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About Birth without Violence
The classic guide to gentle birth that revolutionized the way we welcome our children into the world.
• The first book to express what mothers have always known: babies are born complete human beings with the ability to experience a full range of emotions.
• Shows how gentle lighting, a quiet atmosphere, and a warm bath allow a newborn to ease the transition from womb to world without trauma or fear.
• New translation overseen by the author himself; also includes a new author preface.
Birth without Violence revolutionized the way we perceive the process of birth, urging us to consider birth from the infant's point of view. Why must a child emerge from the quiet darkness of the womb into a blaze of blinding light and loud voices? Why must an infant take its first breath in terror, hanging upside down as its vulnerable spine is jerked straight? Why must the infant be separated from its mother after spending nine months inside her nourishing body?
Examining alternatives to technocentric approaches to childbirth, this classic text shows us how we can create an environment of tranquillity in which to welcome our children: a relaxed mother, gentle lighting, soothing atmosphere, and a warm bath that mirrors the child's prenatal surroundings. Dr. Leboyer's simple techniques show us how a birth without violence has far-reaching implications for improving the quality of human life physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
About the Author(s) of Birth without Violence
Frédérick Leboyer, M.D., was the first physician to challenge society’s beliefs about awareness in the newborn, revolutionizing the course of prenatal care and the way babies are introduced into the world. A retired obstetrician who attended more than 10,000 births, he is a graduate of the University of Paris School of Medicine where he served as Chef de Clinique. He lives in Switzerland.
Praise for Birth without Violence
"Amazing . . . Birth without Violence is a sensual experience, visually and verbally, as its poetic prose blends with the pictures like the unfolding of a happy dream. . . . The impact is strong, [Leboyer's] appeal inviting."
The Boston Globe
"Birth without Violence is a work of art, and Frédérick Leboyer is the artist of this century who will have the greatest influence on the health and way of life of the next generations."
Michel Odent, M.D., author of Birth Reborn
"One of the twenty books that changed the world."
Utne Reader
"Water births, less hospital chaos and more suggestions for improved birth environments fill Birth Without Violence, which is worth consideration to any expecting mother."
The Midwest Book Review, Sept 2009
"This book, which teaches us just how conscious babies are at birth, serves to expand the focus of a nurturing birth environment to include both baby and mother."
New Age Journal
"Frédérick Leboyer was the first physician to bring an enlightened perspective to parents, physicians, and nurses. . . . He taught those who would listen a fundamental lesson: treat a newborn infant as if it is aware of everything going on around it and being done to it. Because it is!"
Suzanne Arms, author of Immaculate Deception
"A major breakthrough . . . Beautifully written and beautifully illustrated."
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
