Here’s the table of contents from my own book on pregnancy and childbirth. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like me to post a certain section in addition to the ones already linked to in this post. You can also download a free sample on Amazon. For those who do not have a kindle, you can download a free kindle application for your computer or tablet.
Making informed decisions on childbirth
One scientist’s international perspective
by Sofie Vantiers, Ph.D.
available on:
Box 1: Leonard’s perspective on research and science
CHAPTER 1: Louis, my Easter baby
A natural birth
Box 2: Doula
Box 3: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
Box 4: Gas and air (entonox)
CHAPTER 2: Pregnancy and birth preparation
A long nine months
Worry is the work of pregnancy
Box 5: My birth plan
CHAPTER 3: Knowledge is power
Kalina’s birth trauma
Breastfeeding after a traumatic birth
CHAPTER 4: Vanessa’s C-section
A good hospital experience
Box 6: C-section in advanced labour
Respect does not necessarily mean best care
Internal exams
Box 7: Internal exams and associated risks
Epidurals and consent forms
Pre-labour Rupture Of Membranes (PROM)
Box 8: Pre-labour Rupture Of Membranes (PROM) at term
Box 9: The human microbiome
Group B Streptococcus and infection
What women in labour need
Box 10: The basic needs of labouring women
Box 11: Leonard’s perspective on adrenaline-oxytocin antagonism
CHAPTER 5: Shared responsibility – two heads are better than one
Humans make mistakes
Box 12: Group B Streptococcus (GBS)
Box 13: Leonard’s perspective on birth preparation
CHAPTER 6: Gestation time
Induction and augmentation of labour
Box 14: Leonard’s perspective on induction of labour
Box 15: Various induction and labour augmentation practices
Contraindications for induction: previous C-section
Medical indications for induction
Box 16: To induce or not?
Protocol and policy
CHAPTER 7: Medicalisation and control of birth and pregnancy
Interventions and their consequences
C-section and its optimal rates
CHAPTER 8: The mother over 35
Early diagnosis of Down syndrome
Choices and pressures
CHAPTER 9: Ultrasound, Doppler and heartbeat monitors
Thermal and mechanical effects
Selective, routine and non-medical ultrasound
An informed decision
Box 17: Leonard’s perspective on ultrasound scans
Recommendations
CHAPTER 10: Labour pain
Giving birth as a rite of passage
Box 18: Leonard’s perspective on bringing a child into this world
Women’s work
The need for control
Box 19: Episiotomy
CHAPTER 11: Maternal and neonatal outcome
Statistics of childbirth
Box 20: Puerperal or childbed fever
Midwives and home births
Evolution of our birthing capabilities
Box 21: Epigenetics and the evolution of our oxytocin system
CHAPTER 12: How to avoid (unnecessary) intervention?
Home births and birth centres
Baby and mother friendly hospitals
Box 22: Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)
Hospitals with low intervention statistics
Box 23: Unassisted childbirth or freebirth: a word of caution
Birth plans, birth companions and labour tricks
Box 24: Leonard’s perspective on preparing to be a birth partner
Assertiveness training
CHAPTER 13: The baby’s born, now what?
Louis, continued
Box 25: Vernix: a natural moisturiser and cleaner
Box 26: Meconium-Stained Amniotic Fluid (MSAF)
Third stage of labour
Box 27: Active management of the third stage of labour
CHAPTER 14: Separation
Umbilical separation
Circumcision
Box 28: Male circumcision
Box 29: Leonard’s perspective on circumcision
Vitamin K
Box 30: Prevention of Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB) or Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn (HDN)
CHAPTER 15: A newborn’s basic needs
Transnatal continuity
Box 31: Leonard’s perspective on breastfeeding for pain relief
The importance of early skin-to-skin
Box 32: Early Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)
A newborn’s social needs
Box 33: Leonard’s perspective on social interaction with babies
Epilogue on attachment
Index
References and notes
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Making informed decisions on childbirth
One scientist’s international perspective
by Sofie Vantiers, Ph.D.
