The Home Birth Advantage by Mayer Eisenstein

Being the huge proponent of homebirth that I am, I was fairly certain I would like a book with the title The Home Birth Advantage, and I was right. For the most part, I liked this book, so I’ll start with the positives.

I love the beginning section of this book. The author says so many truisms of birth that I could practically quote his entire writing.

What’s different about this book from other books on the topic of homebirth is that the author is not afraid to outright proclaim homebirth is safe. Of course, homebirth is safe. Research supports this conclusion, yet the author is correct in his assertion that no other book outrightly proclaims this. Other books say homebirth is a nice option, but they do not go far enough in saying that homebirth is THE option for almost all pregnant women.

What I also loved about this book that no other book I have read on any subject does is that the author doesn’t simply require us to take his word that homebirth is the safest option, he explains to us how to research it for ourselves. Other authors blab on about the scientific research they’ve reviewed for their book, but few will tell you how to do as they’ve done. Being educated about a subject does require an investigation into what science has to say about a topic, yet many people don’t know how to go about searching the research. A simple google search is not at all sufficient!

Now, there were a few things I had quams with in this book. This book is written by a medical doctor and there is a phrase in the book that states something to the effect of homebirth is only safe when there is a skilled medical doctor present. Nowhere in the entire book does he once mention midwives. To me, midwives and homebirth are synonymous of one another. Midwives have been carrying the torch of homebirth for far longer than any medical doctor. They’ve taken much abuse for it, often being persecuted as felons. To not acknowledge them for the skilled professionals they are, strong and courageous women, in a book about homebirth- the very thing they do- is an insult. They should have at least been addressed in the book. Period.

Much of the book consisted of the author recounting some of his experiences and giving much details of his organization, Homefirst. There’s a history of homebirth in Chicago and also information on the founding of Le Leche League- something the author is an avid supporter of. The book ends with recounts of births by his family members. There are also some homebirth stories littered throughout.

I found this book to be lacking in meat and potatoes. I’m glad the author is supportive of homebirth and breastfeeding, yet this book really doesn’t give any information that’s useful on these subjects. I had trouble relating to the childbirth stories. I grew bored at times. There wasn’t much of the scientific evidence mentioned in the book. No statistics as to why one would want to consider a homebirth- only that they should. Also, there is no bibliography, works cited, or notes at the end of the book, citing the research he used. I feel a medical doctor should be aware that if they’re writing a book at all, much less one that’s controversial in nature going against societal standards, of course references to the scientific literature should be included.

This book is a bit outdated as the copy I have was written in 2000. Many of the references he makes are to things that happened in the 70’s and 80’s.

The last complaint I have is the author’s continual quoting and mentioning of Dr. Joseph DeLee, whom is often referred to as the Father of Modern Obstetrics. The way the author portrays Dr. DeLee is inaccurate from my perception. Dr. DeLee made many pigheaded remarks about women and our ability to give birth in his lifetime, and I often wonder why he was even an obstetrician. He’s exactly what’s wrong with obstetrics today, and in his lifetime, he arguably did more harm than good. I don’t understand why the author seems to be confused on this point.

I realize my review seems more proportionally negative now that I’ve written it. This wasn’t a bad book, there were simply some inconsistencies I must mention. I wouldn’t call this book a must read. A comparable, but much more informative book on this topic would be The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer. That book has the meat and potatoes I look for.