Every pregnant woman's essential, step-by-step guide to taking charge of their labour and birth by Australia's leading expert in advanced labour pain management with her best-known client, Sarah Murdoch.

Even after reading countless pregnancy books I still didn't understand what my labour would be like. All I really knew was it would be painful and scary. Then my obstetrician suggested I take Juju Sundin's birth skills classes. Juju gave me the knowledge to understand my body during labour and taught me about the physiology of pain and how to use her techniques to deal with it. - Sarah Murdoch

If you're like most women, you'll go into labour with little knowledge of exactly what your body is doing and why, and how you can actively manage the pain and stay in control while helping your body do what it's designed to.

That's where Birth Skills comes in, a step-by-step guide packed with information plus easy-to-learn, proven pain management skills.

In Birth Skills, obstetric physiotherapist Juju Sundin shares the techniques she has pioneered over her 30-year career, while Sarah Murdoch takes you on a personal journey of her own labour and birth, describing how she learned the skills in the class then applied them on the big day.

Whether it's your first baby or lucky last, you will learn:

• how your body works in labour and why
• how to turn fear into positive action so you stay in control
• how to use movement, breathing, vocalisation, visualisation, keywords and other handy techniques
• what to wear, what to take, and what questions to ask
• how your partner can help, and working as a team
• other women's experiences using Juju's techniques.

Birth is all about the bigger picture - educating and empowering yourself, giving it a try, doing it your way, and a healthy mother and baby. - Juju Sundin