UK system.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in 2 days about 2 weeks before I gave birth. It empowered me to have a home birth which was totally magical. I found the book to be informative, clear and engaging. For me it enforced a positive feeling towards the impending birth which was vital when faced with a task that sometimes felt overwhelming. Would definitely recommend to all mothers to be.

[Mejo2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this in the local library and so glad I did. Very empowering a must read for all soon to be mums and dads

[Polina Gerasimenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, empowering book. I am re-reading it for the third time now - my baby is due in less than two months' time!

[Hanna Dermody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, easy to read and informativ, a lot of information about different types of births. What I also liked about it is that it was a lot written about and for the birth partner.

[Cindi Haaland · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic book for anyone expecting a baby!!

[Jacinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I should have read before the birth of my first. The talk of the Labour process from pain to when it frequently stalls and the things that make it stall were all things I wish I'd known last time. The book takes a very natural approach but also mentions of ceasarian births and formula feeding as options if you're so inclined.