British obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read wrote a book entitled Natural Childbirth, in which he postulated that excessive pain in labour results from muscular tension arising from fear of the birth process; he proposed that pregnant women attend a course of study to learn more about the birth process and to be instructed in breathing techniques and relaxation exercises useful during labour.  Having to contend with a full share of obstacles and oppositions which fall to the lot of innovations in the medical field, Dick-Read’s and other methods became popular in the mid-1950s.
 
This book is a biography of Read's life and works.