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Deliver This!: Make the Childbirth Choice That's Right for You . . . No Matter What Everyone Else Thinks
by Marisa Cohen
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Seal Press (2007-01-01)
ISBN: 1580051537
EAN: 9781580051538
Dewy Decimal #: 618.4
Paperback: 280 pages
Edition: 1
SKU: 07110133
Condition: Very Good As issued
Comments: Paperback. Advance Reading Copy in Like new condition with no markings and no creases to spine or cover. Very slight wear to cover.Text has dents or waves in it-else like new. Nice copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A woman's decision about what kind of childbirth experience she wants to have is central to her politics, identity, and personality. Today's moms and moms-to-be are better informed about their options than ever before, but, perhaps not surprisingly, they confront rigid judgment from women who choose a different path. Women who opt for home birth are criticized for being reckless—what if there's a medical emergency? Women who opt for elective C-sections are considered selfish—their life is so busy they have to schedule an appointment to give birth?
Deliver This! provides a thorough overview of today's options: home birth; birthing centers; vaginal birth in a hospital (with or without anesthetics); elective and medically necessary C-sections. Author Marisa Cohen, who delivered both her daughters in a high-tech hospital, is both engaging and curious in her quest to understand why women make alternative choices—and why they feel fiercely defensive about them. In interviews with over one hundred women, Cohen listened to the debates over the best birthing experience, and explored creative solutions that bridge seemingly conflicting goals.
Smart, appealing, and personable, Deliver This! is equally valuable for first-time moms and those who are pregnant with their second or third child.
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Customer Reviews
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Hidden agendas and emerging prejudices
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-09-08
What I like about this book is that it spells out the different options for childbirth in a modern world. It is a broad, simple overview for someone just starting to think about her choices. That is about the only thing I liked about this book. The author spends way too much time dealing with concerns over how your childbirth choice will be viewed by others (relatives, friends, other mothers, even strangers). Although I realize that other people's concerns and criticisms can impact our decisions, is this really the basis for making such a personal and mometous decision? After all, no matter what path you choose, it is ultimately your own body. I also noticed that the author somehow links veganism and home-birth advocates in a negative light, such as the following statement on page 54, which describes people who chose to have a home birth: "And while these women did not fit the vegan, hippie stereotypes I had imagined, there definitely was a noncomformist vibe to the group." Later in the book (page 150) she claims that mothers who chose to have epidurals (the author includes herself in this group) view health concerns over the possible side effects the drugs may have on the baby "in the same category with vaccination alarmists and radical veganism." For a book that claims to be judgment-free and supportive of all women's reproductive choices, I guess anyone with vaccination concerns, or god forbid, a vegan, might be kind of left out in the cold.
This book is marketed as a book that is about each person finding the best choice for herself (as the back cover reassures the reader). Don't fall for it. The author uses reductionism and generalizations about a whole group of people to get her point across. If you are vegetarian/ vegan/ holistic / a yogi / a noncomformist / concerned about vaccines / a hippie / a thinker - this book should come with a label: warning, this book may offend you.
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Worth a read!
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-09-07
I ordered this book on the advice of a friend who read it while she was pregnant. Before I read it, she told me she had an idea of which birthing experience she thought I'd prefer. Well, I've read it, and she was right!
I liked (what seemed to me) the unbiased descriptions of all the different birth methods listed in the book. I think it helped to read the opinions of mothers who have experienced - good and bad - each birth method. It never felt that one method was being promoted over another.
I am not due for several months, but assuming everything goes well, I feel more confident about the birth experience I want to have. And, thanks to this book, if it doesn't go according to my plan, as long as the baby is OK, I'll be OK with it!
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Finally - a childbirth book without an agenda
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-07-17
I'll say it upfront - I've never had children - so I can't review this book within that context. However, as a woman of childbearing age who's begun to do some research into different ways of having my baby (eventually), I really appreciated this book. Many of the other childbirth books I've read had definite agendas. This book covered pretty much every kind of birth experience, and showed how each could be a wonderful experience, while emphasizing that the most important thing is that the mother does what she thinks is right for her and her child. Very refreshing. The writing is great too.
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No better way to break away with denial
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-09
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'm 27 weeks pregnant with my first child, and in the last few months I read a lot about anything that has to do with pregnancy and child-bearing, but I stayed away from reading about, not to mention thinking about, delivery.. Since I got Deliver This!, though, I couldn't put it down, despite how tired and sleep-deprived I am.. and it was a great experience. I couldn't have asked for a better, gentler shattering of the walls of denial I built around myself..:) Beyond the practical advise, the clearly laid out information and the compassion towards all women and choices, I take with me the most powerful tool - humor. Don't get me wrong - I am still terrified, but the book empowered me to consider going natural, re-assured me it's ok to beg for the drugs, and all in all, just made me feel better about the whole thing. So thank you so much! what a great book!
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Not a wise choice
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-01-15
5 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
Having worked with childbearing women for over 20 years, I was unpleasantly surprised by the entire tenor of this book. It had an abundance of whining and drama, making me think most of what was written was designed to sell the book, not instruct or gain perspective. An example: the author notes how her membranes ruptured "after the creme brulee was cleared", how she walked the halls in early labor showing off her "fashionable new leopard print slippers to the nurses". Her bedridden medicalized labor and birth was justified by her description of early labor as 'a rusty knife' twisting into her back, In the next sentence she notes that her husband fell asleep during all of this. Research has clearly documented the myriad of benefits of physical labor support to women. Apparently she had none. In her case, the full complement of medications, machines and immobility early on in her labor was probably welcomed as a way of coping alone.
To be fair, other birth stories are presented, however the pithy tone of the book tried too hard to be clever (unsuccessfully) and was draining to read page after page. Other books cover birth options with more depth and most importantly, with more research based documentation.
No doubt, all labors are different, what women need during childbirth can be different (though there are some universal needs), and women cope with childbirth in different ways. However, all ways of coping are not equal, and just saying that routine application of birth technology is just the same for women as birth with technology only as indicated will not make it so. Money would be better spent buying another book if one is seeking to be informed about childbirth choices.
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