Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake, Abby Epstein, Jacques Moritz (Foreword by)

From the Publisher

The national C-section rate is at an all-time high of 31 percent. Are all these C-sections necessary, or are some of them done simply for the sake of convenience? Inductions seem to be the norm, but are they always needed? Today, expectant mothers are often left feeling powerless, as their instincts are replaced by drugs and routine medical procedures.

What you are about to discover is that you have a choice, and you have the power to plan the kind of birth that's right for you-whether it is at a birth center, a hospital, or at home. In YOUR BEST BIRTH, internationally known advocates of informed choice RickiLake and Abby Epstein inspire women to take back the birth experience, with essential advice on:
• Positive and negative effects of epidurals, Pitocin, and other drugs and interventions
• Inducing vs. allowing your labor to progress naturally
• The truth behind our country's staggering C-section rate
• Assembling your birth team and creating your birth plan.

With chapters such as "Obstetricians: Finding Dr. Right,""Epidurals: You Haven't Got Time for the Pain," and "Electronic Monitors: Reading between the Lines,"Lake and Epstein will encourage you to consider whatever your doctor, mother, and best friend may suggest in a new light. The book also includes inspiring birth stories, including those from well-known personalities, such as Laila Ali and Cindy Crawford. Packed with crucial advice from childbirth professionals, and delivered in a down-to-earth, engaging voice, YOUR BEST BIRTH is sure to renew your confidence and put the control back where it belongs: with parents-to-be!

"Abby Epstein andRicki Lake have taken a wonderful and constructive approach to ensuring an optimal birthing experience. Their language creates a 'climate of confidence' for pregnant women and their families, who must make key decisions about where, how and with whom to give birth in a health care system often unresponsive to our needs. This book is like a good friend giving wise counsel." —Judy Norsigian, co-editor of Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth and Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves

Publishers Weekly

Former talk show host Lake, producer of the documentary The Business of Being Born, joins with Epstein, the film's director, to further probe the subject of birth in America. Asserting that the "high tech, low touch" trend in medicalized births has usurped parents' sense of power and choice, the authors present a detailed examination of the birthing experience, beginning with their own personal accounts. Employing the premise that although one can't predict what will happen during birth, one can prepare, they present options that women should consider, including home birth and the use of a midwife or doula. Lake and Epstein point out that while 99% percent of births in the U.S. take place in hospitals and one-third are cesareans, the vast majority of births are not high risk and may not require medical intervention. But the fear of pain combined with unnecessary hospital protocols cause many couples to narrow or relinquish their options. The authors discuss the pros and cons of such interventions as episiotomies, epidurals and electronic monitors, and encourage women to carefully question their practitioners and hospital personnel. Above all, the authors advocate a safe and empowered birth, whether one chooses a hospital, home or birth center. (May)

Elizabeth J. Eastwood - Library Journal

TV talk-show host Lake and Epstein, executive producer and director, respectively, of the 2007 documentary The Business of Being Born, present an accessible starting point for learning about the approaches that constitute a natural birth. They list the different options that exist outside of a hospital labor ward and include many checklists about what to ask and look for when visiting each place. Sections cover doulas, midwives (and their different designations), birthing centers, home birth, inductions, and cesarean sections and vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Giving clear explanations of jargon and drawing on the advice of experts, the authors hope their book will empower prospective parents to take control and make informed choices. One gets the sense that the authors believe that hospitals regard patients' wishes as somewhat lower priority than policy and lawsuit avoidance; therefore, for balance, make sure this is not the only title on the subject in a collection.

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