Help Me Build a Library

I'm going to suggest Prenatal Yoga and Natural Childbirth by Jeannine Parvati Baker. That will serve well to shatter any mainstream views you may be up against!

Also, I really like A Child is Born by Lennart Nilsson. It's mostly really amazing photos, but has tons of valuable info in it too.

Good luck, I love to read about pregnancy and childbirth (even though for me it's school work! ).

I would also add

Birthing From Within (sorry, drawing a blank on the author's name)
Husband Coached Childbirth - Dr. Bradley
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way - Susan McCutcheon

edited to add: Birthing From Within *is* a little out there - but the Bradley books are not. Plus, both site many studies & scientific research if that will reassure your dh

I second:
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
the Sears' Baby Book
Birthing from Within by Pam England (it doesn't resonate with all women, however)

I highly recommend:
anything by Ina May Gaskin, esp. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
anything by Penny Simkin, esp. The Birth Partner and Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
anything by Sheila Kitzinger, esp. The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth and Rediscovering Birth (an anthropological look at birth in many cultures)
anything by Aviva Jill Romm, esp. her pregnancy nutrition book
The American Way of Birth by Jessica Mitford
Bestfeeding by Renfrew and Arms
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International
(these last two are about breastfeeding specifically, so they can come later when you actually are pregnant)

And the Henci Goer book will probably be your husband's biggest eye-opener. Her research references and writing are somehow very appealing and understandable to most male thinking modalities.

~claudia

Hmm... Here is all that I read during my first pregnancy, as well as a comment column. It is in excel, so unfortunately the formatting is all screwed up when I paste it over. Sorry! I'll try to add a space between book titles to make it a bit easier to read. Some were for "fun" reading - some were b/c I didn't know any better, and others were really good. The pp's already list some of these, as well as several other excellent resources. This was just my list from when I was pregnant.

Sit Up and Take NoticeScott, Paulinegood resource for those planning natural childbirth - lots of natural ideas to help positioning, labor, etc

Active BirthBalaskas, JanetGoodgood resource for those planning natural childbirth - lots of natural ideas to help positioning, labor, etc

New Natural Pregnancy: Practical Wellbeing from conception to birthBalaskas, Janet

She's Having a Baby - and I'm Having a BreakdownBarron, JamesFunny

Your Perfectly Papmpered PregnancyBouchez, Colette

The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-BeBrott, ArminOKgood starting point for clueless dads

When the belly button pops, the babys done: a month-by-month guide to surviving and loving your pregnancyCraker, LorileeFunny

a is for adamCraker, LorileeNamesnames…

Your Pregnancy for the father-to-be: everything dads need to know about pregnancy, childbirth & getting ready for a new babyCurtis & SchulerOK

The Mother of all Pregnancy BooksDouglas, AnnOK

On becoming Baby WiseEzzo, GaryOKmore of a parent determined approach - "cry it out" for sleeping, etc . Research author on-line before following blindly

Baby BargainsFields, DeniseReference Onlyinstead of researching every item…

The everything breastfeeding bookFredregill, SuzanneOK

Ina May's Guide to ChildbirthGaskins, Ina Maylovely - midwive storiesheavy into natural childbirth. I found techniques reasurring

Spiritual MidwiferyGaskins, Ina Maylovely - midwive stories

The Nurture AssumptionHarris, Judith RichOKparenting philosophy rather than pregnancy/childcare

Secrets of the Baby WhispererHogg, TracyOK middle of the road approach to parenting. Still cry it out & schedules, but not as strict as ezzo

The Nursing Mother's CompanionHuggins, KathleenExcellent

The Girlfriends Guide to PregnancyIovine, VickiFunnyhumerous approach, but good info as well

The Girlfriends Guide to Surviving the First Year of MotherhoodIovine, VickiFunnyhumerous approach, but good info as well

Mayo Clinic complete book of pregnancy & baby's first yearJohnsonGood

Johnson's BreastfeedingJohnson'sOK

The happiest baby on the blockKarp, HarveyGoodmore balanced view of newborn - more "attatchment parents" prefer this method. Atlanta hospital w/ highest # of births each year in the U.S. - recommends highly!

The Complete Book of Pregnancy & ChildbirthKitzinger, SheilaGood

The doula book: how a trained labor companion can help you have a shorter, easier and healthier birthKlausGood

The Womanly art of BreastfeedingLa Leche LeagueExcellentgreat everything breastfeeding book

The nursing mother's problem solverMartin, ClaireReference Only

Belly LaughsMcCarthy, JennyFunny

American Academy of Pediatrics new mothers guide to breastfeedingMeek, JoanGood

Breastfeeding your babyMoody, JaneOK

The Ultimate breastfeeding book of answerNewman, JackOK

A Child is BornNilssonExcellentgreat pictures!

Bestfeeding - getting breastfeeding right for youRenfrew, MaryOK

baby names now: from classic to coolRosenkrantz, LindaNamesnames…

The breastfeeding sourcebook - everything you need to knowRosenthal, M. SaraOK

Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know about Your BabySearsGood

The Successful Child: what parents can do to help kids turn out wellSears
The Pregnancy Bible: Your complete guide to pregnancy & early parenthoodStone & EddlemanOK

Dr. Miriam Stoppard's new pregnancy and birth bookStoppardOK

How to have a baby and still live in the real world: a totally candid guide to the whole dealSymonsOK

How to raise a family on less than 2 incomesTopolnicki, DeniseOK

Baby CatcherVincent, Peggylovely - midwive stories

The complete guide to pregnancy after 30: from conception to deliveryWinkelmanGooda little scary as it covers a lot of higher risk scenarios.

What to Expect When You're ExpectingOKeveryone in the states recommends - but I didn't really like the format - they push mainstream views a lot, and are a little scary w/ the black-n-white presentation

What to Expect the First YearOK

Your Pregnancy Week by WeekExcellentgood middle ground approach

Caring for your baby and young child birth to age 5American Academy of Pediatricsreference

Baby & Child CareFocus on the Family Physicians Resource Councilreferencechristian based

Emotional IntelligenceGoleman, Daniel

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for ToddlersHogg, Tracy

The happiest toddler on the blockKarp, Harvey

Your Amazing NewbornKlaus, Marshall & Phyllis

How to Raise a Healthy Child… in spite of your DoctorMendelsohn, MD., Robert

The Montessori MethodMontessori, Mariaeducational theories, etc

Nursing mother, working motherPryor, Gale

The pregnancy bookSearslots of detail - particularly about labor & delivery

Nighttime parentingSearsOKprefer Pantley's approach…

Our Babies OurselvesSmall, Meredithinteresting review of cross-cultural parenting styles

The No-Cry Sleep SolutionPantley, ElizabethGoodno crying will be more important once the baby is born!

So That's What They Are For!Goodfunny resource for breastfeeding (a littlle dated)

Quote:
ITA!! Its been the book to really help explain things to my DH with actual facts from the established medical community as oppose to grassroots rhetoric.

ITA about the What to Expect books. Some well-meaning folks gave me the pregnancy and 1st year books and they are... well, I'll just say that in the pregnancy book I read something that has haunted my pregnancy ever since, it freaked me out sooooo badly. Don't want to freak anyone else out, so I'll keep it to myself.

I was fascinated by the Henci Goer book (and my husband did a total 180 on his position on what constitutes normal birth practices after reading it).

Birthing from Within-- when I got it I thought it would be a little too out there for me, but I loved how positive and calming the author is, especially after reading the WTEWYE book!

I loved less Natural Birth the Bradley Way, but it's still an excellent resource.

A friend lent me a really really old copy of Natural Pregnancy, the pictures are so outdated it's really funny, and I found the same information in my other books.

About breastfeeding, I bought The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and was frankly a little disappointed. I was hoping for more "technical" information, and a lot of the book had to do with parenting practices other than bf'ing. Which is fine, but I wanted a bf'ing resource book.

I also got Touchpoints, from Birth to 3 years by T. Berry Brazelton. It describes child development and I think will be a useful tool in the months / years to come! His tone is also very calming and respectful of parents, even though I didn't agree with everything he said.

Have fun! There's a ton of stuff out there to read.

Quote:
Wow, I obviously haven't gotten to that part of the book yet!

What I liked about Brazelton's book is that he gives reasons why babies might be fussy at the end of the day, or why they might not want to be touched, and why their sleep patterns can change right before a developmental breakthrough. For a newbie parent, it's reassuring to know that those kinds of things are normal.

OTOH, I had to roll my eyes at his observation that blondes tend to need to toughen up their nipples prior to bf'ing whereas brunettes don't need to as often.

So, as with ALL books about childrearing, pregnancy, etc, take what is useful to you and don't sweat the rest.

Definitely! (That nipple comment of his is pretty silly!)

Honestly, I'm not sure if Brazelton actually says that in his Touchpoints books, my sister lent me his Potty Training book after hearing that I was thinking about EC (she was concerned about permanent psychological damage). To paraphrase, he said something like "some children may not be ready for potty training and may feel humiliated, failures are more likely to result in more serious problems." (Then he went on to praise Mayan traditional methods for having a relaxed attitude, constant close contact, and no diapers, hmm...) While I agree that pressure has no part in EC OR potty training, he seems to assume that people would use coersion and negative reinforcement... anyhow, that's my personal rant about Brazelton. I kind of put his books on the back burner after hearing that, though I'm sure I'll use them for reference (for other than diaper/potty advice) - I do agree that he has some great insight into children's behaviors!

Here's an interesting article: http://www.dy-dee.com/Benefits_of_Cl...brazelton.html

Quote:
(emphasis mine) :

These wonderful ladies have given you so many excellent recommendations.

I second Spritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin, also Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. You can just ask your DP to read specific birth stories that really speak to you if he doesn't want to read the entire book.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way also gets my excellent recommendation - this book has excellent descriptions of the physiology of birth, it makes it really easy to understand.

The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence - this is a wonderful book. In fact I think that it's an excellent "transition book" to go from mainstream views before diving into titles like Spiritual Midwifery.

The Brewer Hotline or any of Dr. Brewer's pregnancy diet books you can get your hands on. Also, get Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon to learn more about good TTC and pregnancy diet, and tons of recipes (it's a cookbook but so much more).

Prenatal Yoga by Jeannine Parvati Baker also gets my vote as essential

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding from LLL

Breastfeeding Pure and Simple, also a LLL book - I really love this book for the simple and clear coverage of the basics it gives. It's always on my bedside table early postpartum.

The Baby Book by Dr. Sears - the only "baby care book" I've ever felt worthy to go on my shelf.

Babywearing: The Benefits and Beauty of this Ancient Tradition by Maria Blois gets my highest recommendations. This book is just great! About all the different carriers, tons of comparisons and tons of how-to photos.

Diaper Free! by Ingrid Bauer. Read this book even if you're not considering elimination communication - it just gets to the heart, soul, and spirit of connected parenting.

Also, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child is really excellent. It's the first book I go to when one of my kids seems sick or "not right."

And I would also pick up You are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. It starts at birth and goes through the preschool years.

editing to add: take out a subscription to Mothering!