I thought this was a really well written and motivating book! It wasn't as scientifically backed as a lot of birth books that I have read, but instead had more feel good, you can do it, vibes. I do think that there are definitely times where you cannot just will things to work out how you want and medical intervention is necessary. However, if you need the extra motivation and want a fun read than this book is great!

I really and truly loved this book by January Harshe. I am currently in my 3rd trimester with my 1st child and there are so many unknowns, so many pieces of advice or you HAVE to do this. I love that in Birth Without Fear, January plants the seed of variations of normal. There is no one thing that is normal while pregnant, giving birth or postpartum. It is all variations of normal and that is okay. Making sure mama is healthy is a key point too because if you are not practicing self care, how can you care for your new baby? Thank you for a great read, and great tips. I love that you included a variety of birth plan templates also! Thank you!

Harshe's main concern is that women everywhere will be empowered to make their birthing experience their own, and feel confident in making major decisions such as selecting their healthcare provider(s), creating a birth plan, and deciding whether or not to breastfeed. This is an admirable undertaking, and Harshe succeeds in writing a non-judgmental guide that is both reassuring and comforting to women who feel they aren't taken seriously by their healthcare team during pregnancy and beyond. However, there is very little factual or scientific information to be found here, and it becomes painfully obvious that Harshe is mostly drawing from her own personal experiences with very little research behind her arguments. One example is her insistence that women who want to give birth vaginally after a cesarean merely need to believe in themselves and in their bodies that they can do it, and paints any healthcare provider who might disagree as "judgmental" or "body shaming." She fails to mention even once the reasons why some doctors are reluctant for certain patients to undergo this procedure, or the possible risks involved. Such one-sided arguments, abundantly found throughout this book, are misleading and oversimplify potentially serious issues. In short, this book is disappointing as an informational guide on how to give birth without fear; however, some expectant mothers might find it offers them positive and uplifting affirmations that can be useful during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.

this is such a great, informative, non judgmental book. i highly recommend it no matter what stage of life you're in, whether you've been pregnant, are pregnant, hoping to get pregnant. i'm a huge fan of january harshe and love how honest she is, this book is the same way. honest and passionate and i love it!

This is such a great book and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about getting pregnant or is currently pregnant. I am currently TTC and have been reading a lot of different books. I tend to gravitate towards a more natural approach to pregnancy and labor & delivery. However, as I have yet to experience either of these, some of the natural approach books can be a bit intimidating on certain aspects. But, I really didn't like some of the "traditional" pregnancy books because some of them skipped out on a lot of important information. The great things about Birth Without Fear is that is covers both perspectives in a completely non-judgemental way. You want to have a medication free birth with a doula and a midwife? Great! You want to have a scheduled c-section with your OB? Great! The author respects the fact that everyone has a different approach to pregnancy and birth. And although there are of course things that have been proven to be effective, there are many other choices that each woman needs to make for herself.
This book goes through pregnancy, labor & delivery and post-partum. The author includes some of her own experiences and touches on topics such as plus size pregnancy, that I really haven't read about in any other books. Birth Without Fear is a great book for anyone who is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. And if you enjoy the book, check out the community around the Birth Without Fear movement on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book.

Best Book for the First Time Mom!
Reading this helped me understand more of what questions and problems most mothers feel when getting ready to give birth. My current job right now is newborn photography and I love talking to moms about their experiances being moms. I got curious when I saw the title because common sense dictates it is scary to give birth.
When I read through the intro I felt that this woman who after going through scary births found confindence to have her latest baby at home. Founded a great community where new moms and/or experianced moms open up about their worries and find the courage to have the pregnancy and motherhood they dream about.
I am an aunt of five nephews and I never had my sisters explain this better than the writing from this book. Now I feel secure about my decisions on how I want to plan my birth. Don't know when that will happen, but its wonderful to be prepared.
Thank you, Netgalley for letting me recieve a copy of Birth Without Fear. Not out til March 5, 2019!

If you're pregnant and feeling nervous at all about giving birth and becoming a mom, then this is the book for you! I'm terrified to give birth but after reading this book, the author has put me at ease.

There's even a section in part one of the book that goes over some of the more difficult topics such as miscarriage. I appreciated that section, being a mom that has gone through a miscarriage, it was nice reading about how to handle it and knowing I'm not alone.

I absolutely loved the advice and confidence the author gives you in this book because she is a mother of six so I know I can count on her advice to get me through this beautiful journey without fear!

Thank you #NetGalley, January Harshe, and the publisher for this eGalley of #BirthWithoutFear
pub date, 05 Mar 2019

I love that Harshe is putting this out there for all to see to break down stigma and show birth from various perspectives.

As an expecting Mama, I really enjoyed this book. It's different from others in it's genre in that January celebrates each woman's unique birth journey and leaves plenty of space for that uniqueness. This book centers around concepts like self-care and doing what's best for your baby. I closed this book feeling empowered and ready to tackle this birth.