First
time pregnancy is a journey into the unknown. These were some of my favorite, most useful books...
*Birthing From
Within by
Pam England [Encouraging book to prepare for a natural journey]
*Skinny
Bitch: Bun in the Oven
*Ina
May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin [a pioneer midwife,
half of the book is natural birth stories from 'The Farm' down in Tennessee
where she's based, the rest is great advice on all things regarding natural
childbirth and pregnancy]
*Childbirth
Without Fear by Dick-Read & Odent [very scholarly and hard to
digest; I recommend it for the parts that address the physiological
process of birth and what occurs in the uterine musculature that causes
sensations of pain; also quite interesting to better understand where all
preconditioned fear comes from]
*Birth
Without Violence by Leboyer [an outstanding book with great
pictures that advocates a calm, natural transition from in utero to the outer world. Complete book
available online: http://www.eco-action.org/dt/bwv1.html ]
*The
Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Romm
*You:
Having a Baby by Dr. Oz [all-around reference guide to every
major prenatal topic]
*Preparing
for Birth with Yoga by Balaskas [for the beginner yogini or the
more experienced practitioner in need of more modifications]
*Choosing
Waterbirth by Lakshmi Bertram
There are a few others (that a lovely doula friend SA recommends) that I didn't get to read, as they weren't available through my library system:
Orgasmic Birth by Davis, Pascali, and Bonaro
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah Buckley
After the Baby's Birth by Robin Lim
FILM:
The Business of Being Born [outstanding
documentary done by Ricki Lake that explores natural birth, water birth, and
having a doula present]
And,
to prepare for what’s coming... I recommend:
*The Womanly Art
of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International
*The Vaccine
Book and The
Baby Book by Dr. Sears
(the Sears family has a complete library of books that are probably all
pretty good)
