Labor Day: Shared Experiences from the Delivery Room - Softcover

Giglio, Ann-Marie

3.67

24 ratings by Goodreads

9780761102427: Labor Day: Shared Experiences from the Delivery Room

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761102426 ISBN 13: 9780761102427

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company, 1999

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Give birth to a child and you give birth to a story. Stories of drama, humor, sweat, accomplishment, and, ultimately, of a joy. Each is unique, each worth the telling and hearing - especially for mothers-to-be, who are anxiously wondering about the outcome of their own birthing story.

A writer who believes in the power of positive storytelling, Ann-Marie Giglio conceived and edited Labor Day, a collection of 32 personal and affirmative accounts of labor and delivery. Written for pregnant women, for fathers, for all mothers who want to share and remember, Labor Day tells the story of Rebekah, born in a frenzy at home in Arizona; of Ryan, delivered three weeks early in a full breech position; of Lucas, whose natural birth was so uncommon in the Tennessee hospital where he was delivered that many of the staff came to watch; of Sage, born underwater in a special birthing tub to candlelight music. There are C-sections, successful battles with preeclampsia, births of twins, and several fathers' sides of story. Each tale is compellingly readable, the details ringing true, the emotions high, with facts that are practical, too. In addition, the book includes a birthing wish list, suggestions for taking those first photos, and space to write in your own story. There's also a ribbon marker.

Manuals and how-to's tell what to expect. Labor Day tells what actually happens, in the words of the people it's happened to.

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From the Author:

When I was pregnant the first time, no one could explain to me what labor would feel like, or how I would even know I was in labor! I kept asking, How will I know if it's a labor contraction? I'VE NEVER HAD ONE BEFORE. And What if my contractions are never five minutes apart? (They never were!) So, I wrote a book with that simple objective: describe, explain, describe!

All the stories I have collected here are told by the mothers and the fathers, in their own words, not mine. And each one includes both physical and emotional aspects of the birth. I have included a variety of situations because one thing we can say about labor and birth: no two are the same. As one of my storytellers says, it's like a marriage. You have an idea what you want when you go into it, but you must be prepared for anything!

My other motive is to inspire you if you are about to give birth. Something like 90% of births are completely "normal," but that unknown is still scary. Hopefully, this book will let you know you are not alone, and 35 people are telling you the 35 different ways they found to cope with it.

If you have already given birth or witnessed it, I think you will still enjoy reading these stories. They will reconnect you with that powerful experience. Once you have given birth, you are changed. This book will remind you how.

From the Back Cover:

Thirty-Five Personal Accounts of Courage, Humor, Sweat, and the Ultimate Joy of Joys

*Home Births

*Hospital Deliveries

*Midwives

*The Father's Perspective

*Twins

*And More

Give birth to a child and you give birth to a story. An inspirational story of drama and triumph, of fears faced, challenges overcome, and the pure joy of meeting your baby for the very first time. Here, in the words of mothers--and fathers--are thirty-five affirmative, compelling, personal accounts of labor and delivery. Filled with emotional truths and intimate details, Labor Day tells of home births, hospital births, natural births and emergency c-sections, a frank breech birth, a birth managed with self-hypnosis, a birth that sounds almost like a party--with six friends and a midwife--and of one baby delivered under water in a birthing tub.

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