The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion


Book Description

How to give birth is the most important decision of a woman’s pregnancy, but navigating the maze of options is overwhelming. The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion clearly lays out the process for eight successful birthing plans from home births and hospital births to a natural unmedicated delivery and C-sections. Each path outlines the latest research on every technique and procedure from water birthing to medications and includes “Real Deal” and “Inside Information” sections that detail the huge variations parents-to-be sometimes encounter. Written by an OB/GYN, nurse/midwife, and neonatal nurse, this photo-filled essential guide presents the most balanced and comprehensive perspective on all aspects of delivery today including red flags that indicate when another birthing plan may be more appropriate as well as helpful strategies and trimester-by-trimester schedules for the smoothest birth experience possible.







The Complete Illustrated Pregnancy Companion


Book Description

The comfort of knowing what is going on during pregnancy combined with advice that changes each week with an expectant mother’s body will warm the heart and well as calm the nerves. This fully illustrated pregnancy guide gives an expectant mothers week-by-week information on their body and the child’s physical development; and then explains what they should do at each week of pregnancy for an optimally healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby. A chapter is devoted to each week of pregnancy and covers everything readers need to know including, baby’s size, mother’s size, what’s normal in terms of physical symptoms and development, and what could indicate a potentially serious problem. Nutritional, exercise, and lifestyle advice, tips on treating common pregnancy discomforts like morning sickness and sciatica, and pregnancy do’s and don’ts, ensure a happy and healthy mother and baby.




The Doula's Guide to Empowering Your Birth


Book Description

Experienced doula, Linsey Bliss, shows you how to prepare physically and mentally for every element of having a child, from pregnancy to fourth trimester in The Doula's Guide to Empowering Your Birth. Lindsey Bliss, who has assisted as a doula at hundreds of births and is herself a mother of seven, reveals here all the wisdom and advice that doulas share with the new mothers who hire them. The Doula's Guide to Empowering Your Birth covers the period from pregnancy through labor and birth to fourth trimester healing. The focus, however, is on preparing for birth--including topics like how to pick the right childbirth class and the right birthing method. You’ll also see how to assemble the team of professionals, family members, and friends who will support you through labor and birth, and how to approach last-minute decisions about pain medications and cesarean sections. Bliss's tone throughout is at once authoritative and confident as well as warm and encouraging. Her concern in her practice as well as in these pages is to listen to and help secure each new mom's own personal vision of a birthing experience that is safe, fulfilling, and meaningful.




Be Pregnant


Book Description

This funny, relatable, and empathetic book for expectant parents shows that everyone knows what to expect during pregnancy . . . or do they? Full of vibrant illustrations, annotated diagrams, and first-hand accounts, Be Pregnant is a fun and comforting companion for this exciting (and highly anticipatory!) time in a pregnant person’s life. Eugenia Viti’s charming mix of insider info and humor provide a much-needed laugh about: Strangers trying to touch your belly. Feelings of inadequacy about stroller prices. The all-powerful birth plan. With quirky yet universal anecdotes, personal "Something That May Happen . . ." sections, and an inclusive illustration program welcoming all moms, Be Pregnant is the perfect gift for an expecting friend or baby shower.




Birth Partner 5th Edition


Book Description

Since the original publication of The Birth Partner, partners, friends, relatives, and doulas have relied on Penny Simkin's guidance in caring for the new mother, from her last trimester through the early postpartum period. Now fully revised in its fifth edition, The Birth Partner remains the definitive guide to helping a woman through labor and birth, and the essential manual to have at hand during the event. The Birth Partner includes thorough information on: Preparing for labor and knowing when it has begun Normal labor and how to help the woman every step of the way Epidurals and other medications for labor Pitocin and other means, including natural ones, to induce or speed up labor Non-drug techniques for easing labor pain Cesarean birth and complications that may require it Breastfeeding and newborn care and much more For the partner who wishes to be truly helpful in the birthing room, this book is indispensable.




Nurture


Book Description

"What a gift to new and expecting moms. You have no idea the mountain and rollercoaster you're about to embark on, but Nurture somehow gives you a peek in and gives you essential information to help ground you." –Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious and One Potato A comprehensive and judgement-free pregnancy companion: Nurture is the only all-in-one pregnancy and birthing book for modern mothers-to-be and their partners who want a more integrative approach. Author Erica Chidi Cohen has assisted countless births and helped hundreds of families ease into their new roles through her work as a doula. Nurture covers everything from the beginning months of pregnancy to the baby's first weeks. This empowering book includes: • Supportive self-care and mindfulness exercises, trimester-specific holistic remedies, nourishing foods and recipes for every month of pregnancy, and expert tips for every birth environment. • More than 40 charming and helpful illustrations, charts, and lists can be found throughout. • Dozens of important topics that every modern mom needs to know including fetal development, making choices for a hospital, home or birth center birth, the basics of breastfeeding, tips on what to expect postpartum, and more. Nurture is an all-inclusive pregnancy and birthing guide book that gives soon-to-be mothers and their partners the information they need to make decisions, feel confident, and enjoy the beauty of creating new life. Nurture is a thoughtful and helpful gift for expecting mothers and their partners. Erica Chidi is co-founder and CEO of Loom in Los Angeles, CA. She began her work in San Francisco, volunteering as a doula within the prison system, working with pregnant inmates. She went on to build a successful doula and health education practice in Los Angeles and has been featured in Women's Health, Vogue, Goop, The Cut and Marie Claire.




Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn


Book Description

If you only buy one pregnancy book, this should be the one! It’s the most complete. It covers all aspects of childbearing, from conception through early infancy, and tells you what to expect. It offers detailed information, suggestions on decisions to make, and advice on steps to take to have a safe and satisfying experience. The Award-Winning Resource Recommended by Experts & Loved by Parents Parents love this book because it puts them in control by explaining a wide range of options, information, and questions to ask, so parents can find what works best for their health situation, personal goals, and priorities. Experts love this book because it’s based on the latest medical research and recommendations from leading health organizations. It’s practical—rooted in the real-life experiences of new families. The five authors bring a combined total of 150 years of experience working with expectant and new families as educators, nurses, counselors, doulas, physical therapists, and lactation consultants. They have attended hundreds of births, heard thousands of birth stories, and assisted innumerable new parents in adapting to their new lives. Not only that, the authors have a combined total of 12 children and 12 grandchildren. All of this experience allows them to write with compassion, understanding, and wisdom based on what really works in the real-world of parenting. The companion website offers even more details on select subjects, including lists of all the best resources on each topic and worksheets to guide parents’ decision-making process. The website also includes a bonus chapter on pre-conception, which provides ways to improve your health and fertility before pregnancy begins.




Birthing Mama


Book Description

Birthing Mama offers a holistic approach to the transformative experience of pregnancy. Author Corinne Andrews, a yoga teacher since 2003 and creator of Birthing Mama® Prenatal Yoga and Wellness, guides women through each week of the nine-month journey, integrating body, mind, and spirit through reflection, yoga postures and breath practices, self-care activities, and creative projects. Whether expectant mothers are setting up a Pregnancy Altar to focus their hopes and dreams for the baby-to-be, writing a Pregnancy Affirmation Statement, blending an herbal tea formula, or breathing into mountain pose for strength and healing, they will find a blend of self-nourishment and self-discovery, contemplation, and celebration through Andrews’s gentle, empowering style.




Gentle Birth Choices


Book Description

Birth as every woman would like it to be • Recommended by Lamaze International as one of the top ten books for pregnant women and their families • Includes a 45-minute DVD of six live gentle births • More than 32,000 copies sold of the original edition New parents are faced with a myriad of choices about pregnancy, labor, and birth. In Gentle Birth Choices Barbara Harper, renowned childbirth advocate, nurse, former midwife, and mother of three, helps to clarify these choices and shows how to plan a meaningful, family-centered birth experience. She dispels medical myths and reimagines birth without fear, pain, or violence. Harper explains the numerous gentle birth choices available, including giving birth in an independent birth center, at home, or in a hospital birthing room; finding a primary caregiver who shares your philosophy of birth; and deciding how to best use current technologies. She also provides practical advice for couples wishing to explore the option of using a doula or water during labor and birth to avoid the unwanted effects of drugs and epidurals. The Gentle Birth Choices DVD blends interviews with midwives and physicians and six actual births that illustrate the options of water birth, home birth, and vaginal birth after a prior Cesarean section. The DVD clearly reveals the strength of women during childbirth and the healthy and happy outcome of women exercising gentle birth choices. It is a powerful instructional tool, not only for expectant parents, but also for midwives, hospitals, birth centers, and doctors.