I Don't Know How to Give Birth!

So if you just want to know about what happened to the author, it’s a fine read. It’s just her story.But I really wish there was a note about some of the questionable practices that medical professionals use.For example pushing on the woman’s stomach during labor. That’s horrible and it was confirmed a long time ago that it’s a TERRIBLE PRACTICE ANS SHOULD NEVER BE DONE yet it’s still done.Forcefully dilating the cervix during pre-labor: do I even have to explain why this is bad? Are you kidding me??I really hope the author has learned more and if she ever plans to have another child is able to advocate for herself. Basically all this manga did for me was confirm I NEVER want to go to the hospital for birth. I’ll be at home with a midwife, thanks. I don’t need people poking and prodding me and performing questionable at best medical practices on me. Some of them are downright dangerous for the mother and/or the baby.Yikes.So 3 stars because the author tells her story well, but holy moly it’s terrifying and infuriating.

I waited to rate this one because it left me unhappy and I wanted to know if I would come around to it. It has now been two weeks since I read it and I still don't feel happy with it.Nonfiction manga is a great thing, in my opinion. There are several fantastic ones out there, both of the personal sort like Junji Ito's Cat Diary and the informative sort like Makeup is (Not) Magic. This sells itself like an informative manga, but it's all just one woman's personal journey through childbirth and early parenthood. The approach to sex and childbirth is not much like ours in the UK, and the level of shame the mother to be feels is never discussed or qustioned. The manga tries to maintain a humorous tone, but most of the humour relies on exaggerated reactions and gestures. I feel like the author is a nice lady, but I actually enjoyed her husband's short sections more because he is both very caring and brutally honest, especially about being a bit of a perv. His sections were hilarious. They seem like a nice couple.I think this would be a good manga for a young, nerdy pregnant person who doesn't receive good support from their friendship circle, a teenager who doesnt know how pregnancy changes your life, or someone struggling to understand their partner's pregnancy. As an almost 30 year old woman who is very well informed about pregnancy, I was not the target for this book, but I know there are many people who could find it helpful.