Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way - Revised Edition

This book provided good information on the stages of birth - what to expect and ideas for working through the various stages. It also goes into the "evils" of any medical intervention, some of which are still valid today and some of which are not relevant any more due to changes in medical knowledge. It highly recommends having a frank discussion with your health care provider regarding your birthing wishes and provides some good questions and points of discussion to help you with this conversation. Overall a very informative and worthwhile book, but I would look elsewhere for more up to date information regarding the risks and benefits of different medical interventions (including pain medication) so that you have enough facts on which to make your own personal decisions.

I took Bradley classes for my first baby. This book is terrific, both my husband and I read it from cover to cover. It gives complete information on Bradley and what happens to a woman's body, and how a woman can prepare for what will happen. Though I had to have a c-section, I spent the first 18 hours of my labor unmedicated and by helping me learn what I would feel like (emotionally and physically) this book helped those 18 hours be as positive as they could be. I highly recommend this book and Bradley - forget Lamaze.

This book helped both myself and my husband prepare for a natural birth. Because of scheduling, we weren't able to attend any birthing classes so I'm glad I got this. I read some sections numerous times. Low and behold, I had a quick and completely natural birth! So thankful.

Read this during my first pregnancy 11 years ago. My husband and I practiced everything together. I felt like it prepared me well for natural labor, even with my labor being pretty long. Just ordered a copy as a refresher course for baby #4!

This would be an excellent book for someone new to childbirth and pregnancy or even experienced couples. It explains in not too elementary terms all the processes you need to know. It also does not speak over the average reader and is engaging. I learned a lot reading this book, and I am a nurse. The photos and diagrams are appropriate and just right.

I recommend skipping the first section of the book as it is outdated and unhelpful however the rest of the book provides good insight and has been helpful for my husband especially since we didn't attend any birth classes.

I am a former "The Bradley Method of Childbirth" educator. I myself using his methods had two homebirths, completly natural and then tww more in the hospital the same way. I bought this for my daughter in law and son to prepare for their first child. It'a a perfect book for woman who want the least amount of medical intervention.. I have witnessed thiis knowledge first hand that Dr,. Bradley's method work.

every pregnant woman should read this book. this book gives you MORE information than anywhere else that i have ever seen. i concentrates on facts and stages of labor that doctors, nurses and hospitals rarely do: the emotional signals! they are much more important and relevant than things like effacement or dilation.

read this book. you will not be disappointed!

One of my favorite books on childbirth. The two downsides to this book are that there are pictures of naked women giving birth, which might be offensive to some people, and even though it's a revised edition, it's still dated May 1996. I already knew these things before I purchased it. I still recommend it to my birth clients (I'm a birth doula).

The Bradley book contains outdated information and there are simply better book to get this same information like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth or The Official Lamaze Guide. The exercises outlined in the book are extremely helpful but the instructions in the book are inadequate to properly explain how to do them and without taking a Bradley class I'd be quite confused on some. While they cover many birth positions, the author has definite opinions on which she prefers instead of supporting the idea that a woman should choose what works best for her. On a picker note, the pictures are distracting the men are pictured in 70's swimwear next to their naked wives, simply put the book needs an update (last one was over 20 yrs. ago).

I bought this book as a refresher during my second pregnancy, after having a natural delivery with my first. The relaxation techniques are great, but a lot of the information contained in the book about OB/GYNs is terribly biased and outdated. For example, I work on a labor and delivery unit where episiotomies are rare (maybe 1% of deliveries, whereas she represents them as commonplace), and where many of our own staff (doctors and nurses) not only support natural labor but have had natural deliveries themselves. I feel like the majority of the book is spent telling readers how terrible OB/GYNs are, which creates a lot of barriers and anxiety for patients. I spend an unfortunate amount of time telling patients that we don’t do routine episiotomies, that they can push and deliver in whatever position they want, etc., because books like this one have frightened them into thinking the big bad OB/GYN is going to ruin their delivery.

Bottom line:
The relaxation techniques are good, and the information about different labor patterns is good, but take everything they say about OB/GYNs and routine labor care with a big grain of salt.

This book gave some very helpful information. Unfortunately, I do not live close enough to take a class, so the book was all I had to use. I definitely feel that some of the information was unnecessary, but the vast majority of the book gave me helpful information for my upcoming natural birth.

Very good pictures and exercises throughout the book. Empowers your partner to really get involved and help with the birthing process in a much deeper way. Wonderful book.

The best (and only, in my honest opinion) book that you should read is Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Talk about empowering! I believe every human should read this book. Ina May is my personal hero. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I loved loved loved this book. It helped my husband and I achieve a natural childbirth- this was the only book we read- no classes. It is an awesome resource for the stages of labor and what's going to happen, what to look for, etc. It includes good illustrations for the suggested Bradley stretches and exercises to practice. I read it over and over.

A few cons: My husband was very turned off by the tone towards fathers, he felt it was condescending. I had to ask a few times to get him to finish reading it because of this. The pictures are getting old and are also pretty hilarious (welcome back, 70's).

Overall I think it is a great resource, just be aware that it was written a while ago so you have to gloss over a few things that either no longer apply or are incorrect. The basics of it are still an invaluable resource if you're going for a natural labor and delivery.

Very good pictures and exercises throughout the book. Empowers your partner to really get involved and help with the birthing process in a much deeper way. Wonderful book.

The best (and only, in my honest opinion) book that you should read is Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Talk about empowering! I believe every human should read this book. Ina May is my personal hero. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I loved loved loved this book. It helped my husband and I achieve a natural childbirth- this was the only book we read- no classes. It is an awesome resource for the stages of labor and what's going to happen, what to look for, etc. It includes good illustrations for the suggested Bradley stretches and exercises to practice. I read it over and over.

A few cons: My husband was very turned off by the tone towards fathers, he felt it was condescending. I had to ask a few times to get him to finish reading it because of this. The pictures are getting old and are also pretty hilarious (welcome back, 70's).

Overall I think it is a great resource, just be aware that it was written a while ago so you have to gloss over a few things that either no longer apply or are incorrect. The basics of it are still an invaluable resource if you're going for a natural labor and delivery.

For a revised edition some of the information is very incorrect/outdated/rudely opinionated. At least a good bit of the actual L&D part is helpful for a drug free birth and anatomical descriptions are nice to have for those unfamiliar with this area.

This book has great information, but it could use an update. The overall concept of laboring as relaxed as possible helped me a lot during my 20 hr labor. The pictures are very dated and graphic- a few seem almost pornographic. (I didn't heed other reviewers' warnings.)

This review is in comparison to the Dr. Bradley-written natural childbirth book, Husband Coached Childbirth. While I appreciated the depth of the doctor's book, it seems to deal with broader concepts and gives you an informative, thorough approach. This book has a more readable, to-the-point style along with exercises to help you get ready for childbirth.

I recommend purchasing both, if you're serious about this method. I suggest reading Husband Coached Childbirth first, and this book afterwards. The exercises will make sense, and the pictures will put all of the information in context. Obviously, you could read either first without any issue -- or actually at the same time, since the chapters tend to follow similar structure.

The writing style (and several of the photo/illustrations) is a bit corny, similar to Dr. Bradley's, at times... but the stories are a bit more personal. I have the feeling the author culled experiences from several sources, citing them as her own... but it doesn't detract from their value.

If you're unsure about whether Bradley/natural childbirth is for you, read this book. By the end of it, you'll know where you stand.

I highly recommend this book. My last five babies were born using the Bradley Method. I owned the original book, way back in 1987. We were living overseas, and didn't have access to classes, which wasn't a problem because the book is so thorough. I just bought this latest edition for my daughter-in-law. This is a wonderfully educational book, that describes the birthing process in detail, so that you can understand what's happening, and feel in control of the birthing process. It worked so well that I decided to have the last three babies at home.
I tried a Lamaze type method before this, and didn't like it. If you are interested in natural childbirth, the Bradley method is the best.

My wife and I followed the Bradley method for the birth of our first child. This book was a great intro to it and provided a lot of information that was helpful along the way. We also took a local Bradley class that was awesome. Using the Bradley method, my wife had a super smooth, natural labor and delivery. Highly recommend this book along with a Bradley class. If you're planning to do natural, don't "try" to do it, but actually get in the mindset that you are going to do it.

My husband and I are expecting our first child and fell in love with the Bradley style of birthing. We wanted to be in charge of our labor and delivery rather than submitting to hospital protocol and the dreaded "12 hour count down" doctors are so quick to jump to. The hubby is really striving to be as involved as he can and this method gives him the confidence and education to that effectively. I have read the Husband Coached Childbirth by Dr. Bradley which contained great stories, however my husband could not make it through the book. He found it to be very repetitive and I have to say that I agree. This book, however, contains practice exercizes and pictures that are fantastic references for the "coach" as well as laborer. The information flows nicely and is very easy to understand. No back tracking or 20+ pages of reitterating a single point. We use this as a companion book to the student workbook and feel so ready for birth no matter what happens! No fear about this life changing event. Great book! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ALL PREGNANT WOMEN

This book is definitely outdated, but my husband and I did find the middle part helpful. The Bradley method is pretty ridged in its teaching though, so just be prepared to take it with a grain of salt.

I wasn’t impressed with this book to be honest. There are no Bradley classes available in my area so I figured I would read about it with this book. It feels more like a political campaign than an informative book to be honest. If you don’t use this method you’re going to have foreceps, suction, or a C-Section done is what I feel like they reiterate over and over. And that you need to trust your Bradley instructor more than your doctor. That they’ve probably attended more births than an OB has? I don’t know, it just rubbed me the wrong way. And I don’t feel like it really conveyed much info that honestly you couldn’t just Google about. Nutrition section was sketchy, it gave several birth positions and coping mechanisms you could use but again nothing in depth. I read “Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds” before reading this and I feel like it was much more informative and middle of the road opinion wise.

I loved this book. It covers every aspect of childbirth. I felt confident going in to have my baby because of all the things this book teaches. I highly recommend to all pregnant women, whether or not your birth plan includes pain medicine. The techniques in this book will be useful no matter what you decide!

Whether you want a natural birth or not, you need to know what to expect when things go wrong. This book will help explain what happens and what you can do to prepare for all situations (like if the epideral doesn't kick in). The author seems anti-medical, but you can have a wonderful birth experience with the Bradley method and the information that Susan provides. I had two wonderful birth experiences, both times I got to the hospital at 9 centimeters dialated and gave birth within an hour. Good luck!

This book, when used with Husband-Coached Childbirth, will help prepare you for an enjoyable natural childbirth. This book is a very practical guide, including many exercises, diagrams, relaxation techniques and practices, and a ton of pictures. Very helpful and informative.

Gives great advice on dealing with childbirth. It even has tips for dad on the big day, which were a lifesaver for us. I dont think i would have been able to have gone with out an epideral without having read this biok and prepared myself. It tells you what to expect and puts you in control of your labor.

My daughter wanted me to participate in the birth of her child. I never even witnessed the actual birth of my own children! I wanted as much information as I could get prior to the birth. She recommended that I read this book. I was not sure what I was to do or experience. The book was focused on the parents, but it was extremely helpful to me. I stood back, and was supportive as was recommended when mom starts to doubt herself. My son-in-law followed suit, and was fantastic!!! Mom gave birth to my
grandson as she wished!!! I wish I had the same experience when I gave birth to my two girls!!

My second child was born using the Bradley method 12 years ago. We purchased this book as a refresher for our now 3-month old son. Fantastic instruction, although the photos are significantly out of date (and some of the photos are a little graphic, though in black in white). Third childbirthing experience was everything I had hoped, and my hubby was the best coach ever thanks to the book.

When my wife and i were looking into natural birthing classes we came across "The Bradley method" however the classes did not work with our schedule so we decided to just purchase the books. When my wife went into labor we used what we had read about within the books and she said that it helped a lot. She said that she understood how some mothers may find birth painful where as my wife explained she felt very little to no pain at all. If you are looking to learn about natural birthing we fully recommend these books and this method. It explains about the medicines used and how it effects the mother and baby more deeply than just the obvious, it explains what a laboring women might do and what they suggest to make the delivery easier.

This is a great read for someone who is interested in natural childbirth. I used this book since there are not any Bradley Method teachers in my area. I used the Bradley Method for both of my children and was able to deliver both without using pain medication or killing my husband. This book is becoming a bit dated when discussing things like X-rays, and it does use a bit of scare tactics against current medical practices, but the techniques taught in the book work well. If you want to deliver naturally, forget Lamaze and go with the Bradley Method.

Content on the Bradley method is very good. Content on nutrition and other ancillary topics is out of date. The photos in the book are very dated, they seem like they are from the 70's and make the last part of the book uncomfortable to read, but delivery is uncomfortable so I guess it is par for the course

This book was recommended to me by my childbirth instructor, a Bradley Method instructor, as a "refresher" during my second pregnancy. A highly informative read for the pregnant woman who feels empowered by more information. Armed with the knowledge - provided in this book and by the Bradley Method - of the physical and mental changes that occur during childbirth, my first childbirth experience was unmedicated, calm, and although hard work, it was a joy that I hope to repeat with the second. Susan McCutcheon captures the physical, mental, and emotional processes that occur during childbirth in detailed, easy-to-read, descriptions with practice exercises, drawings, photos, and more. I highly recommend this book to any pregnant woman, whether you are planning a natural birth or planning for a c-section or anything in between.

Lots of good information in this book, both for the mother-to-be and the father-to-be (especially the parts about coaching your partner through the birthing process). If you're interested in a natural childbirth, this book seems to be a good place to start.

This book is very convicting. Dr. Bradley's main philosophy is that childbirth is not a medical problem, but in this country we tend to treat it as such, intervening and medicating in a way that doesn't allow the natural birth process to occur as it is designed to. The book helps you to plan a hospital or home birth so that you feel more in control and relaxed without undue intervention. Overall, the most appealing part of the book was the focus on relaxation. It offers step-by-step relaxation exercises you can practice with your birthing coach in order to be prepared. We'll be referring to this book frequently over the next couple of months as we prepare to have our third baby.

This book was heaven sent! I started reading it when I was about 7 months pregnant. My husband and I did the different exercises and educated ourselves on what my body would experience. I was very open to any type of delivery as long as the baby and I were safe! I am proud to say I was able to have a natural birth and it was because of God and this book! Great information! we even referred to it when I was having contractions at home!

Anyone interested in childbirth the natural way, meaning no medications of any kind, should read this book. It provided me with a wonderful brithing experience and even though I had a 26 hour labor, 3 hours of pushing, I had no medications at all. I highly recommend this book to any pregnant woman so that you can make an informed choice about your birth experience.

I started looking into natural child birth methods realizing that natural medicine and conventional medicine often butt heads, but I was surprised at how bitter the author is towards conventional medicine. I had a general idea of what I was trying to avoid in a doctor and the hospital I am going to give birth in, but she honestly scared me. I also have to say that a few of the things she said have no scientific basis or are outright wrong. I was looking for a book that just explained what the Bradley method was and advantages to the method. This was not the book. There are sections that explain the method, but they are relatively few and far between and she tends to be very condescending of any other method out there. I like the general idea behind the method, but this book was a real turn-off for me. I would suggest Ina May's book, it actually has useful information in the second half and isn't nearly so scary.

This book has some of the best information for preparing for your birth, and for actually birthing. I don't like all of the pictures it has, but the information is so helpful! I recommend reading this book, and then bringing it with you to the birth as a reference. It has so many different ways that your labor could be, so it's hard to remember it all. As long as you have read it, and have an idea of where to find the info you need, you are set. :) There is good info to help during the different type of labor you might experience. LOVE IT!

Like so many other people have already mentioned, some of the information shows that this book was published almost 15 years ago and some hospital practices and the drugs commonly used, have changed since then. The author still brings up a lot of excellent points and things to question, just keep in mind that some procedures have changed since the publishing of this book. Be sure to get more "up-to-date" information on what procedures and drugs are commonly used before interviewing doctors and know which questions the author suggests still apply and which ones have changed.

That being said though, the book is a fantastic resource for everyone, whether you're taking a Bradley Method class (or even interested in using it) or not. It explains a lot of how birth works physically and emotionally and different ways to cope with each stage or signpost, as the author calls them. This information has remained unchanged for hundreds to thousands of years so you don't have to worry about this being outdated. It's also a great instructor on things the birth attendant (traditionally the husband, though the author understands and acknowledges that this could be anyone) can do to become a very active and integral part of the birth experience.

I bought this book first instead of Husband-Coached Childbirth by Dr. Bradley because a lot of reviews said that this book focused more on hospital birth and was less biased toward home birth, since my husband is extremely in favor of hospital birth and wants nothing to do with a home birth at all. It did not disappoint there. While the author has an opinion against a lot of procedures are commonly found in hospitals, it's by no means clearly in favor of a home birth, but more in favor of people being educated on what they can expect in a hospital and knowing what options they have in refusing procedures and when those procedures can truly be necessary, such as in case of a C-section.

It is a really great book and I would love to see it updated. Until then, it's still a fantastic resource if you combine it with more up-to-date information and research, which the author encourages all parents to do anyway so they can make the best, most informed choices for themselves and their family.

The Bradley method approaches the natural birth experience has something achieve by anyone, in simple words and exercises. Started w this book at 3 months and then did classes...excellent techniques for relaxation and women empowerment. Gave birth at home with midwife on my first child! :) recommended for anyone that would like to have a REAL birth experience.

After reading several other books, this is the book that helped me believe I can actually deliver naturally with no pain meds. It helped me understand the pain felt through childbirth and what purpose it serves. It guides you through techniques to get you through the different stages of labor. Very Helpful.

This book is often cited as a definitive resource. I'd say its age is showing. That is, attitudes around natural childbirth have changed a lot since this was first written. I believe for the better. This book has an underlying preachy and condescending tone, as if it is trying to cajole readers into aligning with the authors view. I'm converted. Most readers are at least receptive to the idea of natural childbirth being a reasonable and viable choice for expectant mothers. The attitude is not called for and is distracting.

This is a wonderful follow up to the original book, The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth. The original book goes over the basics of childbirth very clearly, and describes the "why"s. This book by Susan McCutcheon gives you the "how to"s, and other additional information that's invaluable. They should be sold as a package! =o)

This book has been incredibly informative for my husband and I to read through as we prepare for our home birth. The information provided by this book is sound, and a fantastic accompaniment to the Bradley Method birth classes offered. My husband and I both learned so much about the process of labor and delivery, and we both feel so much more confident in our roles for that time. Who else would I want as a coach than the one who knows me best?! This book helped give him the tools and knowledge necessary to know what I need during my labor and how to best assist me. We are both far more excited about that time having read this book and now feeling equipped with the right information.

A word about the book being outdated ---
As mentioned by other readers, this book certainly has some outdated information and pictures, but I found them neither scary nor offensive. (A more updated edition would quickly move this review from 4 stars to 5.) Since this is my first child birth and we plan to birth naturally at home, the information provided about hospitals and various other child birth methods (particularly Lamaze) only served to confirm that we have made the right decision to birth at home using the Bradley Method - and confidence in your decision is key. I'm sure hospital deliveries have improved since the writing of this book, but the hidden agenda within the healthcare industry and the impersonal approach taken by many doctors still holds true (I experienced this first hand with my sister's birth experience at a local hospital). Note: We also purchased "Husband Coached Childbirth" written by Dr. Bradley, and it felt far more outdated than this book.