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Original Title:	Childbirth without Fear: The Principles and Practice of Natural Childbirth
ISBN:	0061092487 (ISBN13: 9780061092480)
Edition Language:	English

Childbirth Without Fear

Grantly Dick-Read

Paperback | Pages: 448 pages

Rating: 3.92 | 1166 Users | 97 Reviews

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Title	:	Childbirth Without Fear
Author	:	Grantly Dick-Read
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 448 pages
Published	:	June 1st 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published January 1st 1959)
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Parenting. Health

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Although "Childbirth Without Fear" is a catchy title, I think a more accurate title would have been "Childbirth Without Ignorance." The basic gist is that the more a mother knows about the mechanics of childbirth, the more she is able to relax and break the fear-tension-pain cycle that leads to [in Dick-Read's view, abnormally] painful labors. The book also strongly encourages medical professionals to allow mothers to fully participate in their natural labor and the baby's delivery, rather than being sedated. This book is apparently a classic in the field of natural childbirth. As such, it is important to keep a few things in mind when reading it (things that I wish I had known about it before I picked it up):
1) It was written quite a long time ago. The earliest sections were written in the 1930s and 1940s and the "updated" version I read was published earlier this year with a few editor's notes but for all intents and purposes written in 1953. That makes some parts of the book seem extremely dated. Some of the social stuff (such as the idea that motherhood is every woman's dream) definitely made me snort.
2) The intended audience for this book is NOT the mother-to-be, it is the doctors and midwives who will be attending the mother. After a while I got tired of reading about myself referred to as "the woman".
3) The whole book is about encouraging the mother to relax and avoid fear, and yet there is surprisingly little practical information on how to actually relax and push fear out of your mind during labor.
4) This book must have been an extraordinary pioneering text when it was first written, but now most of these teachings have been absorbed by anyone who advocates for natural birth. I still wouldn't say the desire for natural childbirth is completely mainstream, but it's no longer the sort of thing that makes people look at you like you are a totally wacky, on-the-fringes hippie. So most of the ideas in this book are now pretty well understood, and if you read a variety of other childbirth preparation books you can probably skip this one and leave it to the medical professionals who need to understand the history of their profession.

The other thing about this book is that I could see how it could become a bit demoralizing in the event that labor does end up being especially challenging. Dick-Read points out again and again that sometimes pain relief is necessary in the case of abnormal presentations, and of course c-sections are sometimes necessary in the case of really abnormal circumstances. So certainly his intention is to simply be reassuring. Yet I sometimes got the feeling from reading this that if my labor experience does end up being painful, it is only my own fault for perceiving it that way. That just seems...unfair and probably unreasonable. I especially found the parts of the book that say that things like morning sickness and fatigue are basically just neuroses and if the mother can get over her fear and apprehension she'll magically not be sick pretty unbelievable. I think medical advances since the '50s have made it clear that there are definite biological reasons for pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness. So I have a hard time believing that labor pain could also be something entirely a product of the mother's perception.

Anyway, I'm glad that I read this, but I am also glad I read it conjunction with other childbirth prep books that were more practical.

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Ratings: 3.92 From 1166 Users | 97 Reviews

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Excellent information. It is a hard read somewhat archaic and very technical but I enjoyed it and found it very helpful and empowering. Childbirth is beautiful, and should never be cast in a fearful light. Despite what past experiences have been, each birth is a new and unique experience, and you can look forward to it with anticipation rather than dread.

This is the book that covers almost everything about childbirth: the nature of it, the stages of it (pregnancy and labour), the science and inner workings of the female body pre and post birth, the medicalisation of labour and birth, the role of husbands/extended family to support birth/aftermath and the science behind fear/anxiety during labour and its effect on childbirth. Its natural. Its evolution. Those are the keys messages.

Some points are good and forward thinking for the 1940s but pregnancy is case by case basis. I believe in natural birth but women shouldn't feel bad for having assistance either. It's rare to find a woman these days who gives birth without intervention.

Lots of great practical advice, but it was such a loooong tiring read. The author goes on and on around a topic, until you're like okay can we please move on, we get the point!, like the one about Christianity and it's approach to pregnancy and childbirth, or the part where he talks about his (very understandable) beef with most hospital settings and ob/gyns etc. Nevertheless it was a good read, the repetition over some of the topics like Fear-Tension-Pain syndrome, makes sure it gets soaked all

great book indeed for both obstetricians and pregnant women, Dr Grantly has made it clear from his own observations that childbirth is painless. mentioning a great information that fear is the only enemy of the whole natural process of giving birthby fear the urerus shuts down and became white without oxygen or blood the thing that makes the muscles so tense and eventually the contractions so hard to bearthe key to avoid all of this is to relax and let it go, is to not interpret contractions as

Most of the book is B.S. A totally relaxing labor and delivery, feeling zero pain? Obviously written by someone whose never given birth. I did find the fear-tension-pain syndrome to make sense, but he never really goes into detail about how not to feel fear except for stating over and over that you won't feel an ounce of pain. Which is clearly not true, so it's hard to believe whatever else he claims.

Slow reading, as it is written by an OB during the first half of the 20th century--the writing style is a bit taxing. I skipped some of it, but all I read makes sense! Dick-Read expounds on his philosophy that childbirth was intended to be pain-free, and that any pain in childbirth is caused either by fear, or by an actual medical problem that the mother has.