Reading this book made me feel angry about how women in childbirth are treated in the United States. It also empowered me to make certain decisions for myself and share information with others interested in taking charge of their births. If you're a mom who's happy to turn over your pregnant body and baby to someone else, I wouldn't read it because its tone can seem a bit radical at times. I would suggest this book to any woman who expresses interest in more gentle options, or birth the way it ought to be. I'm happy to say I took charge of my own birth a year after reading this book. I brought a beautiful child into the world at home, attended by my family and midwife, and in water. Thanks, Barbara Harper!

I had my own ideas about birth, but this really encouraged some ideas I had repressed. It is both empowering and informational. I think that this book should be mandatory for all medical professional's in the feild of obstetrics, as well as all expecting parents. I would reccomend this book to my pregnant friends.

While this book did tell me most of what I wanted to know about "gentle birth", it did so in such a biased manner that I had to double check any of the information in the book that I wanted validated. The book hides its information in a political statement about birth and many historical birth facts aimed at discrediting doctors and hospitals. While that was interesting, it was not what I was looking for. This book is a good read, but I would not go so far as to call it a guide, and "informed" is only from one (very biased) position.

Many books are written on birthing noutside the hospital, but most of them come from authors who are extremely biased. You can't avoid that, but this is a book which uses scientific studies to back up its biases, convincing the reader that the author supports natural childbirth because it has been proven safer, not because they are part of some conspiracy theory. I literally would pick up natural childbirth books and flip right to the back to see if the author cited medical studies. Most don't, but this has a good resource section. She cites statistic, national averages, medical journals, research studies, quotes from medical association conferences, etc. There is also a good history of midwifery and obstetrics - very interesting.

Wanting to give birth outside a hospital is not necessarily the most popular decision and those who support hospital births often say, "I would never forgive myself if something happened to the baby". However, most people have not done the research or read the material to make an informed decision. I wanted to find scientific research that proves that a "low-risk" birth outside a hospital is as safe or safer than those in a hospital. This has been the most helpful book so far.

I just discovered "Obsteric Myths Versus Research Realities" by Henci Goer which seems like it also may have good scientific backup. You may want to check it out. This book is great for learning little statistics and facts to reference when friends and family members question the wisdom and safety of non-traditional birth. If you're going to go against the mainstream, be well-informed, not just easily persuaded.

For another non-citation book, I also enjoyed Midwife's Pregnancy and Childbirth Book by Marion McCartney and Antonia Van Der Meer, which talks about the possible interventions you may encounter at a hospital, why you may need them, why you may not want them; as well as other good information

This book is very outdated and the opinion in it is very slanted. I would rather read a book that states facts from both sides, not a one-sided bashing.