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Unassisted Childbirth
According to Laura Kaplan Shanley, a renowned leader in the natural-birth movement, childbirth is inherently safe and relatively painless — provided we refrain from physical or psychological interference. The problems often associated with birth can be traced to three main poverty, unnecessary medical intervention, and fear. When these causes are eliminated, most women can give birth either alone or with the help of a partner, friends, or family.This third edition of Unassisted Childbirth leads with a history of childbirth and then describes how most deliveries occur today, detailing why these processes don't serve mothers or babies. The information in this ground-breaking book gives women yet another legitimate choice in childbirth that doesn't rely on doctors and technology, and allows parents, birth professionals, and general readers to reexamine their most basic ideas about birth and learn to think in new ways.
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 24, 2009
While its refreshing to hear stories of unassisted, pain free, joyful childbirth, I found the author herself way too out there to relate to. For those that have never considered this idea before, the book is eye opening, but over all, I would recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth before this one- even if going unassisted.
March 18, 2023
This book was saturated in New Age paganism and Feminism, basically everything I want to avoid as a Christian woman. She discusses changing reality by her will and words which is a demonic pagan idea, and the instance where she recalls this is horrific. She willed the death of her own unborn child and thus had a miscarriage for which she was grateful. This book is disturbing. I didn't find any ground breaking information on physiological birth or free birth that couldn't be gleaned from other sources. There is much better material out there with a greater amount of information that leaves out this demonic worldview. If I had owned the copy that I read, I would have burned this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2019
I struggled between giving this 2 or 3 stars. I am not at all opposed to the idea of unassisted birth. It is a fine choice for most healthy mothers and babies, if they want it. So that is not why I gave this book a low rating.
I didn't like the first half of the book. She rightly spoke of the many downsides to hospital birth, but it seemed to be done in a way that was based on fear rather than solid, detailed facts. She didn't say anything incorrect about the usually unnecessary interventions and their effects; however, she mentioned the most extreme effects of these things, like death, without making it clear that it rarely ends up with that poor of an outcome. Yes, it happens, and it needs to be said, but it seemed to be exaggerated. She did not write about this as well as many other authors I have read on the subject. Again, I do not have this criticism because I think unassisted birth is dangerous. Among the birth workers I know, I have an approach to birth work that values true undisturbed birth more highly than almost all of them.
I also did not agree with the spiritual worldview that she promotes. She made a lot of assertions that were not backed up by facts.
All of that said, I enjoyed the second half of the book, because it was mostly birth stories, including her own, and it was fun to read them.
I would recommend Indie Birth, a website (which also has a podcast called Taking Back Birth), if one wanted a better source for unassisted and/or undisturbed birth. They also recently released a book, Indie Birth: A Story of Radical Birth Love, which was a great read.
I didn't like the first half of the book. She rightly spoke of the many downsides to hospital birth, but it seemed to be done in a way that was based on fear rather than solid, detailed facts. She didn't say anything incorrect about the usually unnecessary interventions and their effects; however, she mentioned the most extreme effects of these things, like death, without making it clear that it rarely ends up with that poor of an outcome. Yes, it happens, and it needs to be said, but it seemed to be exaggerated. She did not write about this as well as many other authors I have read on the subject. Again, I do not have this criticism because I think unassisted birth is dangerous. Among the birth workers I know, I have an approach to birth work that values true undisturbed birth more highly than almost all of them.
I also did not agree with the spiritual worldview that she promotes. She made a lot of assertions that were not backed up by facts.
All of that said, I enjoyed the second half of the book, because it was mostly birth stories, including her own, and it was fun to read them.
I would recommend Indie Birth, a website (which also has a podcast called Taking Back Birth), if one wanted a better source for unassisted and/or undisturbed birth. They also recently released a book, Indie Birth: A Story of Radical Birth Love, which was a great read.
June 14, 2010
I liked many points of hers about birth itself but was not really into all of her self-awareness and psychic beliefs. While I think they have validity in some respect, I was a little put off by her angst with organized religion. Obviously, to me, this stems some from her upbringing and her parents views on God. I am glad that I read this as part of my pregnancy/birth arsenal and hope to read some of the other books she quoted. Didn't enjoy it near like I have some other birth books.
August 19, 2015
Loved Loved Loved !
the way it reads it feels like she took all of her research and put it together. Facts and studies in every paragraph. An eye opening book to the medical world as well as inspiring.
Great read even for people not going unassisted. It gives you the power to just let your body do what it is supposed to do and bring in assistance if needed. Great addition to my library!
the way it reads it feels like she took all of her research and put it together. Facts and studies in every paragraph. An eye opening book to the medical world as well as inspiring.
Great read even for people not going unassisted. It gives you the power to just let your body do what it is supposed to do and bring in assistance if needed. Great addition to my library!
March 4, 2008
Excellent book!! no matter what kind of birth you are having- truly inspiring-
Great for questioning all the things the medical minded interventionists have done to brainwash us into thinking we are not capable of BIRTH!!
Great for questioning all the things the medical minded interventionists have done to brainwash us into thinking we are not capable of BIRTH!!
October 9, 2017
The “technical” aspects of the book are fantastic and informative. The author has a bit of an ego, which interfered with the majority of the book. Not quite what I expected, although it was excellent at first.
December 10, 2008
Have repeatedly read with each pregnancy. A great and inspirational book for me in more areas than one.
October 23, 2018
This is one of those books that lit my soul on fire and felt truly life-changing. While I loved all of the chapters, I think my favorite was the chapter titled "Dreams, Impulses, Intuition, and Emotions - Our Psychological Lifeline to the Inner Self." I think I reread this chapter half a dozen times before moving on to the next and spent an entire day in absolute wonderment while contemplating it. It's one of those books I really wanted to finish but also wanted to read very slowly because there was so much wisdom and important insight.
I particularly got stuck pondering this and applying it to a number of negative emotions and experiences in my own life:
"Emotions are yet another way of connecting with and receiving guidance from our inner selves. Abraham (Esther Hicks) says that when we think a negative thought or one that is not in alignment with what our inner self knows is best for us, the inner self will send us negative emotions."
I also loved all of the information about how changing our beliefs and expectations can have such a huge impact on the birthing process (and life in general, really). Laura Kaplan Shanley really included a diverse set of sources to pull information and insight from, and I feel like reading that section really changed a lot of my ideas about birth to understand what is possible and potentially completely normal without the interference of modern day ideas of birth.
All in all, I don't feel I can do this book justice in reviewing it, so I'll simply summarize to say that I highly recommend this book and cannot say enough good things about it.
I particularly got stuck pondering this and applying it to a number of negative emotions and experiences in my own life:
"Emotions are yet another way of connecting with and receiving guidance from our inner selves. Abraham (Esther Hicks) says that when we think a negative thought or one that is not in alignment with what our inner self knows is best for us, the inner self will send us negative emotions."
I also loved all of the information about how changing our beliefs and expectations can have such a huge impact on the birthing process (and life in general, really). Laura Kaplan Shanley really included a diverse set of sources to pull information and insight from, and I feel like reading that section really changed a lot of my ideas about birth to understand what is possible and potentially completely normal without the interference of modern day ideas of birth.
All in all, I don't feel I can do this book justice in reviewing it, so I'll simply summarize to say that I highly recommend this book and cannot say enough good things about it.
August 1, 2019
This book is abolsute filth. The description of this book states its a book about unassisted birth, yet the author seems to have a huge issue with Christianity whereby she quotes various texts, numerous times with an attack on Christianity which is cited as a major reason behind fear based births. Laura Kaplan Shanley, I paid $45 for your ebook and am getting a refund after reading your blasphemous filth, not only is it disempowering, it discriminates against Christianity and it is filled with blatant lies. I've previously read Ina May Gaskins guide to childbirth book, which I highly recommend as it's factual and extremely informative. I tried to get past the anti Christian themes of this book, I tried to skim past the new age content but instead of inspiring and empowering facts about women's bodies and their capabilities, I find a book discussing the authors personal views on Christianity being a myth (keep your opinions to yourself thanks) which overrides any potentially helpful information surrounding her supposed successful unassisted birth stories. I'd advise this author to check her facts and history instead of generalising as this book left a rather bad taste in my mouth and I was honestly unable to finish reading it. I'll try reading Birth without fear by Dr Grantly Dick Read instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2022
The 2nd edition is pretty good. It contains inspiring stories of births. The book doesn't really have useful guidance on the whole process of birth, it's primarily the philosophy and thought behind how you choose to birth with birth stories.
She's a bit too anti-support. While I agree that you shouldn't mentally rely on midwives and other birth attendants, they're definitely nice to have.
Her personal beliefs are a bit weird.
Overall, worth reading after you've read more useful books on the subject.
She's a bit too anti-support. While I agree that you shouldn't mentally rely on midwives and other birth attendants, they're definitely nice to have.
Her personal beliefs are a bit weird.
Overall, worth reading after you've read more useful books on the subject.
December 9, 2023
She has some really out there ideas but overall I really liked this book and it really made me think. Some quotes I liked:
"When I was pregnant, every day I said to myself, 'i believe in my ability to give birth possible and easily. I believe I am deserving of a good birth. I believe I am not ashamed. I believe I am not guilty. I believe I am not afraid. I believe I love and forgive myself." (p76)
"I refused to take the 'realistic' approach and focus on all the things that could go wrong, and instead focused on what could go right." (p76)
"The more I isolated myself from medical thinking and medical people, the better off I was during my pregnancies, births, and postpartums. I was able to find my inborn power which was always in me and I refused to give it up by expecting some specialists to take the responsibility for me or my family."(104)
"When I was pregnant, every day I said to myself, 'i believe in my ability to give birth possible and easily. I believe I am deserving of a good birth. I believe I am not ashamed. I believe I am not guilty. I believe I am not afraid. I believe I love and forgive myself." (p76)
"I refused to take the 'realistic' approach and focus on all the things that could go wrong, and instead focused on what could go right." (p76)
"The more I isolated myself from medical thinking and medical people, the better off I was during my pregnancies, births, and postpartums. I was able to find my inborn power which was always in me and I refused to give it up by expecting some specialists to take the responsibility for me or my family."(104)
November 28, 2024
J’ai trouvé que le livre était trop informatif, il contenait trop d’extrait de différents ouvrages comme si l’autrice essayait de nous convaincre que la naissance libre est la meilleure solution quand le public cible de ce type de livre est justement des gens qui s’y connaissent ou du moins s’y intéressent déjà.
La lecture est lourde comme si le texte avait été écrit à partir de “quotes” seulement.
La lecture est lourde comme si le texte avait été écrit à partir de “quotes” seulement.
August 19, 2023
I really enjoyed this book and found it a very useful contribution to birthing literature. The only reason I rate it a 4 is because she frequently quoted a psychic and leaned into some strange spiritualities. But it is possible to overlook these sections.
February 24, 2019
enjoyable book, good sources, great stories. inspired me to think differently and read more on unassisted birth
November 14, 2018
I delivered three children at home, in a birthing pool, without a doctor, midwife, doula, or any “professional” person attending. This book gave me the courage to see my own dream through.
December 23, 2018
This book is a classic on conscious + physiological childbirth.
Read
March 24, 2020this book helped me to get into the mind frame of connecting to my inner self and instincts as I prepare for an upcoming labor and birth.
February 24, 2025
Not sure I’ll finish it. Weird first half with outdated references and very biased point of view.
Like apparently fire doesn’t burn if you don’t believe it does. 🤣
Like apparently fire doesn’t burn if you don’t believe it does. 🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2012
Four stars' worth of material, at least at this point in my life. :)
I've been following birthy topics for a few years now, so roughly the first half of the book had very little new information. If I hadn't seen so much of it already, though, it would've provided a great survey of why some people choose to welcome their babies at home, and still fewer on their own.
That first half of material gets - and this is just my opinion, of course - a little rant-ish. I tend to gloss over it now since I've seen most of it so often before, but a defense of unassisted birth is probably destined to feel a little "out there" and defensive, as will anything discussing hospital vs. out-of-hospital birth. Everyone's got an opinion and solid-to-them reasoning; I'm not - nor is the author - going to tell everyone they should all have all their babies unassisted. But getting to the mindset behind unassisted birth is very, very interesting.
That's why I really started getting engaged about half-way through the book. That's where Shanley finishes laying out her philosophies and shares several experiences, including her own. That's where she drew me in by drawing her points together. Hearing about philosophies is nice; reading how those philosophies grew and manifested in another's life is awesome. The convictions that under-gird a decision to welcome a baby without other mortal involvement are profound, and Shanley shares those convictions freely. They melded with the quotes I'd heard a million times before to bring me new insights, as well, which I really appreciated.
On a personal level, some of her experiences and feelings resonated deeply with me, and as I finished reading, my feelings toward the book had changed from the relative boredom of the first half (probably due to relative overexposure to birth-related reading, as well as weighing the merits of her philosophical approach against my own), to simple gratitude for her willingness to share so honestly. It was a privilege.
I've been following birthy topics for a few years now, so roughly the first half of the book had very little new information. If I hadn't seen so much of it already, though, it would've provided a great survey of why some people choose to welcome their babies at home, and still fewer on their own.
That first half of material gets - and this is just my opinion, of course - a little rant-ish. I tend to gloss over it now since I've seen most of it so often before, but a defense of unassisted birth is probably destined to feel a little "out there" and defensive, as will anything discussing hospital vs. out-of-hospital birth. Everyone's got an opinion and solid-to-them reasoning; I'm not - nor is the author - going to tell everyone they should all have all their babies unassisted. But getting to the mindset behind unassisted birth is very, very interesting.
That's why I really started getting engaged about half-way through the book. That's where Shanley finishes laying out her philosophies and shares several experiences, including her own. That's where she drew me in by drawing her points together. Hearing about philosophies is nice; reading how those philosophies grew and manifested in another's life is awesome. The convictions that under-gird a decision to welcome a baby without other mortal involvement are profound, and Shanley shares those convictions freely. They melded with the quotes I'd heard a million times before to bring me new insights, as well, which I really appreciated.
On a personal level, some of her experiences and feelings resonated deeply with me, and as I finished reading, my feelings toward the book had changed from the relative boredom of the first half (probably due to relative overexposure to birth-related reading, as well as weighing the merits of her philosophical approach against my own), to simple gratitude for her willingness to share so honestly. It was a privilege.
September 11, 2013
Very inspirational, although my husband and I new we wanted a home birth we were not sure we could handle an unassisted one. In the end we had the help of 2 midwives and a doula but reading this book allowed me to enter into this new experience with an open mind and the knowledge that my body was made to do this and there was nothing to worry about. I had no preconceived notions of what was right or wrong; I didn't have to worry about not being in control of my birth. Many women are just going along with whatever the medical field says is the 'right' way to do things,never taking the time to think of what they want or to realize that this is a natural process that needs no interference. Even if you do not want an unassisted birth I highly recommend this book if only to open ones eyes and give them a sense of confidence for the life changing event they are about to experience.
August 29, 2013
Laura's book is good for a greater insight into her beliefs. She had children in the seventies and one needs to take into account the mentality and environment of the time. I thought it was quite brave of her to be so honest about all her jobs and issues because it is indeed easy then to get criticized. For birth stories, there is much more on her website. I would say the book complements the website.
June 25, 2014
In Unassisted Childbirth, Laura Shanley shares extensive scientific and anecdotal evidence proving that women are capable of birthing their babies naturally and safely! I instantly recognized parallels in the truth of her experiences and the truth of my own birthing experiences. If you're ready to debunk the myths surrounding the safety of childbirth and embrace your own natural birth rights, read this book!
June 23, 2010
Extremely radical view of childbirth with no medical intervention. Includes birth stories from women who did it all on their own. Medical interventions are overused and can be more hurtful than no intervention at all. Very inspirational.
July 24, 2015
I enjoyed this quick and easy read. Shanley makes some interesting points about the power of the human mind, and she quotes some of my favorite authors on childbirth, and offers some insight from other authors that I'd like to read.
February 13, 2008
Don't read this book, unless you are willing to take responsibility for the births of your children rather than let the medical establishment "manage" your birth for you.
December 15, 2009
I guess it was ok. I can sort of understand why a woman would want to birth completely by herself but to me, the author seemed way too hippy dippy crazy to me.
June 13, 2015
second time through. new baby due to arrive early August.
July 4, 2016
Good for the stories, meh for the extreme crunch. To each their own, though! In her own story, the way the author was treated by the state and family made me pretty angry.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews