Best book recommendations for preg, labor, motherhood and breastfeeding...

[fireshifter]

A good friend of mine is pregnant with her first. She has decided to go with an OB for this birth, but is very excited about pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. We are both due in April. I'm going the natural route with a midwife and a homebirth.

I have some really good books for her already, but I'm trying to find some great book recommendations for her that would have to deal with labor and delivery, pregnancy, motherhood and breastfeeding. She is VERY open to natural living and very interested, but with this being a first baby and having a dad who's a doctor, she's just going the OB route. I'm not looking to change her mind, but give her resources to just have the best birth possible in a hospital.

Give me your best books for helping a person understand their body during labor, breastfeeding and the early stages of parenting... I've already got Ina May's "Guide to Childbirth", "Trust your body, trust your baby" and a few Dr. Sears books set aside for her.

Jen D.

[maxmama]

Any of Penny Simkin's work gets my vote. "The Birth Partner" is such a tremendous resource for first-time parents, and "Pregnancy, Childbirth and the NEwborn" is a good balanced general reference.

Just for fun, Sheila Kitzinger's Homebirth book has such gorgeous pictures of home birth, she may change her mind for next time.

[GracesMama]

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

Dr. Sears' The Birth Book

Dr. Sears' The Baby Book

There's a book about Attachment Parenting that I love, but I can't remember the name.

[savithny]

Originally Posted by fireshifter

A good friend of mine is pregnant with her first. She has decided to go with an OB for this birth, but is very excited about pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.

I have some really good books for her already, but I'm trying to find some great book recommendations for her that would have to deal with labor and delivery, pregnancy, motherhood and breastfeeding. She is VERY open to natural living and very interested, but with this being a first baby and having a dad who's a doctor, she's just going the OB route. I'm not looking to change her mind, but give her resources to just have the best birth possible in a hospital.

Give me your best books for helping a person understand their body during labor, breastfeeding and the early stages of parenting... I've already got Ina May's "Guide to Childbirth", "Trust your body, trust your baby" and a few Dr. Sears books set aside for her.

Jen D.

For someone who is going with an OB and has a doctor dad, I would strongly recommend Henci Goer's "THinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth."

It has all the arguments you need to be able to talk to doctors and those coming from the more doctory side of things about what you want and need from birth, and because its got extensive literature to back it up, it can really give someone whose father is an MD the strength to argue, "No, dad, there is really no scientific support for that practice." IT preps you for conversations like "So, what percentage of your patients get an episiotomy? Really, why? The research doesn't bear out what you're saying. In fact, you're making it MORE likely that those women tear badly. "

I, personally, really did not like "Womanly Art of BF" at all. Every time I turned to it for practical advice, it had nothing but annoying platitudes to offer for my situation. I feel that its got a lot of touchy-feely, but not a lot of the hard fact stuff that someone nursing for the first time really could use.

For the stuff I needed help with (cluster feeding, pumping, plugged ducts and a few other things) I much, much preferred "The Nursing MOther's Companion."

A friend of mine who had never seen anyone nurse up close recommends "So that's what they're for" to everyone she knows.

[ZoeyZoo]

Originally Posted by savithny

For someone who is going with an OB and has a doctor dad, I would strongly recommend Henci Goer's "THinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth."

I was thinking the same thing. This book lists the pro/cons of various interventions and has many of the studies used to come to the conclusion in the back. I highly recommend it for someone with an OB.

[superfastreader]

Any of the Sears books would be great for her.

[elspethshimon]

I like Dr. Newman's books and articles on breastfeeding.

[PiesandAbrosmama]

Love this book and I own so many books related to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and the baby years (My hubby calls me a birth book junkie). This book had THE BEST thought provoking journalling parts to really make you think about what you honestly believe about birth and motherhood.

It's by Kim Wildner and is Mother's Intention: How Belief Shapes Birth. check this one out if you can from your library or order off of Amazon for $12.

[NJ*Doula]

I own or have read most of the books already mentioned, plus several more. The one I keep going back to over and over is The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kintzinger. It's full of information on pregnancy, fetal development, birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum. There in information on diet and exercises you can do for labor prep, to keep fit, and during labor. I've read it cover to cover twice, and skip around looking at different sections of it every single day. It's truly awesome. Every pregnant women I know from now on will be getting it as a gift from me.

[Patchfire]

Let me second the recommendation for Mother's Intention!

My favorite pregnancy book is Aviva Romm's The Natural Pregnancy Book, and my favorite birth book is She Births. I would recommend either Bestfeeding (for the illustrations!) or The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers (for its amazing comprehensiveness) for breastfeeding. Baby Matters is a great book about baby care that speaks generally to a variety of topics. I also love Dr. Jay Gordon's books - one about baby care and one about sleep - as a good introduction to AP. I like his tone better than the Sears' tone - JMO.

I have two 'annotated' lists of pregnancy and birth books here and here but neither of them are what I consider the 'practical' subset of birthing books - that list is longer and it's taking me longer to write a blurb about each of them.

Here, have a placenta, because it is so cute: :