Obstetrics & Gynecology News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

In an ideal situation, happiness overwhelms the senses when a woman learns the news that she is pregnant. With that discovery, she finds herself looking at baby clothes, wondering if it’s a boy or a girl. As the due date grows near, she thinks more and more about how the baby will actually be born and wonders “Is there a right way to give birth?”

“We know there is no ‘best’ way to have a baby,” says Amen Ness, M.D., fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and a co-author of a new book about childbirth titled The Birth That’s Right for You (McGraw-Hill, 2005).

“Childbirth is a very personal decision and there are a variety of options for most women,” says Dr. Ness, who specializes in high-risk obstetrics and has been delivering babies for more than 20 years. “The choices range from getting an epidural as soon as they want one, to chanting their way through childbirth while sitting in a birthing pool in the middle of their living room.”

The Birth That’s Right for You is a collaboration between Dr. Ness, childbirth educator and doula, Lisa Gould Rubin, and writer Jackie Frederick-Berner. It has been called the only book to combine the medical expertise of a prominent physician and the hands-on experience of a doula to help mothers-to-be tune out what others think, and tune in to what an expectant mothers knows about herself. It presents the full range of birthing possibilities and non-judgmental assistance to help a woman choose the method that’s best for her.

Dr. Ness suggests basing the childbirth decision on self-knowledge rather than external influences. The future mother must also select the ideal setting for her baby’s birth, consider all methods of pain relief and determine which most meet her needs.

The Birth That’s Right for You is available in paperback online and in bookstores nationwide. Dr. Ness is available to discuss his findings in television, radio and print interviews.