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.




Your Birth Plan


Book Description

There is no right way or best way to give birth, but if you’re pregnant, you’re likely already hearing advice and stories about what you should do, how you should feel, and what you should want from your birth experience. Your Birth Plan is an intervention: it’s a birth book that equally honors all paths and all pregnant people, guiding and empowering you to make informed decisions, without judgment or prescription, for your own positive birth experience. Long on information, short on opinions, Your Birth Plan is a how-to guide filled with practical descriptions, insights, stories and tips to make it easier for you to pick where, with whom, and in what way you would like to give birth. Your Birth Plan is comprehensive and free from judgment and prescriptions. It offers unbiased information about all birthing options, including birthing in a hospital, at home, or in a birthing center; having an epidural or an unmedicated birth; induction of labor; vaginal or Cesarean birth; and more. This is a new, inspiring, inclusive, and much-needed guide to help you plan for a birth where you are empowered to make your own choices and to have your needs met, whatever they are.




The Heart of the Doula


Book Description

The true power of doulas is to serve clients so that they are encouraged to become more empowered and authentic versions of themselves. The wisdom culled from over sixty birth doulas in Dr. Gilliland's landmark research study will transform your relationship with clients and medical careproviders alike. The Heart of the Doula delves into the reality of birth doula work in North American hospitals and the personal price many pay to fill this important and beneficial role.




A Modern Woman's Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth


Book Description

A Modern Woman's Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth is a collection of inspiring birth stories, expert tips and practical insights to empower women to reclaim their birth power and overcome their fears in a modern world. Afterword by Dr Sarah Buckley MD, internationally acclaimed author of "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering."Feeling anxious, alone or in the dark as a new mother to be? Where do you go to get your questions answered when you don’t have any mothers as the wise woman to turn to, the doctor is too busy to inform you of your options or discuss the pros and cons of various drugs and procedures on the menu, and you read virtually every magazine in the waiting room before he/ she can see you for five minutes at a time?Meanwhile, random strangers decide it is their maternal duty to share their birth horror stories when they spot the bump and the hospital antenatal classes leave you feeling even more fearful and anxious than you were before you walked in!Just when you thought you couldn’t bear to hear another horror story, along comes a fresh new book that is the answer to your prayers. More than just a random collection of stories, the author Katrina Zaslavsky, takes you on a powerful journey of discovery and gives you the keys to transforming your birth experience.Be empowered to experience the joy of natural birth on your own terms- Fear-Free, Drug- Free and maybe even Pain Free… (Hint: Get off the beds ladies and actively give birth rather than being delivered)..... and then become a part of the Positive Birth Revolution!!As seen on national media including TV, My Child and Nature & Health Magazines, Coles Baby & Toddler Club, recommended at Mum's Lounge and voted Favourite Product Finalist in the People's Choice AusMumpreneur Awards 2012. About the authorProfoundly impacted by her own personal journey into motherhood after overcoming her own extreme fears of childbirth, Katrina has become a passionate advocate of natural and conscious parenting, committed to supporting women to give birth naturally and overcome their fears in a world that has become so medicalised and fearful of something so perfectly natural.A former public health professional (in her "previous life" before children!) together with a lifelong passion for healthy living, over a decade in the natural health industry, a magazine columnist and most recently a committee member for Natural Parenting Melbourne, her calling is to awaken people to live a more conscious natural lifestyle and especially to empower women to discover their inner birth goddess! Available Now




Why Did No One Tell Me This?


Book Description

Full of honest advice and inclusive options, Why Did No One Tell Me This? is the funny, personality-filled, illustrated guide to pregnancy, birth, and beyond that modern parents have been waiting for. Pregnancy and childbirth are full of big questions -- what if my baby is enormous? Will my water break naturally? What even goes into a 'birth plan'? How on earth am I going to keep this child alive once it's here? And where do I turn for advice that will really work for me and my life? In Why Did No One Tell Me This? doulas and reproductive health experts Natalia Hailes and Ash Spivak answer these questions and more for today's wellness-focused, intersectional parents-to-be. Drawing on years of experience in their birth doula practice Brilliant Bodies, Natalia and Ash guide readers through the entire process, from the earliest stages of pregnancy to the jungle of postpartum feelings and responsibilities. Bite-sized pieces of advice are interspersed with vibrant illustrations by artist Louise Reimer to break down the doubts and fears that often surround childbirth, empowering readers to explore their own individual needs, know their rights, and find their voice both during and after pregnancy. By addressing common fears, incorporating regular tips for partners, and providing information on a wide array of birth and parents styles, this unique and inclusive guide is the perfect tool for a new generation of parents.




The Doula Book


Book Description

The complete and essential guide to birth with a doula by the "undisputed experts in the field."--Los Angeles Times




Creating Your Birth Plan


Book Description

Helps expectant mothers make informed decisions about their pregnancy and childbirth, furnishing information on what to expect when delivering in a hospital, birthing center, or at home; how to select an advocate; the natural stages of labor; natural alternatives to drugs, surgery, and technology; and explanations of various medical interventions. Original. 25,000 first printing.




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.




The Mindful Mom-to-Be


Book Description

Strengthening your own foundation is one of the very best beginnings you can give your child. In The Mindful Mom-to-Be, doula and pregnancy coach Lori Bregman guides you in your journey toward motherhood by empowering you to find what works best for you and your baby. In addition to concrete, prescriptive health information, including nutritional advice, natural remedies, developmental milestones, and techniques for labor, she offers simple and enjoyable spiritual and emotional exercises to help you prepare for motherhood. As Lori explains, you're not just birthing a baby; you're birthing yourself as a mom, too. With month-by-month advice, comprehensive checklists, and customizable birth plans, this is your indispensible, holistic companion for pregnancy, birth, and beyond.




How to Grow a Baby


Book Description

Written by a nurse, this holistic guide for pregnancy and the postpartum experience provides foundational knowledge and intuitive wisdom to help new mothers support the optimal health of their baby and their own bodies. Get the answers to the big questions about pregnancy: • What kinds of foods should you eat and how do you prepare your body for labor and birth? • How does movement impact pelvic health and the baby's position in the womb? • How does the endocrine system and your brain change throughout pregnancy? • How does the microbiome influence your and your baby's health? Packed with practical information and helpful infographics, Amy J. Hammer helps you create the optimal environment for growing a baby and navigating the major transitions in a pregnancy—including nurturing pelvic floor health, the fetal and parental microbiome, and the science behind the stages of pregnancy from conception to postpartum. By providing vital and often ignored information about reproductive science, movement, and nourishment, this book empowers parents to make informed and personal choices about their pregnancy, birth, and beyond.