MEDIA REVIEWS Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide (4th edition) Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, Ann Keppler, Janelle Durham, April Bolding Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA, 2010 $16.00, 512 pp, pb Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide, an award-winning book, began as a grassroots effort, a childbirth class manual. The year was 1976, an exciting time in the young childbirth movement as women recorded in words and images alternatives to medicalized childbirth and critically analyzed hospital birth practices. Since that time medicalization has increased: in 1970 the cesarean rate in the United States was 5 percent; in 2008 the rate was 32.3 percent. Despite the statistics, the authors state that their book ‘‘promotes the fundamental truth that many aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period remain unchanged’’ (xi) (emphasis added).These words provide the bedrock that supports the book as a whole. Unchanged is the fundamental truth of the connection between mother and baby. In words and images the authors contradict current social and medical disruptions of that bond. The opening chapter states ‘‘You can be glad that pregnancy lasts around nine months so you have time to learn, plan, adjust, and prepare. Day by day, your developing baby is becoming capable of thriv- ing outside the protective environment of your body’’ (xiv). Mother and baby exist simultaneously in time, each with a different trajectory of maturation that will join up at birth. Photographs reinforce the bond. Women cradle their pregnant bellies with their two hands or mother’s and father’s hands rest on the mother’s abdomen. After the birth, every image shows physical contact. A photo of a baby bottle-feeding shows skin-to- skin contact as the baby grips the mother’s finger tightly. ‘‘Partners’’ are not neglected (the authors, sensitive to language, do not assume gender); they figure strongly as labor supports and co-parents. In an early section of the book, the authors reveal a fundamental truth not previously recorded called ‘‘Birth as a Long-term Memory.’’ Lately, the accuracy of mem- ory has come under criticism as unreliable, altered by the act of recall. In the early nineties, Penny Simkin dis- covered that women’s memories of their births remained strikingly vivid and accurate over 20 years’ time. If birth inscribes itself in our memories so strongly, why not have as ‘‘satisfying [a] pregnancy and birth’’ as possible (p 4)? To this end, Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn never leaves your side. Today, the welter of choices regarding ‘‘caretakers,’’ a neutral term used throughout the book (midwife, obstetrician, naturopath, family phy- sician, doula); places of birth (hospital, birth center, home); pain relief during labor (the ‘‘three Rs—relaxa- tion, rhythm, ritual,’’ which can enable an unmedicated birth); medicated birth (epidurals usually); infant feed- ing (breast or bottle)—all these choices can confound the mind. The authors organize the voluminous material strategically. They discuss sequentially the changes dur- ing pregnancy for ‘‘you and your baby,’’ self-care through nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and educa- tion for the momentous events to come. After describing a healthy pregnancy, they speak of ‘‘complications’’ of pregnancy. This pattern repeats for childbirth and the postpartum period. Cesarean birth has a chapter of its own. Thus, uncomplicated and complicated do not get mixed together, a potion that could frighten parents-to- be. The book concludes with a chapter on becoming pregnant again. Charmingly, the authors include ‘‘A Let- ter to Grandparents’’ signed by the first three authors, grandparents themselves (p 347). The authors’ website http: // www.PCNGuide.com provides worksheets for self-care during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, baby care, and more. The website contains detailed information touched on in the main text such as assisted delivery other than a cesarean (p 289). The book uses abundant cross-referencing—a section describing labor might refer you back to the three Rs in chapter one. The authors provide websites to consult besides their own; and they offer other books on whatever subject is under discussion. Thus, the book’s guidance extends into the bewildering World Wide Web and the numberless publications about childbearing and baby care. Occasionally, ‘‘Advice from the Authors’’ appears in a box. In one, they actually give a Youtube website that demonstrates how to wear various baby slings (p 386). Other boxed inserts summarize a topic, such as ‘‘Tips to Protect Your Baby’s Health’’ (p 387), or quote women’s experiences. There are many charts and illus- trations. One elegant chart developed by Penny Simkin, ‘‘Events of Late Pregnancy,’’ describes four lines of BIRTH 38:3 September 2011 273