My first pregnancy book was What to Expect When Expecting. I hate that book to be honest. It’s really scary to me. Like anything we could possibly say to make you worry more than a pregnant woman already does… yeah lets add that into a book.
So the Hunt Began.
I knew I wanted an unmedicated birth from the start. This is my first baby I’ve never done this before, and want to experience it to the max. I might be crazy. Pain doesn’t scare me. Tornados scare me. House fires scare me. Losing friends and family scares me. Pain will come and go.
Here is a collection of my favorite books so far including a link to Amazon where you can find them (Just click on the picture of the book.) I’m one of those girls that carry around 3 different books in my purse at a time because I never know what kind of mood I’ll be in. So I bought a kindle and read a lot of the pregnancy books from that. (My shoulders really appreciate this lighter purse load) The links let you choose what format you would like the books.
If reading isn’t your thing, then check out my top pregnancy apps HERE!
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The LIST
“Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth”
I love this one. Ina May Gaskin is probably the most famous midwife and this book has a lot of helpful information. The beginning of the book is full of birth stories from different women. You can skip over those if you want to get down to business, but they are inspirational to read and recommend it at some point.
“Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn”
This is an excellent book if you want to know the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy. This book is full of pretty much everything you need to know. This is MY Pregnancy Bible! Including what to do in certain situations like having a rapid birth, birth positions, breathing techniques to relax and topics on how to return to work. It gives you the biological perspectives on whats going on in your body too. This is one to refer back to often.
“Labor Pain: A Natural Approach to Easing Delivery”
This is an older book, but has great information. It’s a short, quick read as well. I’ll run through the table of contents with you. There are 12 chapters:
- The Process of Labor
- Pain
- Physiology of Labor
- Psychology of Labor
- Environment
- Preparing for Labor
- Positions in Labor
- Natural Aids to Pain Relief
- Drugs and Pain Relief
- Episiotomies and Tears
- Cesarean Section
- Postpartum Pain
I really like the section on natural aids to pain relief. The book includes why water naturally is a pain reliever, music, herbal medicines, aromatherapy for labor, homeopathy, reflexology points for pain relief, acupuncture and acupressure, TENS machine, and self hypnosis. This one I bought used off AMAZON for I think $6.00.
“The Mindful Mom-to-Be”
This book Isn’t a read in one week book. Take time to read it because each chapter corresponds to a month in your pregnancy, so chapter one is month one, chapter two month two. Reach that chapter when you enter that month of your pregnancy. Each month also focuses on something you should be doing for yourself as well. Month two is about mothering yourself so there are all kinds of recipes and activities for getting your shit together pretty much. Including setting boundaries and your emotional state, The Mindful Mom-to-Be also suggests breath work activities, smoothie recipes, yoga poses, bath meditations, and spa recipes. This book is fun to read. The journal prompts through out the book were a favorite of mine as well.
“Sacred Pregnancy: A Loving Guide and Journal for Expectant Moms”
Speaking of journaling. If you like writing you will really enjoy this book. I stumbled upon this book by walking into the crystal/herb/new age- hippy/bookstore down the street from my house. I asked the girl at the counter who was also pregnant if she knew of any good books that would prompt me to connect to my baby in a spiritual way before he was born. She pointed me to this one. For every week in your pregnancy there is a different topic to focus on. Week 21 is Movement Within. The book tells you a little about whats going on in your body that week and then gives you a little bit to reflect on and think about that week. At the end of the short weekly chapter it gives you a journal question. Week 21 says: What was it like to feel your baby move for the first time? Did I make you feel more connected to the baby?
There is space in the book to write your journal entries, but I went out and bought a new pretty journal and wrote the prompts at the top of the page. This way for next baby I can use the book over again, or gift the book to someone when I’m finished with it. The journal could be an excellent gift later on in life to your child, perhaps maybe when they themselves are ready to have a baby they can then read about what you were going through as a pregnant mommy.
“Feng Shui Mommy”
This book kind of reminded me of the “Mindful Mom-to-Be” but it is separated by trimesters. The author covers mind, body, and spirit in this one, preparing mommy for birth.She even includes the fourth trimester which is postpartum. Her book includes how to eat nutritionally for baby, Incorporating colors and balance into your home for your state of mind, prenatal bonding experiences, oraganizing, and then all the birth aspects as well such as parts of labor, massage, and “Caressing your Sacral Chakra.”
At the end of each chapter she has a section called “Call to Pleasure” reminding you of little activities to do such as practicing a breathing technique or create an energy nook and eating more of a certain type of food.
“Fortune-Telling Book For Moms-To-Be”
This book is just fun to have. My partner gifted it to me a couple months into my pregnancy. It’s super small and cute. It would fit in your pocket, and it’s less than $5 on Amazon. The book is meant to be funny and probably not to be taken to seriously. Unless you are super superstitious. I’ll list some of the topics the book covers:
- What happens if you eat certain foods during your pregnancy. “CRAB: eating too much crab or shellfish during pregnancy will result in a mischievous child. MUSTARD: Avoid mustard -it can lead to a greedy child. TEA: taking your tea black increases your chances of having a redheaded child.”
- Old wives tales for figuring out sex of baby.
- Labor and Delivery. “For and Easy Delivery: Open all windows, uncork all bottles, loosen ties and belts, Untie any knots or shoelaces”
- Bathing: To augur good fortune for baby, place the following in her first bathwater: A coin for future wealth, an egg for strength, sugar for a sweet and well-rounded character, salt for eloquence, bread for good luck.
Just a little peek inside to see what you can expect.
“You Are a Badass”
Okay, so this is not a pregnancy book, but I read it while I was pregnant and I am currently re-reading it because I loved it so much. Pregnancy is a time of change and reflection. There is so much going through our heads, and it can be kind of scary. This book motivated me to make changes in my life for the better that could set me up to be a better mom and free up time for me and my baby. I don’t think I would have went through Doula Training if it hadn’t been for this book.
“The Attachment Pregnancy”
This is an interesting book and another great read for anyone who is trying to bond with baby before they are born. It talks about how our emotions and thoughts during our pregnancy are also felt by our baby. Then includes ways of working through our problems, cutting negativity out of our lives, and building relationships and bonds during pregnancy that will improve our childs life after birth. Some of the contents include: meditation, stress reduction, partner bonding, and positive mental attitudes.
“HypnoBirthing, the Mongan Method”
If you are thinking about an unmedicated birth, there is no harm in reading this book. Marie Mongan speaks how pain is not a necessary part of birth and labor has not always been painful for women. The book goes into the history of why pain is associated with child bearing these days. My favorite part of the book is her take on fear and how it can cause a more painful birth including the anatomy and physiology aspects of it. If you do not have $400 to fork out for one of the hynobirthing workshops grab this book because she pretty much walks you through the exercises and breathing techniques taught. Fingers crossed this book helps me through my labor. Interesting read for sure!
“The Vaccine Book”
If you are on the fence wether or not to vaccinate your child this book is extremely informational. The book is written by a medical doctor who IS pro-vaccine. But he writes the book in a way to let you make an informative decision wether or not to vaccinate. He includes the list and schedule of vaccines that doctors go off of these days, and breaks down each vaccine by: what it is for, why it is given, how often the vaccine is given, how rare the disease is, the treatment for the disease if it is caught, the severity of the disease, the ingredients in the vaccines and their use in the vaccine, the process of how the vaccine is made, and gives you pros and cons of the vaccine.
At the end of each chapter for an individual vaccine he tells you why parents do get the vaccine and then also why parents do not get the vaccine and his own personal opinion on whether or not he thinks it is necessary. He goes into depth about the ingredients in the vaccines and how harmful they can be and then gives you alternatives such as spacing out the vaccines or asking for their alternatives. Sometimes there is more than one vaccine for one virus that has different ingredients such as less aluminum or no animal products.
I was overwhelmed when searching for information on vaccinating. Everyone has an opinion and its hard to figure out what information is factual. I like this book because he gives you the facts and the ingredients and then isn’t pushy one way or the other.
That’s A Wrap
There you have it, a list of my favorite books to read during pregnancy. I read a lot so the list is pretty long. If you aren’t much of a reader or don’t have a lot of time, pick two or three that best suit what you are looking for through out your pregnancy. One to go over whats going on in the body of you and your baby, One to help fulfill your spiritual needs or connection to your baby, and then maybe one more to help the process of how you are going to labor.
If you have any awesome reading recommendations for mamas comment below and tell us why they are your fave!
Good Luck and Happy Reading
