Helping Your Family Understand Homebirth

If you're planning a home birth, you'll want your family to understand and be supportive of your choice. Here are some books that might help:

We're Having a Homebirth by Kelly Mochel - this is a new US picture book to help small children understand the arrival of their new baby brother or sister. Colourfully illustrated and informative.

My Brother Jimi Jazz by Chrissy Butler - the story of a home birth told through the eyes of the new baby's big sister. Written and beautifully illustrated by an Australian mother and artist.

Hello Baby by Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas - another book for children by an Australian author and an award-winning illustrator.

The Father's Home Birth Handbook by Leah Hazard - written by a doula from the UK to answer common questions fathers ask about home birth, this book includes home birth stories from a diverse range of men.

Men At Birth by David Vernon - one of my favourite Canberra authors :) A collection of birth stories as told by men, with a wide range of birth settings including home birth.

Birth Your Way by Sheila Kitzinger - published in 2002, this book is a rewrite of her earlier Home Birth book. This is a good one for explaining the physiology of normal birth, how to prepare for birth at home, research into the safety of homebirth, how to prepare other children for the arrival of their new baby brother or sister at home, waterbirth, and pain management. Even if you're not planning a home birth, this book is a useful guide to what the birthing body needs to enable a normal birth.

Natural Parenting - you can also find homebirth information, plus lots of other natural parenting information relevant to Australian families, at the Natural Parenting online community.