Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth


Peggy O'Mara - 2003
    "Having a Baby, Naturally" reflects this spirit with straightforward, uncensored information about pregnancy and childbirth, addressing common concerns and questions in a compassionate, nonjudgmental style.Written by Peggy O'Mara, the longtime publisher, editor, and owner of "Mothering" magazine, it synthesizes the best theories and safest practices used in natural childbirth, including recommendations from the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Throughout, O'Mara reinforces her belief that each woman's pregnancy and birth experience is a one-of-a-kind event. She covers such topics as:Nutrition, diet, and exerciseEmotional self-awareness during and after pregnancyA trimester-by-trimester guide to what is happening in your body and your child'sBirth choices -- offering suggestions, not "rules"Pain medication alternativesBirth locations, from hospitals to home birthRelieving morning sickness with natural remediesPrenatal testingBreastfeedingPrematurity and multiple birthsBalancing work and familyThe father's role during pregnancy and beyondDifficult subjects, such as birth defects, miscarriages, and postpartum depression, are also treated with sensitivity and candor.Finally, a book for the thinking woman who believes in her own inherent capacity to make smart, informed decisions about her pregnancy and birth, just as she makes in other areas of her life. "Having a Baby, Naturally" is a celebration of childbirth and an accurate and objective guide to helping women fortify their spirits, develop trust in their bodies, and make the best possible choices to protect their new baby's health.

The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection


Brené Brown - 2013
    These messages are powerful and we end up spending too much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of families to show to the world. Based on 12 years of pioneering research, Dr. Brene Brown off ers a new perspective of the subject of perfect parenting. She states, "It's actually our ability to embrace imperfection that will help us teach our children to have the courage to be authentic, the compassion to love themselves and others, and the sense of connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life." Dr. Brown proposes that the greatest challenge of wholehearted parenting is being the adult that we want our children to grow up to be. The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting is a practical and hopeful program for raising children who know that they are worthy of love, belonging, and joy. Drawing on her research on vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame, Dr. Brown invites listeners on a journey to transform the lives of parents and children alike as we explore how to cultivate wholeheartedness in our families.

Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent


Meredith Small - 1998
    But as scientists are discovering, much of the trusted advice that has been passed down through generations needs to be carefully reexamined.A thought-provoking combination of practical parenting information and scientific analysis, Our Babies, Ourselves is the first book to explore why we raise our children the way we do--and to suggest that we reconsider our culture's traditional views on parenting.In this ground-breaking book, anthropologist Meredith Small reveals her remarkable findings in the new science of ethnopediatrics. Professor Small joins pediatricians, child-development researchers, and anthropologists across the country who are studying to what extent the way we parent our infants is based on biological needs and to what extent it is based on culture--and how sometimes what is culturally dictated may not be what's best for babies.Should an infant be encouraged to sleep alone? Is breast-feeding better than bottle-feeding, or is that just a myth of the nineties? How much time should pass before a mother picks up her crying infant? And how important is it really to a baby's development to talk and sing to him or her?These are but a few of the important questions Small addresses, and the answers not only are surprising but may even change the way we raise our children.

Here's the Plan.: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood


Allyson Downey - 2016
    The most focused, confident, and ambitious women can find themselves derailed by a tiny little thing: a new baby. While more workplaces are espousing family-friendly cultures, women are still subject to a "parenting penalty" and high-profile conflicts between parenting and the workplace are all over the news: from the controversy over companies covering the costs of egg-freezing to the debate over parental leave and childcare inspired by Marissa Mayer's policies at Yahoo. Here's the Plan offers an inventive and inspiring roadmap for working mothers steering their careers through the parenting years. Author Allyson Downey, founder of weeSpring, the "Yelp for baby products,” and mother of two young children advises readers on all practical aspects of ladder-climbing while parenting, such as negotiating leave, flex time, and promotions. In the style of #GIRLBOSS or Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Here's the Plan is the definitive guide for ambitious mothers, written by one working mother to another.

How Smart Is Your Baby?: Develop and Nurture Your Newborn's Full Potential


Glenn Doman - 2006
    Yet parents do not have the information they need to make their baby's life as stimulating as it should be. How Smart Is Your Baby? provides parents with all the information required to help their baby achieve full potential. The authors first explain infant growth, and then guide parents in creating a home environment that enhances brain development. A developmental profile allows parents to track their child's progress, determine strengths, and recognize where additional stimulation is needed.

The Better Baby Book: How to Have a Healthier, Smarter, Happier Baby


Lana Asprey - 1906
    The book is based on the emerging science of epigenetics and shows how the environment interacts with your genes, affecting which genes are expressed or "turned on". It shows you the important steps you can take to improve preconception nutrition and reduce toxins in your home and body to consciously help your child be healthy, smart, and strong.Leverages the latest epigenetics research to help you produce a healthier, smarter, and happier baby with a lower risk of allergies, asthma, and developmental issuesShares a specific prescriptive program based on four principles: eating the right foods; taking the right supplements; detoxifying before, during, and after pregnancy; and minimizing stressShows how a woman's health and her environment during pregnancy may have a much bigger impact on her child than was previously thoughtIncludes the authors' compelling personal story of developing the Better Baby Plan shared in the book as they had their own better babies

The Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide


Sayward Rebhal - 2011
    Look for The Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide to hit the 'shelves' in early summer 2011!

Good Nights: The Happy Parents' Guide to the Family Bed (and a Peaceful Night's Sleep!)


Maria Goodavage - 2002
    Except for those nagging worries about safety. ("She's so small, I'm so big!") And what your relatives are saying. ("She'll never leave your bed!") And that little foot that always ends up on your face.Worry no more! Good Nights puts your concerns about the family bed to rest, with fun and easy-to-use guidance on safety, coping with criticism, and even keeping the spark in your marriage (albeit outside the bedroom). With warmth and humor, Dr. Jay Gordon, a nationally recognized pediatrician who has endorsed the family bed for decades, and Maria Goodavage, a former USA Today staff writer with training in sleep research, give you everything you'll need in order to thrive - and at times, simply survive - with the family bed. Good Nights provides a comprehensive look at:- SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH - Science is uncovering a wealth of advantages, including possible protection from SIDS, for babies who share their parents' bed.- SURPRISING BENEFITS - Parents of young babies get much more sleep with the family bed! And little ones who spend time sleeping next to parents end up more independent (you read that right!) and closer to their parents than their cribbed peers.- SAFETY - The authors give simple-to-follow advice on how to make your family bed at least as safe as a crib.- SOUND SLEEP - Yes, it can be had. Good Nights lets you know how to overcome the obstacles.- SEX - Ditto.- SAYING GOOD-BYE - Your child really will leave your bed! Good Nights helps you help your child move on when the time is right.If you're among the record number of parents turning to the family bed, turn to Good Nights. It's a bedside companion you won't want to be without.

How to Grow a Baby and Push It Out: Your no-nonsense guide to pregnancy and birth


Clemmie Hooper - 2017
    From how to prevent tearing during birth to what you really need in your labour bag, Clemmie reveals everything pregnant women and new mums need to know with a good dose of humour and wit.

Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain


Sue Gerhardt - 2003
    She shows how the development of the brain can affect future emotional well being, and goes on to look at specific early 'pathways' that can affect the way we respond to stress and lead to conditions such as anorexia, addiction, and anti-social behaviour.Why Love Matters is a lively and very accessible interpretation of the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, psychoanalysis and biochemistry. It will be invaluable to psychotherapists and psychoanalysts, mental health professionals, parents and all those concerned with the central importance of brain development in relation to many later adult difficulties.

The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups


Leonard Sax - 2015
    The result is children who have no standard of right and wrong, who lack discipline, and who look to their peers and the Internet for direction. Sax shows how parents must reassert their authority - by limiting time with screens, by encouraging better habits at the dinner table, and by teaching humility and perspective - to renew their relationships with their children. Drawing on nearly thirty years of experience as a family physician and psychologist, along with hundreds of interviews with children, parents, and teachers, Sax offers a blueprint parents can use to help their children thrive in an increasingly complicated world.

You're Doing a Great Job!: 100 Ways You're Winning at Parenting


Biz Ellis - 2017
    Authors and co-hosts of the popular comedy podcast One Bad Mother, Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorn, know firsthand that raising kids is tough. They also know that, most likely, parents are winning more than they’re failing. This book reminds parents that it’s okay to have a low bar. Celebrate what did happen, not what didn’t, including gems such as:  Did you get up this morning? Great! You’re doing an awesome job!Your kid fell asleep? Even if it was just for two hours, that’s amazing. Good job!Has your kid eaten? That’s probably your doing, so yeah, you’re a winner!  The perfect gift for the growing family, You Are Doing a Great Job! is the much-needed reminder to screw all expectations and advice. It belongs on the shelf next to Go the Fu*k to Sleep and Let’s Panic About Babies. Or better yet, tear out the pages and hang them up.

The Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book: All you need to know for a healthy pregnancy that fits your lifestyle


Reed Mangels - 2011
    Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief because a vegan pregnancy is not only possible, it's also healthy and completely safe. With this helpful guide, you will learn about all aspects of vegan pregnancy from conception to bringing home baby, including:Which foods to eat (and avoid!) to get optimum nutrients for you and babyHow to deal with disapproval from family and friendsMethods to ensure a vegan-friendly hospital birthSetting up a vegan nursery for the babyPacked with information for both moms and dads, including 150 nutritious and healthy recipes for the whole family, this book is the ultimate resource for parents who want the best for their baby--without sacrificing the vegan life!

Active Birth : The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally


Janet Balaskas - 1983
    She has been teaching women about "active birth" ever since. In this updated and Americanized guide, Balaskas explains how to prepare for and experience a truly natural birth. She leads the pregnant woman through yoga-based stretching exercises and massage practice, and describes the stages of labor and comfortable positions for each, at home or in a hospital. Balaskas has also included a chapter on water birth as well as postpartum exercises.

Give Birth Like a Feminist: Your Body. Your Baby. Your Choices.


Milli Hill - 2019
    It’s the feminist issue nobody’s talking about.For too long women have been told, ‘a healthy baby is all that matters’. This book dares to say women matter too.Finally blasting the feminist spotlight into the labour ward, Milli Hill encourages women everywhere to stand and deliver, insisting that birth is no longer left off the list in discussions about female power, control and agency.From the importance of birth plans to your human rights in childbirth, and including birth stories from women across the world, this call-to-arms will help you find your voice, take an active role in your choices, and change the way you think about childbirth.Praise for Give Birth Like a Feminist‘I feel so lucky to have read Milli’s book while pregnant, she completely changed my way of looking at giving birth’ Ella Mills, author of Deliciously Ella