Our Recommendations and the Reasoning Behind Them

These are our Top Ten VBAC book recommendations. Your opinions may vary! However, if you have to choose only a few books to read, these are probably among the best places to start.  Many of these can be ordered through www.1cascade.com, through used book services like www.half.com, or may be available for loan through local La Leche League or ICAN chapter libraries.

The VBAC Companion and Natural Childbirth After Cesarean are both excellent introductory VBAC books, if a bit old. Silent Knife is a classic in the VBAC field, published in 1983. Although its strong tone will put off some, the tone comes from being written when VBAC was still not being 'allowed' by most doctors. Even so, the book still has much to offer years later, particularly the chapters on "Mindscapes," “Voices of the Victims,” and the birthing stories. 

Birthing From Within is an excellent general pregnancy manual, with lots of birth art and exercises for working through pregnancy worries. Creating a Joyful Birth Experience is a great book for creating an empowering birth experience. It has a number of valuable writing, visualization, and art exercises for working through fears. The exercises in both books may seem a bit strange or silly at first, but many women find them very helpful in preparing for birth and dealing with fears. 

Rebounding From Childbirth and Transformation Through Birth, are excellent books dealing with emotional repercussions after a difficult birth, each from a different but valuable perspective.

For technical knowledge about childbirth issues, Obstetric Myths vs. Research Realities is an excellent book. It has a particularly good section on VBAC vs. repeat cesarean, and analyzes many research studies about various obstetric procedures and their effects on birth. If you need concrete data and studies to show your doctor or loved ones, or if you are questioning the value of some routine procedures, this is an invaluable book to read. A good adjunct is The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth. 

Understanding and Teaching Optimal Foetal Positioning shows how a less-favorable baby position ends up causing many c-sections. An even better explanation of this for the layperson is Sit Up and Take Notice. The Labor Progress Handbook suggests a number of techniques to help correct baby malposition and/or move along a labor that is slow or 'stuck'. It is a good resource for you or your labor coach, doula, or midwife. The Pink Kit is a video, tape, and book set that teaches women how to “map” their own pelvic shape and learn different techniques for creating extra space for baby to fit through.  If your past c-section was for "Failure to Progress," "Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion," “fetal malposition,”or if you were told your baby was 'too big' or your pelvis 'too small', all these books are a must-read.  

Finally, most VBAC moms find that they draw inspiration and encouragement from reading lots of VBAC stories. The VBAC Experience has any number of these, as does Silent Knife.  Many online resources also have lots of VBAC stories to read.