Disclaimer: I got an ARC of this from NetGalley for free.
No. Just, no. I was originally going to give this book 2 stars, but knocked 1 star off for usDisclaimer: I got an ARC of this from NetGalley for free.
No. Just, no. I was originally going to give this book 2 stars, but knocked 1 star off for using the world "girlfriend" as in: Hey, girlfriend, let me tell you how it's gonna go.
I've been really interested in reading birth stories lately, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. POP is a collection of anecdotes from women about childbirth. Despite the subtitle: 50 Amazing Secrets to a Successful Labor & Delivery or C-section, not much was amazing about it. I get more value reading Babycenter for an hour than I did from reading this book.
It may be because of philosophical differences, but I was how the book perpetuates the idea that childbirth is the most horrible pain ever, and tries to stoke that fear in the reader. Now I'm not one to say the pain is all in your head, but if you're one to believe all the hype about the pain and be scared about it, well of course it's going to hurt. You know what is also painful? Running a 10k race -- but you don't see people moaning and groaning about that.
I was also annoyed that the book claims that the feeling you get when watching your child play or run around the house is "amazing" and one of those things that only "mommies" will feel. Good job invalidating the feelings of anyone who is not a biological mother, book.
This book may be useful for someone who doesn't have access to the internet, but for everyone else, just a quick browse through Babycenter.com or any type of baby website will be more informative and take less time....more
In general, this book doesn't contain a lot that I don't already know. It definitely has an anti-hospital birth slant, but it's still informative. TheIn general, this book doesn't contain a lot that I don't already know. It definitely has an anti-hospital birth slant, but it's still informative. There were some twinge-worthy moments when I read about the history of obstetrics and all the crazy things birthing women had to go through at the hospital. Then there were some parts that made me pretty angry at just how far women have to go to have their perfectly reasonable wishes about their children's births honored.
The edition I read is an old edition and I'm sure a lot of things have changed by now, especially in regards to how popular natural, unmedicated birthing has become at least on the coasts, but I recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the subject or who just want information about giving birth in a hospital. Reading it so soon after my own experience giving birth made me grateful for the support of the staff at my hospital....more
This is a quick short read recommended to me by someone who knows the author. This is probably the first book in English that I've found about the conThis is a quick short read recommended to me by someone who knows the author. This is probably the first book in English that I've found about the concept of confinement* after birth. Well, it's less of a book and more like a pamphlet because of its length.
The book had some informative parts, but I was bothered by the tone of it all. The author seems super privileged and had a lot of resources. Not everyone can retire from a lucrative lawyer job or have a husband with some dream job so that she can stay at home and take care of the kids. Not everyone has a mom who will drop everything for a month and come look after her. Not everyone can "sear some foie gras" to get a nutritious meal out of it.
I wouldn't take this book as gospel about confinement at all, but it was still a mildly entertaining read. I thought it was odd that the author wanted to make confinement more palatable to American culture, yet chose a word like 'lockdown' to describe it.
*confinement = The Chinese believe that women have to be confined to stay at home for a month after the birth of their child. There are other restrictions like not having house guests, not showering, eating certain foods, avoiding certain foods, etc....more
This book was recommended by my sister in law. Even though it's not something I would usually pick up for myself, I thought it was a great alternativeThis book was recommended by my sister in law. Even though it's not something I would usually pick up for myself, I thought it was a great alternative to the other pregnancy and labor books I've been reading. I skipped through a lot of the art-therapy sections, but I did enjoy the rest. What I liked about this was that it went over the emotional and cultural aspects of pregnancy and childbirth instead of just the physical aspects. I also liked the sections for the birth assistants and fathers. Mostly, I liked it for the birth stories and other reactions from people who have gone through the process....more
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