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Life After Birth
 
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Life After Birth (Paperback)

by Kate Figes (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (30 Mar 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140252630
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140252637
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 135,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

Takes a hard-hitting look at the reality - physically, emotionally, socially and sexually - of becoming a mother. This book sets out to dispell the myths surrounding motherhood and to address the varied needs of contemporary women facing motherhood.

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The only book that helped me understand motherhood, 28 May 2001
By A Customer
Having read the other nine reviews of this book, I can only assume that if we vary between one and five stars then we vary greatly in the way giving birth has affected us. I only wish I could have read this book during the first difficult weeks of having my daughter instead of four months into it, when post natal depression was still affecting me greatly. The book pulls no punches about what motherhood does to you - from a life of complete individualism to one of complete control by a tiny human! This is the only book that tells it like it is FOR SOME WOMEN - not everyone is going to feel the way Kate Figes explains yet I cannot believe that MOST women don't feel some sense of loss when they give themselves up to motherhood. This book is a self-help manual to any woman who experienced a traumatic birth and who is finding motherhood nothing like the romantic image we might have had during our pregnancies - it reassures us that it is not bad to feel negative thoughts about what we have given up and it allows us to weep quietly when we relive the difficult moments of childbirth and the days and weeks afterwards that were very bleak. The positive thoughts we can take from the book is that other women have & will continue to go through what we are experiencing and that we can begin to enjoy our babies eventually - yes, there is life after birth!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A real and very supportive guide to the period after birth, 17 May 2000
By A Customer
This is the book I wish I had read just after the birth of my daughter 10 months ago. Unlike the vast majority of post birth books, this is not a manual. It concentrates on the physical and psychological changes that occur to a woman putting them into context.

It presents an academic approach in an easy to access format, giving historical and sociological perspective to the way that we experience the post-birth period. For example, did you know that the concept of the mother staying home to take care of a child is a construct of the 20th Century? Before that, babies were brought up by nannies or extended family members depending on the social background of the family.

I found the sections on the impact that a baby has on friends of particular relevence. It did explain some surprising things that had been going on in my life.

I was delighted to find an unvarnished account of the problems that can be experienced which also gave full weight to the delights of motherhood and fully supported a range of childcare and lifestyle options, rather than dictating one. I have already given a copy to my best friend and would recommend it to anyone considering having a child, as well as those who have just given birth.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Take courage - you are normal!, 19 Jul 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Life After Birth (Paperback)
Having really suffered from ups-and-downs after the (rather traumatic) birth of my son, it was fantastic to realise that all my reactions were completely normal and my blues were finite. I was totally unprepared for everything I would experience after the birth (people tend to be prepared up until the event and no further...) and reading Kate Figes' book gave me a lot of courage. If I was in a real 'down' mood, my partner would open the book to the appropriate page (there was always an exact description somewhere in the book about the feelings I had at that moment) and make me read it; I would soon be laughing rather than crying! This is in no way a pessimistic book - it is completely positive and realistic and a must for anyone who feels shaken by the new situation. I am now the happiest mother in the world, by the way.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars The author's views presented as facts- irritating.
I found this book irritating and wish I had not been enticed by the encouraging introduction. Apart from the relentless negativity about motherhood I found that the information... Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. Wood

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for New Mums!!!
I agree with all the previous positive reviews....an amazing book.

When my baby was 8 months old I was diagnosed with Post Natal depression. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2007 by Jane I

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I needed!
As a new first time mother of a gorgeous girl I had no idea how unprepared for life after birth. The unadulterated joy and depth of love is beyond compare. Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2005 by L. Dickson

5.0 out of 5 stars Life after birth
Not being a reader normally and just having given birth I found this book excellent. I enjoyed the history covering all aspects of childbirth and the aftermath!!. Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2005 by Mrs J M Prady

5.0 out of 5 stars My saviour!
There will always be those who claim that everything about having a baby (from conception, through pregnancy, through birth itself and then breastfeeding and caring for your child... Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2005 by heyhodeb

2.0 out of 5 stars At-home mums beware!
Figes’ intolerant views towards at-home moms and her prescriptive approach seriously undermine her stated goal of supporting all new mothers. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2003 by evelyn2

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth, the whole truth.....
....I wish I had bought this book earlier on, rather than when my baby was 9 months old. I read it at one sitting, more or less, and loved every word. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2002 by C Clayton

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be essential reading for all new mothers
I think this book is fantastic - and so did all of my other new-mum friends. This book deals with the mother's emotions and feelings after childbrith and reading it made me... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars a realistic, hardhitting yet comforting read
This book does focus on the negative aspects and trauma of dealing with a new born. However, I feel that it is essential to hear this point of view when most books and the media... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Compelling Reading
As a young childless woman I found the book very revealing. Figes claims that most women are too competitive or guarded to tell the truth about motherhood and to some extent I... Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2001

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