THE FIRST COMPLETE, COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO PAIN RELIEF DURING LABOR AND DELIVERY Far too many expectant mothers find themselves unprepared when labor begins and natural techniques don’t effectively manage the pain. This indispensable guide provides reassuring, proven approaches to combining medical and natural techniques to ensure the most comfortable pain-free labor possible. In Easy Labor, you’ll discover • what to expect during labor, and key factors that affect your comfort • the facts on epidurals, safety concerns, and how effectively they reduce pain • the pros and cons of pain-relief medications • complementary and alternative methods, including water immersion, acupuncture, hypnosis, massage, and birth balls • how your choice of hospital or birth center affects your pain-management options • techniques to calm and eliminate the specific fears and stresses associated with childbirth So relax and enjoy your pregnancy, with this important book by your side!

The delivery of high quality and equitable care for both mothers and newborns is complex and requires efforts across many sectors. The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world, yet outcomes are worse than other high-resource countries, and even worse for Black and Native American women. There are a variety of factors that influence childbirth, including social determinants such as income, educational levels, access to care, financing, transportation, structural racism and geographic variability in birth settings. It is important to reevaluate the United States' approach to maternal and newborn care through the lens of these factors across multiple disciplines. Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice reviews and evaluates maternal and newborn care in the United States, the epidemiology of social and clinical risks in pregnancy and childbirth, birth settings research, and access to and choice of birth settings.

The main aim of this practical Handbookis to strengthen counselling and communication skills of skilled attendants (SAs) and other health providers, helping them to effectively discuss with women, families and communities the key issues surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, postnatal and post-abortion care. Counselling for Maternal and Newborn Health Careis divided into three main sections. Part 1 is an introduction which describes the aims and objectives and the general layout of the Handbook. Part 2 describes the counselling process and outlines the six key steps to effective counselling. It explores the counselling context and factors that influence this context including the socio-economic, gender, and cultural environment. A series of guiding principles is introduced and specific counselling skills are outlined. Part 3 focuses on different maternal and newborn health topics, including general care in the home during pregnancy; birth and emergency planning; danger signs in pregnancy; post-abortion care; support during labor; postnatal care of the mother and newborn; family planning counselling; breastfeeding; women with HIV/AIDS; death and bereavement; women and violence; linking with the community. Each Session contains specific aims and objectives, clearly outlining the skills that will be developed and corresponding learning outcomes. Practical activities have been designed to encourage reflection, provoke discussions, build skills and ensure the local relevance of information. There is a review at the end of each session to ensure the SAs have understood the key points before they progress to subsequent sessions.

More and more parents-to-be all over the world are choosing the comfort and reassuring support of birth with a trained labor companion called a "doula." This warm, authoritative, and irreplaceable guide completely updates the authors' earlier book, Mothering the Mother, and adds much new and important research. In addition to basic advice on finding and working with a doula, the authors show how a doula reduces the need for cesarean section, shortens the length of labor, decreases the pain medication required, and enhances bonding and breast feeding. The authors, world-renowned authorities on childbirth with combined experience of over 100 years working with laboring women, have made their book indispensable to every woman who wants the healthiest, safest, and most joyful possible birth experience.

HYPNOBIRTHING THE ORIGINAL METHOD Mindful Pregnancy and Easy Labor Using the Leclaire Childbirth Method Through your use of the Leclaire Method you will learn how to: - Change your fears about pregnancy into positive thoughts and actions - Use mind/body techniques to bond with your fetus and enhance the nurturing of your baby - Experience labor and childbirth mindfully as calm, joyous, and pain-free - Establish a healthy and happy beginning for your child Simple strategies to reduce the pain, rekindle the joy, and recognize the power of giving birth! The highly successful Leclaire Method - the program for the twenty-first century that incorporates hypnosis and mindfulness ¿ helps you experience labor and childbirth calmly, joyously, and painlessly! Developed by Michelle Leclaire O¿Neill, a medical professional and mother, this holistic method draws on both modern science and ancient wisdom to present pregnancy as the glorious, instinctive event it should be. The author¿s systematic approach gives you back control over your mind and body during childbirth when you may feel it slipping away. Through techniques including self-hypnosis, meditation, massage, and visualization, you learn to ease childbirth jitters, improve bonding between you and your baby, and facilitate your baby¿s peaceful, painless entry into the world. In addition, the Leclaire Childbirth Method can prevent unhealthy birth weight, ease the transition to breastfeeding, and create the healthiest possible environment for a new life! Good for all pregnancies and births (natural, medicated or C section). Michelle Leclaire O¿Neill, Ph.D., R.N., has worked in psychoneuroimmunology for the past sixteen years. The originator of the Leclaire Childbirth Method, she works from her Mind Body Center and is the mother of three. ¿The Leclaire Method. . . provides women with exactly what they need to know to reclaim their inborn ability to birth normally, joyfully, and easily.¿ 3/4 Christiane Northrup, M.D., Author of Women¿s Bodies, Women¿s Wisdom ¿Wonderful . . . the guide every expectant woman and her partner need to experience the miracle of life.¿ 3/4 Susan Love, M.D., Author of Dr. Susan Love¿s Hormone Book

In his breakthrough book, Jones introduces a new, highly effective method of childbirth preparation using mental imagery. He shows expectant parents how to prevent the pain and fear associated with childbirth.

With Mindful Birthing, Nancy Bardacke, nurse-midwife and mindfulness teacher, lays out her innovative program for pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. Drawing on groundbreaking research in neuroscience, mindfulness meditation, and mind/body medicine, Bardacke offers practices that will help you find calm and ease during this life-changing time, providing lifelong skills for healthy living and wise parenting. SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF MINDFUL BIRTHING: Increases confidence and decreases fear of childbirth Taps into deep inner resources for working with pain Improves couple communication, connection, and cooperation Provides stress-reducing skills for greater joy and wellbeing