Resources

Below is a list of recommended reading and viewing. All items can be borrowed as part of my doula services, or you can purchase your own copy at Capers Online Bookstore.

The Pink Kit
An effective, proven system of childbirth preparation resource for parents that focuses entirely on birth skills.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin
Everything you need to know to have the best birth experience for you - whether in a hospital, birthing centre, or the comfort of home.

The New Experience of Childbirth, by Sheila Kitzinger
Childbirth is one of the most important and powerful events in a woman's life - and yet many women look back on it as an ordeal. Sheila Kitzinger, acknowledged around the world as an expert in the psychological, social and physiological aspects of birth, has rewritten her first book for today's women. Herself a mother of five, all born at home, she believes that birth can be a positive and deeply satisfying experience.

Birth Your Way, by Sheila Kitzinger
"Many more women want home births than are ever able to get them because massive obstacles are put in their way. They're made to feel guilty, as if it's a self-indulgence that can harm their babies."
Hospitals are now competing with each other to provide 'birthing rooms' and 'home-from-home' rooms. All too often this is a cosmetic exercise. A woman is moved across the corridor when labour does not conform to the norm or is going on a long time. Then she gets the full high-tech package. And the evidence that, for most babies, this is of any benefit is very shaky.

Better Birth, by Lareen Newman and Heather Hancock
Many women believe that birth is painful and something that has to be 'endured'. The tell of horror stories in hospital, of last-minute surgical intervention and alienation from their bodies. This definitive guide will help you to prepare for a birth that is intuitive and spontaneous. Armed with the right information, every mother-to-be has the chance to give birth where she remains in control and at the centre.

Childbirth Without Fear, by Grantly Dick-Read
The Principles and Practice of Natural Childbirth.
"Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how birth education started as well as the vision that stimulated the birth movement. Dick-Read remains an inspiration for the humanisation of childbirth". Sheila Kitzinger

A Good Birth, A Safe Birth, by Diana Korte and Roberta M Scaer
This book covers the pros and cons of today's childbirth options and helps the expectant mother plan each stage of her pregnancy and delivery. It offers tips on how to find the right doctor or midwife - and how to avoid the wrong one. It explores the various childbirth environments available today. It tells expectant parents how to ensure that their wishes will be followed. The benefits and draw-backs of medications and painkillers are also discussed, so that a mother can decide before her delivery which, if any, medications are right for her. This book enables the mother to regain control of her birth experience.

Aiming for Natural Birth DVD
Divided into four parts: physical preparation (information on diet, exercise and herbal medicine); emotional preparation (finding the right support person, understanding the father's role during pregnancy and birth); birth options (actual births in hospital, birth centre and home, including a water birth); stages of labour (an overview on the stages of labour in a natural birth). There is advice from an obstetrician, naturopath, midwife, herbalist and childbirth educators.

Birth As We Know It DVD
A pregnant woman is participating in an event of miraculous significance. She’s bringing into existence a new life that did not exist before. The quality of this life will be defined by the quality of birth. The genius of her body is designed to give birth with ease and grace. In our soft, warm hands we are holding the key to our future. Natural birth is a powerful initiation, a rite of passage for all involved. Within the sacred act of birth lies the pathway to the pure potentiality of life. This is birth as nature knows it. This is birth as we know it. A journey of a few inches from the womb into the world is our ultimate flight for freedom that activates our zest for life.

Birth In Water DVD
This DVD takes you on an extraordinary journey documenting the use of water immersion during labour and childbirth. It reveals the benefits of water birthing, both physical and emotional. There are 5 births, filmed at the John Flynn Hospital on the Gold Coast, with Dr Andrew Davidson. Testimonials from parents give you insight as to what to expect.

Baby-Led Breastfeeding DVD
In this DVD we see mothers learning to breastfeed naturally by letting their babies show them how. Like kittens and puppies, human babies are hardwired to seek out and find the breast. Mothers learn to breastfeed naturally by creating and maintaining a calm environment, by allowing the baby to take the lead and by helping the baby do what he is trying to do for himself.

Being Dad & Being Dad 2 DVDs
About to become a dad for the first time, and way behind in his reading, Troy Jones teamed up with Australia’s leading obstetrician, some financial planning mates, a nappy changing expert, a male nurse and 60 dads around Australia to uncover the mysteries of pregnancy and birth. The resulting DVDs, ground breaking, hilarious and emotional documentary films have been lauded by critics and commentators alike.
The Being Dad series helps blokes to be better prepared, better partners and ultimately better dads.