"Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin [Book Review]

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's so much about this book that I love and I debated a long time between a 4 and 5 star rating. Ina May offers information galore that every expectant mother should read (whether or not it's your first or tenth child). However, there were some interesting birth stories in the beginning that you must prepare yourself to read. They caught me off guard. (Remember this is coming from a conservative Christian perspective.) I gave it 5 stars because she offers wisdom not just from personal experience (where she's attended nearly 3,000 deliveries from beginning to end) but also because of her research, her passion for the midwifery profession and all mothers-to-be, her findings upheld by medical professionals around the world, but also because she possesses a wealth of knowledge that every woman needs to know. Not to mention that her success rate in delivering babies med-free and intervention free are outstanding.

You cannot ignore these facts as you read her book.

Due to Ina May's knowledge of the woman's body, her personal experiences, her education, and her renowned reputation throughout the world I was inclined to listen to what she had to say. She backed up her personal experiences with references galore, which also boosted my confidence in the knowledge Ina May shared. Her chapters on the mind and body connection, what happens in labor, the sphincter law, giving birth: move freely, let gravity work for you (where she details specific techniques for pain relief), and her knowledge of VBAC's helped relieve me of anxiety and fears as a result of my first labor and delivery experience. Due to the fact that she shared her knowledge I feel ready, able, and EXCITED to experience the delivery of our second child.

"Women can hardly make truly informed decisions when some of the most relevant information is not available to them." (p. 288) I feel educated, which is something I desperately wanted the first time around and thought I was receiving. Hindsight, my ignorance played a huge part in my daughter coming into this world in a room that was full of stress and high intensity. Thankfully, I finished this book with an incredible sense of relief because of the knowledge Ina May shared. I am not a "lemon" as I truly believed after my first experience. I now know HOW God equipped my body to give birth and I simply need to trust in how He designed women to bring forth life. That is an amazing comfort brought forth by Ina May's desire to inform women. Thank you Ina May!

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I look forward to sharing a few of my favorite quotes! Stay tuned...

"Beauty and the Beast" by Jenni James [Book Review]

Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Since watching the ABC series "Once Upon a Time" I've become intrigued with any one of these fairy tales. This book was a free read using my kindle app on the iPad or phone, which is the only reason I decided to read it. I'd give it an "okay" rating. It read quickly and easily enough and is a love story free of sex scenes (or any mention of it at all), which means I'd feel good enough to put it in my junior high classroom library.

Jenni James offers a few of her own twists to this classic tale making this classic story her own. I liked it, but wouldn't call it a literary masterpiece. She definitely could've added a lot more between the conflicts and resolution of those conflicts. Just when events began to unravel for the main characters they were fixed within the next chapter or two. There was not a lot of dramatic, prolonged desperation. Although the ending was easily predictable (I mean it's a "... and they lived happily ever after" fairy tale) the struggles faced by the beauty and the beast were just too quickly and easily settled.

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Check out one of my top tens where I list 9 other free e-books worth downloading and giving a try.