Natural Birth Stories by Shannon Brown - Book Review & Giveaway

nat·u·ral

based on the state of things in nature; constituted by nature
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When I first began reading Shannon Brown's book, Natural Birth Stories: The Real Mom's Guide to an Empowering Natural Birth, my first thoughts were, "Yes! Exactly!" and "I could have written this!" And I don't mean that last exclamation as in, "This is lame, I could have written this," I meant it as "This is exactly how I feel about birth!" This book shares 32 stories of natural birth varying from hospital, to home, to water births. It is FULL of factual information surrounding today's medical interventions and their typical over-use. Most importantly, and why I highly recommend it, is that it educates women about their options when it comes to child birth and empowers them to take control of their bodies and their babies.

My journey to a natural birth started out in a very similar way to Shannon's description in her book. I just called an OB/GYN because I thought that's what you did. I thought midwives only attended home births and I wasn't ready for that (though that's what I am hoping for when we have #2!). Then my husband and I watched The Business of Being Born and were enlightened. And as you can read here, we switched providers and got on the road to natural birth. I read several books, all great, about natural birth but I must say I could have saved some time and money because this book sums up everything I read across several books and puts it in a very easy-to-read format with so many empowering and beautiful birth stories along the way. I can't get enough of birth stories. Love them.

Click HERE to read more about Shannon & her book!

Whether you believe in creation or evolution, women's bodies are made to give birth. Yes, sometimes medical interventions are necessary and can save lives. If this is/was you, do not feel you are being attacked. As you can read in my own birth story, I ended up needing a bit of intervention myself. Perhaps you weren't happy with those interventions. Perhaps you are perfectly fine with them but want to explore other options for your next birth. Maybe you're a midwife or doula. Or maybe you just love reading about birth. Shannon describes this book's purpose perfectly:

"My dream is for women to know all their options before ever giving birth, so they don't have to struggle with the emotional and physical recovery of a negative experience." - Shannon Brown

Another great aspect of this book that I would have loved to have during my pregnancy is the comprehensive list of questions you may want to ask when you are interviewing care providers. She also covers the most popular birth classes and stresses the importance of a trusted birth team.

Upon reading this book, I was a few months post-partum and really not thinking about my next birth. I know it is a couple of years away (although things can't always be planned now can they?) and I am too obsessed with our little man to think about another baby. However, I do know that I would love a home birth next time around and this book has a lot to do with that. While it has plenty of natural hospital birth stories, and I did enjoy the help from our nurses, the home birth stories really spoke to me. Now it is your turn to get a copy and decide what speaks to you!

You can purchase a copy either in paperback or Kindle HERE 

*Use discount code DUDABIRTH for 20% off between now and 1/28/14!*

You can also try your hand at the giveaway below! 

(And then go back and purchase if you aren't our lucky winner of course)

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