Cia Gabriel's New Book - Coming Soon
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: Natural Childbirth in a Hospital
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: Natural Childbirth in a Hospital
Growing Together
Life Learning Center
Life Learning Center
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Copyright © 2007
Felix Paulick and
Cia Gabriel
| Passion. Joy. Purpose. Energy. Growth. |
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Chapter by Chapter Outline
Page 1 of 3
Introduction
A short introduction explains the author’s history and motivation for writing this book. It also gives
some context for how birth management has developed in North America over the past several
centuries into what we experience today.
PART I: PREPARING FOR YOUR BIRTH
One: You Can Do It!
This chapter introduces a tone of confidence and personal responsibility around a woman’s birth
experience. It explores definitions of “natural birth” and puts forward a vision for what natural birth
will mean in this book. This chapter plants the seed that team-building with medical caregivers
and birth attendants will be part of a successful birth plan.
Two: Get Attached to your Birth Plan
This chapter explains why the ubiquitous and well-meaning advice of doctors and midwives not to
“get attached” to one’s birth plan virtually guarantees that a woman will experience unwanted
medical interventions. It puts forward a powerful, positive message that getting attached to one’s
birth plan is the first step toward making it happen. This chapter acknowledges the risk involved in
making this commitment: risking disappointment if the plan doesn’t materialize.
Safety
This section explains the science of how a woman’s feelings influence labor through hormones. A
woman must not only be safe, she must feel safe in order to labor well. A sidebar for his section
invites women to reflect on the stories of birth they have inherited. Stories from relatives, friends,
television, movies, and, of course, previous births powerfully shape the particular fears that each
woman brings to birth.
Your Dream Birth
Pregnant women are encouraged to start drafting a birth plan by first writing down all the elements
of their “dream birth.” For most women, this ideal birth scenario challenges the laws of physics.
For example, some women will wish that their deceased mothers or friends could attend. Others
will dream about giving birth in the ocean. This section includes a list of questions and
descriptions of how two women did this exercise and what they learned from it. A sidebar of this
section will be “What Can You Learn From Your Past?” How a woman has dealt with ritual events,
such as a wedding, or events of physical exertion, like running a marathon, gives her great clues
about how she might feel during birth. Women are encouraged to examine the past in order to
decide which elements they would like to keep and which they want to change.
Write the Plan
This section guides women to distill their “core birth values.” Based on their ideas about who
should be at the birth and what kind of environment brings them peace, control, and safety (their
ideal birth), they will write their own birth plan.
Three: Creating a Supportive Team
Choosing a Team
This section defines a woman’s options and explains the differences between obstetricians,
family doctors, nurse-midwives, lay midwives and doulas. Finding a care provider who has
experience with natural birth in hospitals is more challenging than most women expect the first
time. This section gives detailed, hard-to-find advice on how to assess a care provider’s
experience and comfort level with natural birth. For instance, instead of asking providers about
their C-Section rate, women can ask them to describe the last two planned natural births they
attended.
How To Get your Birth Team on Board with the Plan
Many natural birth books vilify doctors, nurses, and hospitals. While many women may intuitively
understand that “all that technology” is not necessary at most births, the natural birth books do
them a disservice by encouraging an adversarial attitude towards their caregivers. This chapter
explains how women and their families can create positive relationships with their caregivers.
These steps will increase the odds of getting what they want, even if their caregiver has a different
approach or belief system.
Childbirth Education Classes and Doulas
This section gives practical suggestions about how women and their partners can choose a
childbirth preparation class and get the most out of it. In particular, women are urged to identify
their specific fears and to learn as much about them as possible. A section on doulas explains the
advantages of having an experienced advocate who will stay with a woman from the start to finish
of her labor, something that labor nurses can no longer do. Statistics about natural births with and
without doulas will be provided in boxes.
Four: Extra Supports for Special Circumstances
Twin Births
Women who are giving birth to twins in North America face tremendous pressure to give birth by
Cesarean Section. This section gives practical, evidence-based advice about planning a vaginal
birth in a hospital.
Vaginal Birth after a Cesarean Section (VBAC)
While VBACs enjoyed an upsurge in popularity in the 1990s, recently they have become rare.
Practitioners are skittish to allow clients even to give labor a try. While there are many resources for
women to read about the science on VBACs, there are few resources that speak to the special
needs of VBAC women in labor. This chapter will explain why VBAC women need experienced
labor support and how to get it.
Survivors of Traumatic Life Events
Survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse have experienced violations of their personal
boundaries. Giving birth in a hospital can bring up profoundly disturbing emotions and memories
in these women. Research shows that other traumas have an impact on labor, too, including racial
discrimination in a medical setting, a history of a traumatic abortion or miscarriage, and a
medically-assisted fertilization. This chapter suggests how to transform birth from a traumatic
event to a healing adventure and provides a list for further reading.
Chapter By Chapter Outline - continued
Book Home
Page 1 of 3
Introduction
A short introduction explains the author’s history and motivation for writing this book. It also gives
some context for how birth management has developed in North America over the past several
centuries into what we experience today.
PART I: PREPARING FOR YOUR BIRTH
One: You Can Do It!
This chapter introduces a tone of confidence and personal responsibility around a woman’s birth
experience. It explores definitions of “natural birth” and puts forward a vision for what natural birth
will mean in this book. This chapter plants the seed that team-building with medical caregivers
and birth attendants will be part of a successful birth plan.
Two: Get Attached to your Birth Plan
This chapter explains why the ubiquitous and well-meaning advice of doctors and midwives not to
“get attached” to one’s birth plan virtually guarantees that a woman will experience unwanted
medical interventions. It puts forward a powerful, positive message that getting attached to one’s
birth plan is the first step toward making it happen. This chapter acknowledges the risk involved in
making this commitment: risking disappointment if the plan doesn’t materialize.
Safety
This section explains the science of how a woman’s feelings influence labor through hormones. A
woman must not only be safe, she must feel safe in order to labor well. A sidebar for his section
invites women to reflect on the stories of birth they have inherited. Stories from relatives, friends,
television, movies, and, of course, previous births powerfully shape the particular fears that each
woman brings to birth.
Your Dream Birth
Pregnant women are encouraged to start drafting a birth plan by first writing down all the elements
of their “dream birth.” For most women, this ideal birth scenario challenges the laws of physics.
For example, some women will wish that their deceased mothers or friends could attend. Others
will dream about giving birth in the ocean. This section includes a list of questions and
descriptions of how two women did this exercise and what they learned from it. A sidebar of this
section will be “What Can You Learn From Your Past?” How a woman has dealt with ritual events,
such as a wedding, or events of physical exertion, like running a marathon, gives her great clues
about how she might feel during birth. Women are encouraged to examine the past in order to
decide which elements they would like to keep and which they want to change.
Write the Plan
This section guides women to distill their “core birth values.” Based on their ideas about who
should be at the birth and what kind of environment brings them peace, control, and safety (their
ideal birth), they will write their own birth plan.
Three: Creating a Supportive Team
Choosing a Team
This section defines a woman’s options and explains the differences between obstetricians,
family doctors, nurse-midwives, lay midwives and doulas. Finding a care provider who has
experience with natural birth in hospitals is more challenging than most women expect the first
time. This section gives detailed, hard-to-find advice on how to assess a care provider’s
experience and comfort level with natural birth. For instance, instead of asking providers about
their C-Section rate, women can ask them to describe the last two planned natural births they
attended.
How To Get your Birth Team on Board with the Plan
Many natural birth books vilify doctors, nurses, and hospitals. While many women may intuitively
understand that “all that technology” is not necessary at most births, the natural birth books do
them a disservice by encouraging an adversarial attitude towards their caregivers. This chapter
explains how women and their families can create positive relationships with their caregivers.
These steps will increase the odds of getting what they want, even if their caregiver has a different
approach or belief system.
Childbirth Education Classes and Doulas
This section gives practical suggestions about how women and their partners can choose a
childbirth preparation class and get the most out of it. In particular, women are urged to identify
their specific fears and to learn as much about them as possible. A section on doulas explains the
advantages of having an experienced advocate who will stay with a woman from the start to finish
of her labor, something that labor nurses can no longer do. Statistics about natural births with and
without doulas will be provided in boxes.
Four: Extra Supports for Special Circumstances
Twin Births
Women who are giving birth to twins in North America face tremendous pressure to give birth by
Cesarean Section. This section gives practical, evidence-based advice about planning a vaginal
birth in a hospital.
Vaginal Birth after a Cesarean Section (VBAC)
While VBACs enjoyed an upsurge in popularity in the 1990s, recently they have become rare.
Practitioners are skittish to allow clients even to give labor a try. While there are many resources for
women to read about the science on VBACs, there are few resources that speak to the special
needs of VBAC women in labor. This chapter will explain why VBAC women need experienced
labor support and how to get it.
Survivors of Traumatic Life Events
Survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse have experienced violations of their personal
boundaries. Giving birth in a hospital can bring up profoundly disturbing emotions and memories
in these women. Research shows that other traumas have an impact on labor, too, including racial
discrimination in a medical setting, a history of a traumatic abortion or miscarriage, and a
medically-assisted fertilization. This chapter suggests how to transform birth from a traumatic
event to a healing adventure and provides a list for further reading.
Chapter By Chapter Outline - continued
Book Home