Birth Journeys

Book excerpt: Stop listening to the horror stories. Be reassured, excited and inspired. Find out how beautiful and powerful birth can be. Discover the keys to planning your own positive birth - the best beginning to motherhood. Birth Journeys is a diverse collection of 29 encouraging and inspiring birth stories by real women (and men). It includes a wide range of birth experiences and choices: hospital, birth center, homebirth, unassisted birth, water birth, IVF, caesarean, VBAC and twins. Some stories are warm and lighthearted, some are serene and peaceful, while others are a wild whirlwind experience. Each story is positive, uplifting and empowering. Birth Journeys also contains contributions from health care professionals, academics, birth educators and authors including Dr Sarah J Buckley, GP and author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering; Hannah Dahlen, Associate Professor of Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney; Renee Adair, founder and principal educator of the Australian Doula College; Jane Hardwicke Collings, founder of the School of Shamanic Midwifery; and David Vernon, editor of Men at Birth.