BETTER BIRTH

The Definitive Guide to Childbirth Choices 2nd Edition

by LAREEN NEWMAN and HEATHER HANCOCK

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New softcover book, 204 pages, published 2013.

Every mother-to-be has the chance to give birth where she remains in control and is at the centre of the experience.

Better Birth is written from both the personal and professional viewpoint about choosing the right birth place and the right caregiver for you. It shows how an understanding of the process can result in a truly positive and satisfying birth. Many women believe that birth is painful and something you have to endure to have a baby. They are often uncertain about what their real options are. They tell you horror stories of fear when the hospital took control and they were left out of the cycle of drugs and last-minute surgical intervention.

Better Birth explains how you can go about preparing for a better birth. The book contains a wealth of information about how you can help yourself have a better birth. It clarifies the confusing issues and helps you to make vital decisions about your experience. and it also has a section of 12 birth stories where women talk about what made their births better by comparing their experiences, in public and private hospitals, birth centres and home; with midwives and obstetricians; and with natural birth, epidural, caesarean, VBAC and stillbirth. Completely updated and revised this second edition contains the latest research evidence; an expanded chapter on postnatal care and postnatal and perinatal depression; updated information on care options; new information on 'risk and safety'; new information on 'free birth'; revised reading and resources list together with updated contact and reference lists.

Written by two experienced midwives, Better Birth doesn’t promise a magical remedy. And it doesn’t treat all birth options and all women as if they are the same. But with the right information and an appropriate choice of place and caregiver, pregnancy and birth can be a truly momentous event. A better birth can be an event every mother can look back on with satisfaction.

About the authors

Dr Lareen Newman has a broad interest in population and public health, including social and physical access to services and primary health care. She also holds an interest in reproductive politics and is particularly focussed on how these issues impact on fertility behaviour and fertility rates. She is also interested in the social determinants of health related to parenthood, including levels of social support and services, as well as wider cultural and workplace attitudes and arrangements which may affect perceptions of the desirability and achievability of parenting one or more children. Associated with this is a general interest in the biological, evolutionary and cultural basis of human behaviour.

Lareen completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide, which focused on how men's and women's experiences of childbearing and childrearing affect Australia's birth rate. The research included both quantitative and qualitative research methods (analysis of Census data and in-depth interviews) to examine differences in fertility rates and subjective perceptions of influences on fertility behaviour and likely future family size. It explored the impact of embodied experiences of conception, pregnancy, birth and early parenthood as well as work-related and financial issues. The research was conducted across four different socio-economic areas of Adelaide. Dr Newman is now a Senior Research Fellow at Flinders University.

Dr Heather Hancock is currently Adjunct Professor at The University of Adelaide. Her areas of expertise and interest include Midwifery, Midwifery Education, Midwifery theory and practice, models of care, Infant Health and Maternity Care and Services including strategic planning, policy development and change management, Perinatal Indigenous health and wellbeing, Primary Health Care, complementary therapies, creativity and innovation, Women's Health, Women's Issues.

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Better Birth - The Definitive Guide to Childbirth Choices Second Edition by Lareen Newman and Heather Hancock