The Gentle Birth Method: The Month-by-month Jeyarani Way Programme

"Great book.
I wish I had it in my other pregnancies.
Great tips like avoiding wheat for easier delivery."
~ Written on 2008-04-04

"I have bought this book (after some careful thought) at about 25 wks. I was already eating sensibly and planning reflexology, perineal massage etc.
I had a posterior birth before and my labour was long and traumatising (despite people telling me "how neat" I looked!). I definetely did not want the same experience this time. One day, out of curiosity, as I suspected I might be carrying the baby the same way (again I carried a neat bump),I searched on how to avoid a posterior birth and found out that it depended also on the position of the placenta. Apparently, if you had an anterior placenta, the baby would be more likely to face towards it, making you more at risk for a posterior birth. Checking my notes, I discovered that I had an anterior placenta! My reluctant midwife(she had not heard of this theory before) confirmed also that I was right, I was indeed carrying my baby in a posterior position, to her surprise.
I made more research and found out a groundbreaking book from Jean Sutton on optimal foetal positioning. Why does The Gentle Birth NOT talk about these things? All the programme is futile if you have a posterior baby as it takes weeks of being in specific positions to turn it (despite her describing a successful story of the baby turning in labour)!!
The programme is also very expensive. I would only stick to the labour and post-natal homeopathic remedies, reflexology in the last month at least and perineal massage.
The rest of the complementary therapies is likely to be vastly unnecessary.
It is a good book overall, but lacking the vital info on how to get your baby in the right position before birth, I can only give it 3 stars."
~ Written on 2008-01-28

"Hi

Im 30 weeks pregnant and have been following this book since 6 weeks. Yes the book would benefit from an index but other than that i find the information clear and concise with relevant evidence supporting each recomendation.

Im the only one of my pregnant friends that has followed this book (despite me asking them to at least read about it) and so far so good, Ive had no ailments, no stretch marks no swollen joints. my baby is currently measuring perfectly on the fundal height chart. I am nearly half the size of a friend at a similar point in her pregnancy and have suffered no nausea or sickness at all

This book has really made me feel in control of my pregnany, and taken away any ignorance or preconceptions I may have had about the whole experience, Im weirdly actually looking forward to giving birth and meeting my child

So far i havent had any of the treatments, my husband does give me a few tummy massages a week. I do recommend the teas and the salt programme tho, and i think every mum should take MorDHA there are so many benefits to your child!"
~ Written on 2007-07-17

"I thought that this was a great book and tried to follow as much as possible (not easy living in Italy). I was exercising and at 20 weeks had only put on about 3 kilos. However half way through month 6 I was taken into hospital with contractions, put on a drip and advocated strict bed rest for nearly 3 weeks. Needless to say I cannot now follow her guidelines and I feel that while her advice is great if everything is going to plan, she doesn't offer much support if (and who knows why?) your pregnancy doesn't follow her ideal. Given her clear indication that big babies are all the fault of the mother's diet, I feel terribly at fault and anxious that I am now carrying a baby that is 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I am trying to eat sensibly and not (everytime I look at her book) put myself on a ridiculous eating regime nor add to my own anxiety about my weight. So I would advocate caution about this book. Great when all going well but stores up a whole string of extra worries if things go off the rails."
~ Written on 2007-07-12

"This is my pregnancy bible. I only came across it halfway through pregnancy, and it's still helped me immeasurably. By 20 weeks I'd put on 20lbs and felt stiff, achy, huge and miserable, dreading how much worse I was going to get. I took the advice in Gowri's book and now at 32 weeks, I'm exactly the same weight I was at 20 weeks, but toned, supple and healthy, and people are always raving about how well and in what good shape I look. All thanks to Gowri!

I cut out wheat/gluten and sugar, milk, etc. I haven't found I need a personal chef to cater for a gluten-free diet, as one reviewer complained: I just stopped buying bread, crumpets, wheat pasta, etc. I eat muesli with rice milk, corn crispbreads, avocados, quinoa, vegetables, prunes, figs, chicken, fish. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I haven't needed a fancy specialist food shop and I haven't forked out for fancy practitioners. Sainsbury's and Holland & Barrett have stocked the food I've needed. I get up early and do an hour of yoga every day (in the living room, to Shiva Rea's Pre-natal DVD), I walk briskly whenever I have to walk anywhere and I meditate last thing before bed to prepare my mind to relax for childbirth. I haven't had any creative healing, reflexology or homeopathy, but I don't feel I need to - the diet and yoga are enough to make me feel fabulous. I've gone from creaking and huffing and puffing to running up escalators and taking stairs two at a time again. My baby's fit and healthy, a good weight, moving a lot and my pregnancy is complication-free, and I can't ask for any more than that. I can't recommend this book enough."
~ Written on 2006-09-05