Last baby book post for the day. This one was my favorite of the books I've read so far, because it actually DID seem unbiased (instead of the last one, which just masqueraded as unbiased). It was one I just saw at the library and grabbed (because OF COURSE I want an easy labor, like the title) and I'm really glad I did. The book's tone was also pretty reassuring and generally more professional (not quite as personal or first-person as the other baby books I've read), which just made it FEEL more unbiased as well. But anyway, the main point of this book is to explain what options there are for dealing with the pain of childbirth and to give clear explanations of what the pros and cons there are of each one. There's a chapter about epidurals alongside a chapter on the Lamaze and Bradley techniques and even hypnosis, and they have birth stories from women who are anesthesiologists and midwives. So it really felt very even-sided on the whole natural-birth vs. not issue.
This book also felt very supportive of any choices that you might make in deciding how you want to give birth. It says several times in different places that whatever you decide is totally fine--your choices depend on your philosophy about birth and it doesn't say that you're more or less courageous or that you love your baby more or less than the next woman. That's exactly what I think, and that's exactly why I hate the preachy natural birth books that make it sound so evil for people who don't follow their personal ideas. My philosophy on birth is that it's just something I have to go through to get this baby at the end of it, and I want it to be as smooth and not painful as possible. So I'm planning to get whatever pain medication I want when I'm actually giving birth. I know lots of people feel differently, and that's awesome--more power to you! Maybe I'll feel differently after I have this baby, who knows.
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