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  • Birth Without Fear

  • The Judgment-Free Guide to Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
  • Written by: January Harshe
  • Narrated by: January Harshe, Cynthia Barrett
  • Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (22 ratings)

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Birth Without Fear

Written by: January Harshe
Narrated by: January Harshe,Cynthia Barrett
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Publisher's Summary

An inclusive, non-judgmental, and empowering guide to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum life that puts mothers first, offering straightforward guidance on all the options and issues that matter most to them (and their partners) when preparing for a baby.

In Birth Without Fear, January Harshe - founder of the global online community Birth Without Fear - delivers an honest, positive, and passionate message of empowerment surrounding everything that involves having a baby. It's a guide that fills in the considerable cracks in the information available to women and families when they're preparing to welcome a child - covering care provider choices, medical freedom, birth options, breastfeeding, intimacy, postpartum depression, and much more. 

Birth Without Fear shows moms, dads, partners, and families how to choose the best provider for them, how to trust in themselves and the birth process, and how to seek the necessary help after the baby has arrived. In addition, it will educate them about their rights - and how to use their voice to exercise them - as well as how to cope with the messy postpartum feelings many people aren't willing to talk about. Unlike other pregnancy books, Birth Without Fear will also help partners understand what mothers are going through, as well as discuss the challenges that they, too, will face - and how they can navigate them.

Shattering long-held myths and beliefs surrounding pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum experience, Birth Without Fear is an accessible, reassuring, and ultimately inspiring guide to taking charge of pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 January Harshe (P)2019 Hachette Books

What the critics say

"With endless warmth and encouragement - and not a single ounce of judgment - January Harshe shares a wealth of wisdom and resources to help you discover what the best pregnancy and birth experience is for you. Birth Without Fear is a must-have book for anyone who is preparing to welcome a baby into the world." (Dawn Dais, author of The Sh!t No One Tells You About Pregnancy)

"The first book on pregnancy, childbirth, and the tender postpartum period that will leave you feeling truly supported, understood, and informed. January bravely calls out in a straightforward, funny, and thought-provoking way where we have gone wrong with prenatal and postnatal care, and how women can reclaim their experience and find empowerment on their journey to motherhood." (Bryn Huntpalmer, M.Ed., founder of "The Birth Hour" podcast)

"Practical, positive, and empowering." (Booklist)

What listeners say about Birth Without Fear

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed…

As a first time mom, I am always looking to learn. As a first time mom with GD, I am overly aware of what writers say about it. January makes a comment in the book that is untrue and a pretty dangerous statement to make. She says “Gestational Diabetes is caused by diet and not by weight”. This is incorrect. It is not caused by either diet or weight, it has to do with hormones. Sharing this type of false information is very dangerous.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Title is confusing

easy to listen, not as much info as Id have thought. actually, nothing about birthing without fear to be honest. just a very defensive author lol. the title is confusing...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Well worth the read

Absolutely loved this book. I am half way through my pregnancy and I listened to it so quickly, I couldn’t shut it off! Huge fan.

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  • James J.
  • 2019-07-25

Deceiving title, disappointing

This book should be titled Pregnancy Care Without Fear. I expected this book to be about actual birth and labor without fear and it doesn’t touch upon that once. Not once. I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to books and typically give 4 or 5 stars. This book was a complete waste of my limited time and extremely misleading. It was also unbelievably redundant.

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9 people found this helpful

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  • Lorisa B.
  • 2019-07-19

Bad content, super slow reading

I was hoping for an evidence based book on birth and birth planning. What I got was a book where the author complained about being judged for being obese during pregnancy, judged for wanting a VBAC and the same information repeated over and over again. No evidence anywhere to be found. Also, the narrator speaks SO slowly - apparently in an attempt to drag out the story or make the book longer than it actually is. Even on 1.25 speed it’s incredibly slow paced...will be requesting a refund.

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4 people found this helpful

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  • JJ Living Happy & Well
  • 2019-03-25

Wonderful

This is a wonderful book about empowerment. If you are looking for technical birthing information this is not the book you are looking for, this is a book for more fully experiencing and protecting your birthing story. As a doula, I found it stood directly where I do, it explains a birthing person’s rights to have the birth experience they choose. Allowing for those incidents to happen and the possible changes to your plan to still become a positive birth story. Truly enjoyed the writing and narration. This will be a recommendation for every doula and hypnotherapy birthing client.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Emma
  • 2019-03-20

Full of truth and love

After reading 20+ pregnancy books to prepare for our twins this book easily hits the top 3 list. January’s honest, loving and kind approach to pregnancy, birth and postpartum is beautiful. In a world where birth can be surrounded by fear, secrets, judgement, and shame January creates space to reset expectations and explore our true and evolving selves with love.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2021-02-17

Missing some very important facts

I like that this book was positive and encouraging, however I do think the author should touch more on the dangers of childbirth. She speaks about her experiences with healthcare providers being frantic when she would end up having to go to the hospital after days of labor (and a 2Vback)... but never mentions the serious risks associated with her birthplans. I am happy in the end all worked out for her, but not all women are that lucky. I think she did a disservice by not mentioning the risk of bleeding, uterine rupture, and death to both mom and baby especially in the scenarios she put herself in. Women should make informed decisions while making their birthplans and these are extremely important factors to consider. Hospital staff has the mom and babies health and safety as their top priority. Unfortunately, some women don't fully understand the severity of their situation and all of the risks they are taking that could affect both mom and baby.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • Joe
  • 2020-02-03

Terribly misleading title

After lines like putting both middle fingers up to doctors, I lost interest. The content was repetitive and the author seems insecure and pushing a narrative that isn’t actually happening in hospitals.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2023-10-18

Empowering and Inspiring

I am not expecting or currently a mom, yet I found this book extremely empowering! Birth Without Fear shares great advice on self confidence, bodily autonomy, self respect and self care. I feel that I can take these lessons and apply them to the current lifestyle I am living, without being a mother or parent. I love the overall story and appreciate the inclusion of LGBTQ+ family dynamics sprinkled in there. My only complaint would be that the author January Harshe did not narrate the whole book. She has such a strong and powerful message and I would have really liked to hear the message spoken directly from her. Personally, I think the narrator still did a great job reading, but it would have been nice to hear the authors passion through her own voice and emotions. Overall a wonderful book that is worth the listen!

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  • anonymous
  • 2023-10-12

Not helpful

The author is making some outrageous claims. The purpose seem to be self justifying the authors pregnancy and birthing choices, rather provide information for others. I wish I could return it.

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  • iPhone
  • 2023-04-28

I loved this book

I really enjoyed this book. My husband and I listened to it in preparation for our first pregnancy. Sadly we had a molar pregnancy, now we’re pregnant again (17 weeks) and are goin to listen to it again to prepare for our birth ❤️

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  • Amanda Jane
  • 2023-02-05

Slightly informative, Heavily Fear Based

I have listened to a few birth audiobooks, and this one was very fear-based, which is odd because the title suggests otherwise. I was just appointed in the lack of information and more of a focus on what could go wrong or the negative sides of situations. There would be 15 minutes of the negative side, or the hustle and bustle of the hospital first and then two or three minute of suggestions.

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