Birth Becomes Hers: A Collection of Freebirth Stories

by Bree Moore

Go beyond "natural birth" and see birth as it was meant to be - empowered, unhindered, and free.

From her experience as a mother of five (two assisted and three unassisted births), and as a birth and postpartum doula, author Bree Moore offers advice and stories of unassisted birth.

*Why you should consider home birth
*Getting your partner on board
*Unassisted pregnancy and prenatal care supply list
*A unique recipe for healing a perineal tear - with seaweed!
*How to decide who to have at your home birth
*Doulas and unassisted birth
*Building intuition
*Understanding fear and how to handle it
*What to do when someone else calls 9-1-1
*Identifying true emergencies and when to transfer

Birth Becomes Hers also contains a collection of more than 40 planned unassisted home birth stories. Stories include everything from the most straightforward of births to VBAC/HBAC, breech birth, and an unassisted birth of twins. This diverse collection of stories examines freebirth from a variety of angles, offering you the ability to learn and grow on your own path to home birth.

For women who love “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” by Ina May Gaskin, “Homebirth on Your Own Terms” by Heather Baker, and “Birth Unhindered” by Tara L McGuire.

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2019

About the author

Bree Moore lives in Iowa with her amazing husband and six children. When she's not busy homeschooling or folding laundry, she sneaks off to write more urban fantasy.

Bree has a passion for pregnancy and childbirth, which influences her female-led stories. She loves shopping for groceries like other women like shopping for shoes (no, seriously), movies that make her cry, and Celtic music. She likes both her chocolate and her novels dark.

Get THIEF OF LIES: A Shadowed Minds prequel for free when you sign up for her newsletter. Go to www.authorbreemoore.com and click on "Get a Free Book".

Reviews

[Jamie Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Empowering Book for Pregnant Women

When I first saw this book on one of my favorite book review sites, I had never even heard of the concept of freebirth. But when I checked out the book description, I found myself intrigued. The author herself has had both assisted and unassisted births, and she is a doula. So she brings a unique and experienced perspective to this book. While the subtitle suggests that this is a book just with freebirth stories, it is actually so much more. The author details her birth stories before diving into some background about unassisted births, including a chapter written by her husband for the other partners who want to support the laboring mom. As you might imagine, this is an intensely personal book of birth stories, and I would imagine that any woman who is pregnant or plans to become so would find it compelling and empowering, whether or not she ultimately decides on a free birth. The stories are divided, although not completely, so that stories of particular types of births are grouped together, like unassisted births of twins or after a cesarean. If you are considering free birth, I highly recommend this book for both you and anyone you plan to have with you in a supportive role when the time comes.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Raquel Alfaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading “Birth Becomes Hers” by Bree Moore. I took my time with the last chapter because I didn’t want it to end. There is something incredible and powerful about the stories that shape our lives and these stories have that expression. Bree shared her own stories and journey just as openly as one would share them with a trusted friend and I felt like the ultimate confidant during each telling. This is a mind expanding read for anyone, no matter what way you choose or have chosen to birth in the past. Merely to witness the paths others have taken and to see the impact of those choices is in itself empowering.

[Heavenly Burkhalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Birth Becomes Her is like sitting around a fire pit with your closest girl friends and a cup of hot cocoa. I feel like I've found a new sister in every woman who shared her incredible free birth stories within the pages of this book. I feel that Birth Becomes Her will be an invaluable resource for women wanting to hear unhindered birth stories for years, if not decades, to come. Reading my own sons birth story brought me to tears. You see, death in the first trimester, and birth in the second trimester are hardly talked about. Hardly even recognized as a birth to begin with. To be able to share the unhindered free birth of my sleeping twin sons has been incredibly healing for me, and i know by the grace of God will be incredibly empowering another mama walking the lonely road of free birthing their sleeping baby too. Thank you Bree. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This book is a true gift to so many women, in so many ways.

[Natasha Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!! Definitely a must read for any expecting or veteran mothers. Taking a step into other mothers homes and their feelings of birth gives so many feels. Don't be afraid of home birth, it is normal and safe!!

[Angelica Grayer-Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with various journeys and experiences of mothers who chose to have free births. These women come from from different backgrounds however they were all United by the choice to have the birth that they wanted. I definitely recommend this book for anyone, not just mothers, who are giving birth to a child, their goals, their dreams, themselves. The personal stories in this book will inspire, in-courage, and in-power aka empower you as well!! Thank You Bree for this book!!!!

[Kathryn Enslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! After reading Bree’s book, I was inspired and empowered anough to have my own free birth...just last night! So much intuitive knowledge and amazing stories in here. Great for all birthing women, not just ones pursuing unassisted birth!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter your views on birth, this book was empowering about women and our bodies. I’m not a freebirther, nor did this book persuade me to become one—though I have admiration for those who choose that path, it’s just not for me. I did learn some amazing new birth “tricks” that I didn’t know about before (like the placenta is more than just a gestational sac for the baby). Moore was very knowledgeable and judicious with her advice and experiences during the first part of the book and the second half of stories was just lovely. Mothers typically love to tell and hear birth stories so it was nice to have them compiled in one place. Also, it was reassuring to know that some of my behaviors that are not typically me but that manifest during labor are typical birth behaviors. Interesting read for mothers or women interested in freebirth and unassisted labor stories.

[Rachel Behrends · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great place to start to learn about freebirth and hear lots of stories. If you're looking for more practical advice, I recommend "The Unassisted Baby" instead. One piece of advice this books gives is for women to potentially divorce their husband's over a dispute over whether or not to freebirth, which is absolutely ridiculous and unbiblical (the author is religious, but Mormon and not Christian).

[Annie Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book relies almost entirely on stories and assumes over and over that correlation indicates causation - a very dangerous thing to do in the area of birth. She treats midwives, medical professionals, and even her own husband as just a waste of space and goes so far as to condone letting your baby DIE rather than doing something that goes against your birth preferences, like going to the hospital. She assumes that any concerns your husband or partner might have are ALL fear-based and he just needs to get over them, ignoring the fact that caution and concern are healthy parts of life - there are reasons we wear seatbelts and don't drive 100mph, and that's fear. (And fear is good and right and healthy when we find ourselves in danger.) Throughout the book, lying and telling half-truths is treated as normal and even encouraged. If your husband feels uncomfortable with the idea of you giving birth unassisted, she suggests not telling your husband when you go into labor and even seeking out a place to give birth all alone without him knowing. OF COURSE women should have agency in birth, know and express their preferences, etc. And OF COURSE the MAIN decision-maker in birth should be the birthing mother. However, this baby is just as much your husband's child as your own (it's not his fault that biology works the way it does), so his concerns about your well-being and the baby's well-being deserve to be heard and taken seriously. And please never put your preferences on such a pedestal that you won't listen to medical advice when it's needed or you sacrifice your baby's life on the altar of your self-centeredness.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories which will take you on several different journeys as you read this delightful book. You will be unable to put it down until you reach the last page

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tyler Pato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading everyone's personal stories that are included! I enjoy that Bree added some links for other helpful information regarding free-birthing! Definitely need to check it out!!

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspirational for women who are planning on freebirthing.

[Randi Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book! A must have for every mom (and dads!!).