Customer Reviews
Very thought provoking and useful - By: Purple Amethyst, 08 Aug 2008 
I bought this book while I was pregnant. I didn't want to believe that birth was an inherently painful process & I wanted to read more about it.
This was written a while ago, but everything in it still holds true. Grantly explains how society always portrays giving birth as a terrible & painful experience, but that the real thing does not have to be that way, providing that women are educated about the birth process & learn techniques for relaxation.
His theories were fascinating & gave me confidence about my ability to give birth. During labour I remembered a lot about the text & it was reallly helpful. As a result I had a calm, controlled & completely normal birth which was free from interventions. It also took less than 5 hours from start to finish!
I will definitely read it again for my subsequent pregnancies.... I haven't been put off by childbirth at alll! It reallly doesn't have to be frightening.
Required Reading For Every Mum-to-be! - By: J. Comyns, 22 Jul 2007 If you never read any other book on childbirth, make sure you read this one. I first read this book before I had my first child in 1992. I was so glad I did. My understanding of the labour-fear-tension connection enabled me to have a relatively pain-free labour. I have since had 2 more children & reread this book each time, using the knowledge I gained to feel in control of my birthing experiences. Relaxation has been key & as a result, I can honestly say that giving birth has been the most fantastic experience for me each time. My midwives have alll said they've never seen anyone give birth in such a relaxed state.
Fantastic, a Must Read - By: Natural Birth Lady, 07 Mar 2007 This is one of the best childbirth books ever written! Many women are indebted to Dr. Read for the wonderful truths he rediscovered about birth when it was highly medicalised in the 1940s. Nothing with the woman's body has changed, & his findings are still very true. We don't have control over a lot of things as women in labor, but we do have control over the mind, & Dr. Dick-Read shows us how to control that fear & use it to positively shape the direction of our birth. This is a hidden jewel that needs to get out in the mainstream again.
Other useful books include:
Christ Centered Childbirth by Kelly Townsend
Husband Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, MD
Simply the greatest, most beneficial book I have ever read. - By: J. Keene, 11 Feb 2007 I was recommended this book by my granny who is a retired nurse & midwife, & was completely hooked on it within the first few pages. Grantly Dick-Read devoted his life to investigating why natural childbirth was painful when he believed there is no reason for it to be so. In this book he describes how fear is an abnormal reaction to childbirth, & how this fear causes abnormal tention within the muscles of the womb that should be relaxed, leading to extremely painful cramp-like pains during contractions. So learn not to fear birth to stay relaxed, & the whole thing can be painless. IT WORKS. I gave birth effortlessly & painlessly to a 8lb 12oz daughter after a labour that only lasted 4 hours! [...]It's worth it's weight in gold.
Don't look any further - By: Sarah Lewin, 19 Oct 2006 This is the only book you will ever need to read during your pregnancy. Understand the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle & how pain is just mind over matter. Birth doesn't have to be painful. This is such a wonderfully well written book, first published back in the 1930's & still relevant today. I know he's a man, but if he was still alive I would pay Grantly Dick-Read to be at my birth. God bless him!!
