Preparing for Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum Newborn Care

As a professional birth and postpartum doula, many of the families I work with ask me for my opinion about the best books to read to get ready for their birth and new baby. I wanted to share with you some of my recommendations.

1. I personally feel that every pregnant woman should read, “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, by Henci Goer. This book informs women on the pros and cons of all of their labor choices. She covers the latest research on everything from prolonged first stage labor to vaginal birth after a cesarean. If you only have time to read one book to help you prepare for labor order” Birth Skill’s” by JuJu Sundin. You can only order this book online from Amazon. The author is from England and she brings an amazing set of skills for coping with pain in labor. Truly unique and not found in most books I have read. Another program that has been very useful for teaching relaxation techniques in labor is the Hypnobirthing CD’s. You begin listening to these a few months before the arrival of your baby. They teach you how to reach a deep state of relaxation.
2. If you are planning to breastfeed you baby and only have time to read one book choose,”Breastfeeding Made Simple”, by Nancy Mohrbacher. It truly is simple, easy to understand and has wonderful pictures.
3. There are so many books on the market about how to care for your baby that is can be overwhelming to first time parents. Many of the books completely contradict each other. Most of them lean to one extreme or the other. Either they encourage what I call baby led parenting or they are rigid about scheduling your babies every move. I personally don’t agree with either of these extreme viewpoints. I believe in parent led parenting that takes the babies wants and needs into consideration. The book that I really love is, “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer”, by Tracy Hogg. It is full of practical advice that is fun & easy to read. I wish I had this book when my children were babies! Another resource that I highly recommend for new parents is, “The Happiest Baby on the Block” DVD by Dr. Harvey Karp. He shows parents how to use five simple techniques to activate their babies calming reflex. I have used this with many fussy babies and it truly does work.

It can be overwhelming when you walk into your local bookstore and see all the different choices available. I hope that these recommendations will make it a little easier and help you to prepare for the amazing journey of parenthood.

pregnancy (Third trimester)

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