Your Birth Plan: A Guide to Navigating All of Your Choices in Childbirth

by Megan Davidson

Overview

Expectant parents often discover that little in their lives has prepared them to make the decisions and plans needed as they approach birth. In Your Birth Plan, Megan Davidson, PhD, dispels the myth that there’s one right way or best way to give birth, helping readers navigate all their options as they plan for a positive birth experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538121573
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/08/2019
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	740,246
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Megan Davidson, PhD, is a labor and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and chest/breastfeeding counselor who supports pregnant people and their families without judgment or prescription. She is one of the most experienced doulas in the US, having attended 600 births and supported 1200 families postpartum. Megan has also published essays on the value of doula support, size bias in prenatal care, and body positive pregnancy. She lives and works in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two kids.

Table of Contents

Preface: My birth story Introduction: birth like that Section 1: Where should I give birth? Chapter 1: Choosing your best birth location Chapter 2: Giving birth in a hospital Chapter 3: Giving birth in a birth centerChapter 4: Giving birth at home Section 2: Building your birth team Chapter 5: Working with a doctor Chapter 6: Working with a midwife Chapter 7: Doula support for your birth Section 3: Giving birth Chapter 8: Laboring Chapter 9: Common interventions during labor & childbirth Chapter 10: Birth plans & labor coping strategies   Section 4: Inductions, VBACs, twins, and Cesarean births Chapter 11: Induction of labor: when, why, and what you can do to prepare Chapter 12: Having a vaginal birth after a Cesarean birth Chapter 13: Giving birth to twins/multiples Chapter 14: Cesarean birth Conclusion: birthing unapologetically

Editorial Reviews

A must-read for birthing people who want to be informed and confident in their choices. Easy and enjoyable to read, Your Birth Plan empowers you to have the best birth for you and your baby. Megan Davidson weaves together birth stories, research, and practical tips so that even the most experienced birth worker will be entertained and educated. Your Birth Plan is not about any one “right” way to birth, but about discovering your own desires and goals by deeply considering all options and learning how to advocate for your needs.

Becky Alford

Megan's book marks a paradigm shift in how we think about, talk about, and plan for childbirth.  In this non-judgmental, easily accessible guide to navigating pregnancy and childbirth, Megan interweaves her personal narrative, years of experience as a doula, clients' stories, and concrete resources to give expectant families the tools they need to empower themselves in their birth process. Much like parenting, so much of childbirth is beyond our control.  This book moves the conversation away from a focus on getting the birth that you plan and towards having a birth that you feel good about.  It makes room for the broad spectrum of experiences and actively de-shames the decisions that we each inevitably make as our babies are being born. Truly, it is a work of social justice that supports women and their families and honors their feelings and experiences.  As a psychotherapist and a mother of two, I would wholeheartedly recommend this much-needed resource to clients and friends alike.

Jessica Slatus

Megan was my doula for the birth of my son almost 9 years ago and I'll always be grateful for that! After an idyllic pregnancy, his birth was complicated and took many unexpected turns.  The combination of Megan's vast knowledge, warmth,  and openness made it possible for me to make myriad decisions and  leave what might have been a devastating experience feeling like I had the tools to go forward in a way that was right for me.  When I became pregnant with my daughter she was the first person outside my family that I called.  I credit her vast knowledge and non-judgmental approach with helping me achieve the circumstances that I wanted for my second birth.   I think every woman could benefit from Megan's clear-eyed, generous, evidence-based information as they navigate the emotionally fraught period of pregnancy and the exuberant expectations that accompany childbirth.  This is a book I'll give to every friend who tells me she's pregnant!

Annie Parisse

Your Birth Plan provides a nonjudgmental voice that guides parents to discovering their own priorities as they navigate the decisions they’ll have to make in the childbearing year. Davidson strives to outline options while including diverse stories of parents actively making those choices. Control, choice and consent are themes that appear repeatedly in Davidson’s book, Your Birth Plan. Through stories and clear, nonjudgmental language parents are guided through the many decisions they’ll need to make. Rather than being an inventory and checklist, Davidson reminds people to take into account their values, past medical experiences, and feelings about their bodies and empowerment when making choices. Her supportive voice is clear and consistent throughout the text. Ironically, Your Birth Plan says very little about the piece of paper being submitted to the hospital. Instead it focuses on parent’s journey of self-discovery. Who am I? What is important to me? What should I take into account in making these decisions? YBP encourages puts parents to put themselves in the center of their birth experience, rather than yielding to social or medical pressure to have their birth a particular way.

Amy L. Gilliland