I put this DVD on to watch as I was filled with high expectations from the title that I was going to be informed as to how I could have achieved an orgasmic birth. My birth was wonderful, amazing, empowering etc etc, but no alas I did not achieve the big O.

I have to say that the DVD is filled with great birth stories, expert opinions and facts about hospital vs home births. It gives a new slant on how birth is part of a womans sexual life, that it can be passionate and as Ina May Gaskin put it “Birth sounds like a woman having great sex”.

We have recognised for a long time that endorphins and oxytocin are present both at conception and birth and that the highest levels of oxytocin you will ever have are in the moments straight after birth as you are falling in love with your baby, but I had not really taken that one step further (other than when talking about naturally inducing labour) to recognise that birth can actually be a sensuous, sexual experience.

In terms of stories, in particular I liked Piper and Chaz. Piper was in full blown labour but had no idea, she remembers that she went to another place “…we all went there together” she said and as the baby was born, they all sang happy birthday. I wish I had thought of that! She also states that she only felt pain whilst she was in the car, which fits exactly with my Psychology of Giving Birth Programme when I talk about car journeys being filled with anxiety and sometimes being a factor in labour slowing down or stopping.

Trisha and Arp also caught my attention. Trisha was screaming and to a viewer this sounded like pain, but she explained that she just needed to scream, it wasn’t pain “…I just needed to shout, it felt very satisfying”. As Trisha is summing up she talks about how she is so proud of herself and how there’s not many times that you can say that to the world.

That really struck a cord with me. So many of us are achieving great things but rarely do we actually feel proud of ourselves. Birth can be one of those moments which you can share with the world that yes, you are proud of yourself.

The thing which was missing for me were specific techniques, instructions and research to show just how you can achieve the big O during the big L. So that’s my next project – I can see a visit to The Farm in Tennessee coming on, as they seem to manage a 21% big O rate there!

You can get the DVD from the Orgasmic Birth website.

Dr Harvey Karp is the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA and has worked within this field for nearly 30 years. He has written many books and produced DVDs regarding child development and I want to focus on the one product of his which is relevant for the period immediately after the baby has arrived into your family.

Happiest Baby on the Block DVD is a practical guide as to how to calm a newborn baby. The reason I particularly like it is because it focuses on the idea that the baby has a fourth trimester and that in order to calm them, the environment they have just come from should be considered and replicated. Interestingly, this technique uses the same psychological approach as the one I talk about in the Relax During Birthing download, available free when you sign up to the newsletter. This process in the brain (although Dr Karp does does specifically refer to it) is called "Pattern Matching". Whether a newborn baby, a pregnant lady, or a birth companion, if there is a need to relax, by bringing into the environment things which your brain recognises have relaxed you in the past, it will automatically trigger a relaxation response.

In the case of a newborn baby, Dr Karp talks about the 5 S's - Swaddling, Shushing, Suckling, Swinging, Side/Stomach. He shows the viewer how to effectively swaddle as well as each of the other S's step by step. You will see babys going from screeming the house down, to calmly being jiggled and gently shushed. Dr Karp calls this the calming reflex. The DVD shows a group of parents in a class being taught the techniques, as well as individual one to ones with parents. The other useful addition to the DVD is the extra features - here he has included shushing noises which you can actually utilise with your baby (yes, I did actually sit down with my baby with this DVD on to calm him down!).

If you are interested in purchasing this DVD, it's a good idea to do it before the baby arrives, so you can learn the techniques and feel calm in yourself that you will know how to deal with your baby when they arrive (have an appropriately sized teddy bear/doll and blanket to hand).

You can see Dr Harvey Karp put his 5 S's into practice in this short interview with Richard and Judy from the UK. It really is quite amazing to see.

Star rating :

Buy this DVD on Amazon.com

Buy this DVD on Amazon.co.uk

This Birth DVD is very easy for me review as it was something I watched whilst I was pregnant and still today remember the impact it had on me. I have also played it in every antenatal class and one to one session I have run since.

Rather than lots of footage of individual births, this DVD shows the full journey of a pregnant mum going from experiencing light surges/contractions to delivering the baby. You will see how labor progresses and as there is also a running commentary from the mum, so you will know how it feels for her too. You will see how visualizations made a real difference to how she was feeling and the wonderful impact her husband had on her birth experience.

As mum is a midwife she also recognizes the impact she has on peoples birth experiences and this comes across well in the DVD. She explains well how a woman already knows how to give birth, that it is within her. She also beautifully describes how it feels to be a midwife “seeing mothers being born as mothers and fathers born as fathers”.

If there is only one Birth DVD you watch before your birth, I would absolutely recommend this one (and have a box of tissues handy if your hormones are haywire).

Star rating :

Buy Birth Day DVD from Amazon.com