Book Review - The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
The Birth Partner is one of my favorite childbirth books! It is perfect for Dads, Grandmas, Best Friends, Doulas, all who find themselves in the Birth Partner role or on the birthing team. It focuses on late pregnancy, all the major variations of normal labor, coping with abnormal labors, informs about medical interventions in childbirth, offers suggestions for supporting breastfeeding, newborn care, and postpartum recovery, and has several excellent cheat sheet sections for partners. For years, I carried my 2nd edition in my doula bag to refer to the section on positions for labor progress and comfort. I immediately dog-eared those pages in my newer 3rd edition copy because the illustrations and descriptions are so useful during birth and for birth partners to quickly review when they borrow this book from my library.
If you are looking for a comprehensive, but easy to understand, guide to supporting your loved one through childbirth, this is the book for you! If you are looking for information on birth, whether you are the birthing person or the support person, I recommend this book to you as well!