CommonHealth: Stories Of Childbirth

If you are pregnant or have been pregnant, you have probably bought the books on how to prepare — from "What to Expect When You're Expecting" to one of the many tomes on natural childbirth.

While books like these can be useful, they do not reflect the infinite variety of labor and delivery experiences. They often fail to make the point that every birth is a deeply personal experience that often does not go according to plan.

That is one of the big takeaways from a new anthology called "Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today's Best Women Writers."

Anna Solomon, writer and English professor at Brown University, and co-editor of "True Birth Stories by Today's Best Women Writers." She tweets at @SolomonAnna.

Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR's CommonHealth blog. She tweets at @commonhealth.

CommonHealth: True Birth Wisdom: 10 Pearls You Won’t Find In Your Pregnancy Guide