This last week I finished reading The Best Birth by Sarah McMoyler and Armin Brott as well as Easy Labor by William Camann and Kathryn J. Alexander. 

The Best Birth book is currently one of my favorite childbirth books.  McMoyler and Brott spent a lot of time discussing how husbands can be  involved in the birth process.  In addition, they covered various pain coping methods including both natural methods and medication options.  I felt like this was one of the most balanced books I'd read.  It seems like many books try to push either all natural childbirth or just assume you'll choose an epidural.  I liked that the focus of this book is "healthy mother, healthy baby" and however you choose to get that result is okay.  McMoyler also has a DVD called The Best Birth.  Unfortunately, it's not available in any libraries but I liked her book enough that I'm probably going to go ahead and buy the DVD.  The only downside I encountered in the book is they didn't recommend using doulas.  The reason given is that your husband should be providing the support that a doula usually does.  She also mentioned that some doctors/hospitals are uncomfortable with them.  However, this isn't true in my case, I've already checked. 

I'm a little nervous about only having my husband to help me through labor.  I know the nurses and doctors will be there to help me but they need to split their attention between me and all the other women on the maternity floor.  It would be nice to have another person focusing just on me and my husband.  Instead of hiring a labor doula, McMoyler suggestions hiring one to help with postpartum care.  This does make a lot of sense to me but at the same time I think I might want additional support during the labor.  I haven't decided one way or the other yet.  I'll probably need to discuss this with my husband more and see what he thinks.  In any case, I would have appreciated it if the book covered where a doula would fit in if you wanted to have one with you.

Before reading The Best Birth, I read Easy Labor.  This book had a lot of information especially regarding pain medication options.  It did include descriptions of Lamaze, the Bradley Method, Hynotherapy, and more but I felt like most of the space was devoted to pain medication and other possible medical interventions.  Even though I didn't like it as well as The Best Birth, I think it provides the most thorough information about pain options.  Even if I decide not to use pain medication, I think it's useful to understand the pros and cons so one can make an informed decision since it seems labor almost never goes according to plan :)  Camann and Alexander were also featured on an episode of Pregtastic.  I really enjoy listening to the Pregtastic podcasts as they have many experts on to talk about pregnancy related issues as well as the chance to hear many womens' birth stories.