The Doula Book, Sharing Birth, & Mind Over Labor

This weekend, I finished reading The Doula Book. In the middle of it I stopped to read Sharing Birth: A Father's Guide to Giving Support During Labor, that had arrived in a timely fashion from Bookins. Sharing Birth is by Carl Jones which led me to another book by him that I already had on my shelf: Mind Over Labor. Anyway, I don't think I'll be keeping The Doula Book--it was okay, but just not that interesting and the breastfeeding information given in the final section was poor (in the "notes from a postpartum doula" section, not the section before it about asymmetrical latch, which was pretty good). It DID make me think again about the huge value of a doula during labor, particularly for hospital births. I would think that having one in an out-of-home setting would be nearly essential (if what you want is as natural-and-intervention-free-as-possible-in-that-setting birth). It also made me feel excited about the ALACE doula training coming up in Rolla in July! (I signed up at the end of last month!).

In Mind Over Labor, I marked several good relaxation exercises that I plan to incorporate into my childbirth classes.