Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History, and the Wonder of Childbirth
Birth
You’ll be pulled in immediately as Sloan recounts his own introduction to birth during medical school. From there Birth Day tackles how our own vaginal birth process differs from that of the higher primates – and give possible reasons for why we developed such a complex process of birthing. I differ in opinion from Sloan on some of these issues; however his arguments are well-reasoned and interesting to read. Sloan also discusses the history of vaginal birth and positions used during birth in this chapter.
The second chapter moves into a description of that almost-imperceptible transition babies go through – moving from a fetus living in the water-world of the womb to a newborn snuggled in the airy world of his or her mother’s arms. You’ll find this chapter fascinating. Again, Sloan will keep you turning pages as he weaves the stories of two babies into the factual information.
In the third chapter Sloan discusses cesarean birth. This chapter is really well done. Sloan presents lots of information on the history of cesarean then moves into what the surgery looks like in modern times. The book does a great job of explaining how and why cesarean birth may be necessary for some women and babies – while also acknowledging and speculating on just why the cesarean rate is currently so high.
Pain Relief – Past and Present
Chapter 4 is titled “B.E. (Before Epidurals)” and it’s a fascinating chapter! Sloan has done a good job researching the use of pain medications during childbirth. It’s very interesting to look back at where we’ve come from – and the book moves right into where we are now in Chapter 5. Sloan continues to explore childbirth pain relief from a modern perspective. You may be surprised to learn that in our epidural-dominated world there are other options – including options available outside the US that well, you just can’t get here.
I believe in natural childbirth, but even I have to wonder why some of these relatively effective and possibly less detrimental options are not really available to more women. As Sloan states, ours is a culture of epidurals.
Birth Day does take time to discuss five non-drug methods of pain relief during childbirth. It does a fair job with this, even discussing water for labor pain relief. Sloan does not bring up the issue of water birth (where the baby is actually born underwater) – in fact, he never comments on other birthing alternatives like birth center or home births and how they may affect labor pain or the perception of it.
Doulas are discussed – in a fair amount of detail. Sloan is a fan of doulas, and for good reason. He spells those reasons, all supported by research, out in Birth Day. He also discusses the history of birth attendants.
On Daddies and Babies
There’s a chapter devoted just to Daddies. My husband greatly enjoyed it. We both found it really interesting that new dads (and dads to be) actually go through hormonal changes during their mates’ pregnancies.
The final section of the book covers the cuddly result of pregnancy – the babies. Sloan covers much of the research done on what babies can and can’t perceive with their sense while in the womb, and in the newborn and infant period. It’s interesting reading, though a little drier than earlier chapters of the book!
A chapter covering the “baby worth rearing” is included here. I greatly enjoyed this chapter, which discusses how the current infant “rating” system – the APGAR – came to be. I also found the peek into modern-day pediatrics with its newborn procedure flow-charts to be fascinating.
The last chapter in the book does an inch-by-inch guided tour of the newborn. This chapter has become a favorite “inside joke” of my husband and me because it discusses possible reasons for babies to be pretty generic (Sloan theorizes it’s probably so a man would continue to raise a baby that may not have biologically been his own). Accusations of our own “generic baby” (who with flaming red hair is not exactly “generic”) fly regularly through the house (along with laughter).
But the chapter in itself is a great ending to the book, providing the now expected fascinating tidbits of information on why babies may look like they do, why your science teachers got some things wrong, and other interesting facts.
Sloan does use this chapter to address circumcision. He does a great job tackling this extremely controversial subject. He gives a lot of historical information, good references, and a balanced discussion.
A Real Page-Turner
All in all Birth Day is an excellent read. There were a few parts of it I found myself feeling may be over the top – my views and Sloan’s do differ. But as I stated early in the review, it all gives food for thought.
The entire book is well-written in a consistent and engaging style. Birth Day keeps you turning pages! Because it does discuss some heavier pregnancy and newborn issues you may want to avoid reading it in your third trimester. But otherwise pick it up for an enjoyable and really fascinating read!
