“Dr. Frederick Leboyer was the first physician to challenge society’s deeply held beliefs about awareness in the newborn. His pioneering works on birthing, including “Birth Without Violence”, have forever revolutionized the course of prenatal care and the way babies are introduced to the world. He also pioneered introducing infant massage to the Western world.”
The publishers Pinter and Martin have given Lactivist a copy of Birth Without Violence to celebrate the re-launch of the book.
“Birth without Violence revolutionised the way we perceive the process of birth, urging us to consider birth from the infant’s point of view. Why must a child emerge from the quiet darkness of the womb into a blaze of blinding light and loud voices? Why must an infant take its first breath in terror, hanging upside down as its vulnerable spine is jerked straight? Why must the infant be separated from its mother after spending nine months inside her nourishing body?”
There is a chance to meet Frédérick Leboyer at the Pinter & Martin home/offices on the 28th May 2011. Mr Leboyer will read from his classic book and answer questions. The reading will be followed by drinks and a light buffet dinner and guest will have the opportunity to get books signed. The admission fee goes towards author’s fees and expenses.
In addition guests will be sent a voucher code to buy any Pinter & Martin book in stock at 33% off, including Birth without Violence.
Venue: Pinter & Martin, 6 Effra Parade, London SW2 1PS
Date: 28th May 2011
Time: 7pm – 9.30pm (reading expected to start at 7.30pm)
Advance booking essential. Tickets will not be on sale on the evening.
Nearest tube Brixton (Victoria Line) – 10 minutes walk, nearest rail Brixton & Herne Hill - 10 minutes walk, buses 3, 37, 196 stop outside (Effra Parade/Dalberg Road stop).
If you have any queries or would like to book over the telephone please call us on 020-7737 6868.
If you want to book online please visit www.pinterandmartin.com
This is an interview with Frédérick Leboyer in 2006. He is an amazing man with a vast expanse of knowledge – anyone who says ‘pregnancy is not a sickness’ gets the thumbs up in my book!
To win a copy of Birth without Violence just comment below with your top tip for a calm birth. Each tip gets you one entry and you can get extra entries for tweeting and sharing on Facebook, blogs and forums – please let me know how many entries you are claiming in your comment.
Comp ends on the 28th May 2011 and is only for people in Europe – sorry!
The winner will be drawn at random and notified by email.
Read a good birth book (like Birth Without Violence) before you give birth to empower you to trust the birth process!
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My calm beautiful birth was a homebirth, leaning forward on a birthing ball, totally relaxed, no pain relief, just breathing and going with the flow and listening to my body.
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Follow your instincts and listen to your body.
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Keep thinking with each contraction that that is one less to go…. Breathe… Moo (yes like a cow)…. listen to what your body wants… And enjoy it!!
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I’ve also tweeted and shared on facebook
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Second tip! Being fortunate in having the same midwife through antenatal care and homebirth (4 times and yes on NHS) kept me calm, I trusted her and she trusted natural birth. Have shared on FB.
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My tip for calm birth is Natal Hypnotherapy and thorough preparation (reading lots of natural childbirth books, drawing mandala, making sure that birth partner is on the ball and choosing right place for birth – in my case homebirth). As a result I had pain free home unassisted (accidentally) waterbirth and it was beautiful. You can read my birth story here http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=1329615415854
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not being scared is the key – trust your body that it can do what it is designed to do. to keep your birth calm take someone with you who will speak up on your behalf if things are going a way you dont want – or if you retreat into yourself as i do and cant spaek, they can take care of the small talk for you!!
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get a doula!
with my first i was terrified, had no idea what was happending, the hospitals birthign classes were rubbish and the midwives at the hospital had written me off as a young mum that didnt know anythign. they refused to believe i needed to push and as a result i nearly ended up with an emergency caesarian. if id had a doula there she would have fought my corner, realise i was ready to push and helped me to relax and not be so terrified. i wouldnt have had the traumatic experience i did have, all because of havign a person there who knew what was going on. please, if you are unsure about birth AT ALL, get a doula! x
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if you cant have an active birth have an upright birth,
everyone gets told to stand up and move around for labour, unfortunately this isnt always possible. if you have continuous monitoring, or even if you’re disabled (like me) and cant physically walk around and stand up durign labour. make sure if you HAVE to sit down that you sit down upright, that way gravity will still help your baby move downt he birth canal and put pressure on your cervix leading to better dilation and usually a faster, and less complicated, labour.
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also just posted on fb, twitter and bounty x
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Birth at home, if possible, and surround yourself with people who support your decisions and do not push outside interventions.
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Also shared on Facebook.
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Have the room semidark and ask the midwives to let you and your partner to get on with it and only interfere when absolutely necessary. No one is better in calming you down when you’re losing the plot than your partner who knows you inside out.
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My tip would be to believe in yourself and believe in your body’s capabilities. There are people all around you to support you, just do what feels right, be strong and dont be pursuaded to something you dont want to unless it really is in the intrests of you and baby.
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And definitely give Hypno-birthing a go. DP only knew the most basic things, but he helped me get my breathing back on track when I felt overrun by pain. Without him I don’t think I would have found my calm back (so quickly) and the birth may have ended differently. As it was I didn’t need any pain relief except for labouring in water.
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My tip for a calm birth are to be relaxed and trust in your body. A strong and supportive birth partner is also a big help!
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Hypnobirth was brilliant for me. Throughout my labour I was focused yet relaxed, I felt in control. Amazed the midwife getting to 10 cm (last time she’d checked I was 3) spent most of my labour imagining I was sitting under an oak tree in warm golden sunlight……trust me when I listened to the cd’s I thought I’d never be relaxed enough to think that-still can’t believe I’m saying it-but it worked
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My tips would be to prepare yourself – listening to hypnotherapy CDs every day for 7 months meant I automatically got my breathing rhythm when it mattered. Have confidence in yourself and those around you wherever you’re having your baby, and focus on the moment you’re finally going to meet the new centre of your universe…
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Believe in yourself, believe that your body knows how to birth, and your baby knows how to be born.
Make the most of the natural hormones of birth, by relaxing, staying calm and listening to your body
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Educate yourself well about the process of labour and birth so that when the time comes, you understand what’s happening in your body. It definitely helped me to relax and trust that my body and my baby were working in perfect harmony to bring our son safely to us.
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my tip is to know what is calming for you, for me it was water and my husband! So i had a ‘relatively’ calm water birth with my husband holding my hand and rubbing my back
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Remember that its the most normal, natural process and trust your body to do a good job. And remember that the reward simply couldn’t be better!
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My tip for a calm birth:
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Have a doula or someone you can trust to be calm and advocate for you, so you can relax and focus inwards, knowing the outside world is being taken care of
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I also used the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs, i was extremely lucky the 2nd time around, in that my birth was quick (i had a planned home birth) but i was unlucky in a way because the midwife didn’t make it on time and we had to deliver him ourselves. Having 2 births to compare i can tell you this… panicking makes it more painful and slows things down, stay calm, breath NORMALLY, don’t pant! Concentrate on the feeling of your baby moving down, don’t waste strength pushing when you don’t have to, your body is pushing your baby for you and your baby is pushing down too! Get comfortable, e.g don’t lie on your back and find you can’t get up again (like i did with baby number 1!) sitting on the toilet, was the most comfortable for me, and on my knees at the crucial moment, have someone with you you completely trust to take over in an emergency! You will feel more relaxed if something there is clued up, and you don’t have to worry about a thing, if you have an other half who is willing to cooperate, train him up, make him revise the birth plan and TEST him on it
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Someone even (not something!) sorry!
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go to good parent education classes beforehand, have faith in your ability and trust and listen to your midwife. Have a birth partner who will keep you calm, when you panic you produce adrenaline, which diverts blood away from your uterus and makes contractions less efficient.
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Conserve, then use your energy for the actual birth, following your midwife’s guidance – she has been there before!
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Shared on facebook.
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Make sure you have a healthy lifestyle and diet 6 months before you are pregnant.
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Take with you more than one birthing partner, i had my hubby and my mum with me and it made all the difference
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Keep an open mind and remember you are in control. Thats what I will be telling myself next time!
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Trust in yourself and your body. Women have been giving birth for melinia. If you are healthy opt for a home birth, where you will be allowed to proceed at your own pace, with the help of a trusted midwife. Avoid stess and intervention if possible.
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I’d recommend to read a lot on the matter so that you knew what to expect.
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I would have to say ‘don’t make a birth plan’. With my first child, when I got to the delivery room the midwife asked if I had one and I said other than getting the baby out as quickly and as painlessly as possible and not wanting a needle in my back – then no. If I had wanted various things (music, candles, certain outfit etc) I think it all adds to your stress if it’s not able to be done.
My second birth would have been a prime candidate for not having one, as I would have been more seriously depressed if i’d had any plans at all; everything went horribly wrong! But we both eventually came through it.
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