BEING BORN

by Sheila Kitzinger

"A prominent childbirth educator and an award-winning medical photographer contribute a marvelous photo-documentary for parent-child sharing that evokes the magic, mystery, and wonder of human life--from conception to birth . . ".--Booklist, starred reivew. Full-color photos.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens, Science, Parenting

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Sheila Kitzinger M.B.E, M.Litt is a social anthropologist of birth and author of 24 books published internationally, most on the emotional journey through this major life experience. At Oxford in the 50s she discovered that the social anthropology of that time was almost entirely about men. She decided she would do research to discover what was important in women's lives, and focused on pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.
Her five children were all born at home. She lectures widely in different countries and has learned from mothers and midwives in the USA and Canada, the Caribbean, Eastern and Western Europe, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, South Africa and Japan, and from women in prison and those who have had a traumatic birth experience.

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating: 3.5 (4 for the pictures, 3 for the text)

It's been a while since I read this book, but even after all these years and all the advances in technology, I still admire the photography.

This is the first time I've ever read the words on the pages. The kids and I just looked at the pictures and I answered questions. I think the actual wording may have led to misconceptions. E.g.,
Good things from your mother's blood -- from the food she ate and the air she breathed -- passed straight into your blood.

I'm sure the kids would have imagined hamburgers and cookies and bananas ... flowing through Mom's blood into the fetus' stomach. Actually, I'm glad we didn't read the words.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being Born was written to be read with children who want to know where babies come from and how they were born. The story begins with the release of an egg and concludes with the baby breastfeeding minutes after its birth. The use of medical terms is kept to a minimum, and the ones included out of necessity are explained simply. It is illustrated with beautiful photographs from Lennart Nilsson author of A Child Is Born.

The book begins using second person "you" and then switches to third person to describe the release of an egg, its fertilization, and the resulting cell division. Once the fertilized egg reaches the embryo stage, which occurrs on pages 18 and 19 (circa days 5 or 6), the point of view returns to second person.

The text is child appropriate but biologically honest, so readers wishing to keep the children in their charge in the dark about sex need to skip pages 12 and 13.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like this was pretty high tech in 1986. Still amazing to see!!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Being Born" is a children's non-fiction book written by Sheila Kitzinger. This book is intended for children ages 7-11 or primary (P) readers. This book is about the miracle of life. It explains textually and visually what happens when a child is conceived and birthed. The entire nine month journey of a fetus is photographed. It is quite interesting. I have read a lot of parenting and birthing books. This book is pretty graphic but the language used is medical and technical and very precise. I think that this book is a great example of the things parents should be explaining to their children. However, I think the age range is a bit too young. Frankly, if I were a 7, 8, 9 or even 10 year old seeing and hearing some of the things in this book I would be horrified. I think that some children will definitely find this book interesting. Children who have a parent or know someone pregnant could make great use of this text. Parents and teachers could easily use this book to answer the question that every child asks at some point in their lives; where do babies come from?

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a well-known natural childbirth advocate, this book has amazing photographs of babies in utero and the words are geared towards elementary-aged children. There is a bit about how the baby gets in there, but it's very tastefully written and when I first read this book to my children they were preschoolers so I just simplified the wording and left that part out until they were a couple years older.

This book shows and explains how babies grow in their mother's tummy and has been a favorite of my daughters' ever since I brought it home.

[Maria Hagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the beauty of the pictures in this book. Some might say that they are not exactly child friendly, but I think that this would be an excellent book to share with a child once a child starts questioning where babies come from.
The pictures are photographs of fetuses are graceful, mysterious and contrast wonderfully with the black pages. The whole book celebrates the beauty and mystery of pregnancy and birth.
Almost any age could read this, and have it read to them. Since it is a very intimate story, I think it might be better for family, not for classroom use.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the most awesome book I could ever read to my daughter. I saw a copy of this in my midwives' office and obtained one for myself. It details the fetus' growth, from the time of conception to just after birth with scientific matter-of-fact yet loving text along with beautiful photos. I like to imagine that she can remember being in my belly and that's why she enjoys this book and why I enjoy it as well.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos and such simple and sweet prose. I almost cried, and I don't even have pregnancy hormones in me. This book would be a perfect way to explain pregnancy and birth to a young child who is about to have a new sibling.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to introduce kids to where babies come from. The story uses appropriate terms but does not use graphic pictures. The only pictures in the book are focused on the baby itself.

Although the photos now look dated, they are still very good and useful to give curious children answers.

[DA B3AN K!NG]

IF YOUR A TWIN YOUR SISTER OR BROTHER ARE CLOSE TOGETHER INSIDE YOUR MOTHERS BODY.

[bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has unbelievably vivid pictures that may help explain where babies come from to the correct age group.

[Rochelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

intended for kids.....
to scare the crap out of them!

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

great pics, especially for kids. did use some advanced language you will need to decide to use or not fit your kids along the way ( I.e. hard penis)

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish we had read this earlier in my pregnancy.