The Birth Book

An Obstetrician's Guide to Preparing for Childbirth: Warm, Informative and Funny.

For most mums-to-be, the birth suite is a black box. An alarming number venture in with little clue of what to expect. The Birth Book empowers mothers, partners, and support people with knowledge - changing potentially frightening birth experiences into cherished, life-long memories.

Drawing on his extensive experience as an obstetric specialist and leading researcher into making childbirth safer, Professor Stephen Tong guides you through vital information to ensure a safe and happy birth day. Simply written and entertaining, the pages are packed with information and real-life stories to answer questions such as:

• What happens during labour exactly?
• How long will labour last?
• Are epidurals safe?
• Why are caesareans even needed?
• What options and choices do I have?

Professor Tong carefully breaks down the evidence and facts so you have the knowledge and insight to share in decision-making wherever your birth may lead.

The Birth Book provides you with everything you need to know to turn anxiety and trepidation about your childbirth into an empowering and confidence-led experience.

5 Star Review:

"Brilliant brilliant brilliant! This short, funny and supremely informative book takes you through every stage of labour, what happens in your body and why, and what your caregivers might do at every stage and during various complications. It’s also littered with cute historical anecdotes about the origins of various birthing techniques and tools, and analogies that make all the info easier to remember.

I feel like I’m SO informed now about what happens during birth and what my options are, without any kind of bias, just medical knowledge based on this obstetrician’s years of experience.

Honestly, couldn’t recommend this new book more highly. Every pregnant person, partner or interested person should read it." - Kashbot

Midwife Certified:

"So often I see women come into the birth suite with lots of ideas of their ‘normal birth’ dreams. When things don’t always go to plan, I find there is a lack of knowledge and a lot of fear surrounding, at times, required medical interventions. This book not only discusses normal birth, but also breaks down that fear by providing easy-to-understand information about a range of medical interventions. Prof Tong provides this information in a witty and fun way that is easy to understand. Highly recommend this book if you wish to be well-informed about all potential aspects of labour and delivery!" - Courtney

"For the last 20 years I’ve just noticed that there are many women who would like to know more about what happens in the birthing suite. I’m very neutral about how women want birth, I give all the information in a neutral, down-the-middle way, and hope that women will make an objective choice… their choice." – Prof Tong

"One of the chapters I found amazing was the one on the epidural – although I had one – I really didn’t understand much of what was happening. Another chapter that is worth the price of the book alone is ‘helping to start labour’! If you, or you know someone who is going to give birth this year, this book would be a really handy reference. My copy is already in the mail to a dear friend. Really, it is one of the most solid, sensible books about birth that I’ve had the chance to read. I hope it will become a reference for heaps of women as they approach their own births." – Penny Johnston, Babytalk