Paco’s Books on Birth, Babies, and Kids
These are books that I frequently recommend in my childbirth class. Some are better than others. Read on to see my brief comments on each one. Clicking the titles will take you over to Amazon where you can buy a copy for yourself.
Doulas and Midwives: Not the same thing
My article "Bad news about giving birth at Reston Hospital" has gotten a couple comments which, when combined with other emails from friends who ought to know better, made me want to write a bit more on this subject. I think I am going to stop using the words "doulas" and "midwives" in the same sentence, starting now. Too many people think that the two are related or similar. They're not. When you're a hundred miles away, two things that are miles apart can look pretty close together.
Bad News for Giving Birth at Reston Hospital
If you are at all interested in having a say in how your baby is born, it's a good idea to have your baby born somewhere other than Reston Hospital. There are quite a few reasons, but basically they are very interventionist (meaning they like to do medical things even when your birth is normal and low risk) and they are not very open to parents who want to make decisions. Here's a mixture of fact and opinion.