New Year New Books

I’ve had this book for a few months now. I started reading it in the fall, and put it aside when life got hectic. I picked it up on New Year’s Day for a couple of reasons.

First, I wanted to finish it.

Second, babies have been on my mind lately,since one of my best friends is ready to have number 4 ANY.DAY.NOW. and I have the honor of being there as her officially unofficial doula. (I missed Baby #3′s arrival by mere seconds)

Third, New Years is all about starting fresh, renewing ourselves, having a better year (hopefully) than the year before. So I thought that these points all tied together nicely. If you don’t see the connection, well, that’s fine too.

When I was pregnant with my son and for the many months after his birth (while nursing), I read many books about birth, babies, and parenting. I got into autobiographical books about motherhood. I wish that THIS book had been around a few years ago.

Photo from randomhouse.com

*sigh* I love baby feet, don’t you?

Mark Sloan, M.D. is a pediatrician out in California. I know, what does a pediatrician know about birthing babies, right? After all, pediatricians take over after the child is out.

Fair enough.

What Dr. Sloan has done in Birth Day is put together a fantastic look into childbirth from various angles: The history and evolution of childbirth, his observations as a doctor witnessing the birth of many babies, and first-hand experience from the Dad-to-Be.

While it sounds like a lot of different areas to absorb in one book, Dr. Sloan does it in a way that makes you feel like you’re taking a journey into a new world while chatting with him over coffee.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how or why certain childbirth related items came to be, you will find it in this book. For those of you who always wondered why women have had to labor lying down, with our feet in stirrups. It seems that Louis XIV, King of France was the person responsible. Back in those days, men were not allowed in the room with a laboring woman. But apparently King Louis wanted to watch in the front row, so he had a special viewing table built so he could watch his mistress give birth. (page 19) Don’t you wish we could go back in time to smack him?

Ever wondered who started the whole “medicated birth” phenomenon? It’s in here. (and I’m not giving any more spoilers, so read it yourself)

Curious about the evolution of a baby’s head compared to its mother’s pelvis? That’s in there too.

I really enjoyed Birth Day, because I learned about a lot of topics related to birth that I didn’t find in other books. I also appreciated a look into childbirth from the male perspective, both as a doctor and as a father. It made me look back on my own birth experience to try to see it through my husband’s eyes. I’m sure it must have been overwhelming to see me in labor.

I had the chance to meet Dr. Sloan when he came to sign copies of his book at work, and chat with him about the book and his research while writing it. I also had the chance to meet his children, whose births he describes in clear detail in the book. There is even a picture of his son John, right after the c-section that helped bring him into this world. I wish that I had a picture of my own son right after my c-section.

This is a must-have for anyone who has had a baby, is pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant. Anyone reading this book will take some new knowledge from it.