What's the secret of successful breastfeeding? For almost fifty years mothers who have been in touch with La Leche League have found the kind of information and support they needed to breastfeed their babies. In this newly revised edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, you will learn: ? How human milk offers lifetime benefits for your baby ? How to prepare for breastfeeding during pregnancy ? How to exercise and lose weight safely while nursing ? How to find time for yourself while meeting baby's needs ? How to increase your milk supply by using herbs and medications ? How to be sure your baby is getting enough to eat The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding was the first book of its kind, written for mothers by mothers. Over the years, more than two million mothers have turned to it for information and inspiration.

    Now this new, updated edition of the groundbreaking work by Robert A. Bradley, M.D., has all the information you need to approach a natural childbirth safely, confidently, and wisely. From the reasons to choose the Bradley Method to the steps you will take as your birth day approaches—and after the birth of your baby—this book is designed to help couples share completely in the birthing experience. •Build better, deeper, and more trusting communication skills with your partner in preparation for a drug-free childbirth•Learn the physical, emotional, and mental relaxation techniques essential to a natural childbirth•Discover how you and your doctor can work together toward your natural delivery •Monitor your weight, nutrition, and your overall well-being during pregnancy•Use natural prevention methods for the most common pregnancy problems•Get the most out of the bonding experience you will share with your baby and your partnerWith its time-tested wisdom, medical soundness, and reassuring first-person accounts of natural childbirth, this book is the “gold standard” of childbirth books. The Bradley Method is an essential guide for anyone considering childbirth without unnecessary medications or medical intervention and to share fully in your child’s arrival into the world.

    With HypnoBirthing, your pregnancy and childbirth will become the gentle, life-affirming process it was meant to be.In this easy-to-understand guide, HypnoBirthing founder Marie F. Mongan explodes the myth of pain as a natural accompaniment to birth. She proves through sound medical information that it is not our bodies but our culture that has made childbirth a moment of anguish, and that when we release the fear of birth, a fear that is keeping our bodies tense and closed, we will also release the painHypnoBirthing is nature, not manipulation. It relaxes the mind in order to let the body work as it is designed. The HypnoBirthing exercises - positive thinking, relaxation, visualization, breathing and physical preparation — will lead to a happy and comfortable pregnancy, even if you are currently unsure of an intervention-free birth. Your confidence, trust and happy anticipation will in turn lead to the peaceful, fulfilling and bonding birth that is your right as a mother.More than 10,000 happy couples have had their lives changed for the better by HypnoBirthing. More than 500 news organizations — including Good Morning America, The Today Show, Dateline, The Richard & Judy Show, Time, Newsweek, Parenting and Better Homes & Gardens — have joined the movement for better birthing.Why is HypnoBirthing changing the way the world gives birth? That's simple. Because it works.

    For women who want an alternative, choice is often unavailable: Midwives are sometimes inaccessible; in eleven states they are illegal. In one of those states, even birthing centers are outlawed.When did birth become an emergency instead of an emergence? Since when is normal, physiological birth a crime? A groundbreaking journalistic narrative, Pushed presents the complete picture of maternity care in America. Crisscrossing the country to report what women really experience during childbirth, Jennifer Block witnessed several births - from a planned cesarean to an underground home birth. Against this backdrop, Block investigates whether routine C-sections, inductions, and epidurals equal medical progress. She examines childbirth as a reproductive rights issue: Do women have the right to an optimal birth experience? If so, is that right being upheld? Block's research and experience reveal in vivid detail that while emergency obstetric care is essential, there is compelling evidence that we are overusing medical technology at the expense of maternal and infant health: Either women's bodies are failing, or the system is failing women.

    Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful is a treasury of wisdom, information, and inspiration for pregnancy and motherhood based on the spiritual and physical practices of Kundalini yoga, which Gurmukh has taught for the last thirty years.With illustrated, step-by-step instructions, she teaches time-tested techniques, meditations, and exercises that will help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. In the timeless way that women have passed down wisdom surrounding birth and child rearing to one another for centuries, Gurmukh weaves folk stories and contemporary testimonials into a program designed to help you get profound results in the shortest possible time.The sections in this book cover each trimester of pregnancy as well as delivery and life with the baby. In her wise, gentle, and comforting voice, Gurmukh suggests meditations, exercises, and yoga positions to respond to the various needs of expectant and new mothers as you undergo dramatic body changes. Gurmukh also helps you explore and, when necessary, heal your own history and unconscious attitudes about pregnancy, birth, and parenting.In Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful, Gurmukh gives you all the tools you need to have a healthy and happy pregnancy while increasing your connection to your partner and building compassion and prosperity. The ancient practices of yoga can lead you back to your own power as a woman, capable of more than you ever dreamed. All you need is a belief in the possibility of change and a commitment of as little as three minutes a day. Gurmukh has helped thousands of women and their families find fulfillment through the healing movements and meditations of Kundalini yoga---and she can help you, too!

    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.

    The Nursing Mother’s Companion has been among the best-selling books on breastfeeding for 25 years, and is respected and recommended by professionals and well loved by new parents for its encouraging and accessible style. Kathleen Huggins equips breastfeeding mothers with all the information they need to overcome potential difficulties and nurse their babies successfully from the first week through the toddler years, or somewhere in between.   This fully updated and extensively revised edition provides new information on topics such as:• Nursing after a cesarean• How to resume breastfeeding after weaning (relactation)• Nursing a “near-term” (3–to–5 weeks premature) baby• Treating postpartum headaches and nausea• Nutritional supplements to alleviate postpartum depression• Sharing a baby with baby (co-sleeping) and the risk of SIDS• Introducing solid foods• Expressing, storing, and feeding breast milk• Reviews of breast pumps   Readers will also find Huggins’s indispensable problem-solving “survival guides,” set off by colored bands on the pages for quick reference, as well as appendices on determining baby’s milk needs in the first six weeks and the safety of various drugs during breast-feeding. Now more than ever, The Nursing Mother’s Companion is the go-to guide every new mother should have at hand.

     Take Control of Your Childbirth ExperienceNew moms are spreading the word to pregnant women just like you: Doulas make pregnancy and childbirth the celebratory experience it is meant to be! Doulas are professionally trained women who provide support before, during, and after delivery. Research has shown that doulas help women have positive birth experiences, decrease the need for pain medication, improve breastfeeding success, and reduce the need for cesarean sections and other invasive procedures. Author Rachel Gurevich interviewed more than 235 women and birth professionals to bring you this best-kept pregnancy secret. Inside, you'll find real mothers' stories and discover how doulas make a joyful difference in childbirth. You'll learn:·The many ways doulas provide labor support, whether you plan a "natural" or medicated birth ·How to find, hire, and choose the right doula ·How specialized doulas can help you before or after the baby's birth ·How doulas help the dad-to-be ·And more!

    . . . A badass, feminist, and personal deep-dive into the science and culture of pregnancy and early motherhood that debunks myths and dated assumptions, offering guidance and camaraderie to women navigating one of the biggest and most profound changes in their lives.Like most first-time mothers, Angela Garbes was filled with questions when she became pregnant. What exactly is a placenta? How does a body go into labor? Why is breast best? What are the signs and effects of post-partum depression?But as she discovered, it’s not easy to find satisfying answers. Your OB will cautiously quote statistics; online sources will scare you with conflicting and often inaccurate information; and even the most trusted books will offer information with a heavy dose of judgment. To educate herself, the food and culture writer embarked on an intensive journey of exploration, diving into the scientific mysteries and cultural myths that surround motherhood to find answers to her questions that had only previously been given through a lens of what women ought to do—instead of allowing them the freedom to choose the right path themselves.In Like a Mother, Angela offers a rigorously researched and compelling look at the physiology, biology, chemistry, and psychology of pregnancy and motherhood, informed by research, reportage, and her own experience. With a journalist’s curiosity and discipline, a mother’s urgency, and a food writer’s insatiability, she explores the science behind the pressing questions women have about a number of subjects, including postpartum hormones, breast milk, and miscarriage.Infused with candor and humor, born out of awe, appreciation, and understanding of the human body and its workings, Like a Mother is a full-frontal look at what’s really happening underneath your skin (and to it), and why women need to know.

    Her new preface to this 2003 edition of a book that has been read, applauded, and loved by women all over the world, makes it clear that the issues surrounding childbirth remain as controversial as ever.

    As a teenager, Cara's family home burnt to the ground. That tragedy led her on a journey that would span a variety of countries and cultures. While she was in Morocco, a woman suffered from a fatal injury. Grieving the unnecessary death, Cara resolved that, next time, she would know what to do to save a life.In this fascinating and searingly honest memoir, Cara reveals what eventually led her to support women in one of the most significant experiences of their lives. Balancing science with intuition, parenthood with her work, and sacrifice with joy, Cara shows us what it means to be alive and to live a life of purpose.Just as readers are fascinated by Carly Fiorina's or Elizabeth Gilbert's journeys, they will find great inspiration in Cara's journey to live her calling. Whether you read about her "in Vogue "or the" New York Times"; saw her in the documentary "The Business of Being Born," by filmmakers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein; or are learning about her for the first time here, you are sure to be inspired by her remarkable story.

    Incorporating everything that's new in pregnancy, childbirth, and the lifestyles of parents-to-be, complete with a preconception plan, information on choosing a practitioner, birthing alternatives, second pregnancies, twins, making love while pregnant, and coping with common and not so common pregnancy symptoms.

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

    In The Big Book of Birth renowned childbirth educator and Realbirth Center founder Erica Lyon offers an antidote to that fear with a comprehensive and up- to-date guide to childbirth. Drawing from more than a decade of teaching expecting parents what really to expect, Lyon fills the void that currently exists in childbirth literature, offering clear, current, objective advice on everything from choosing your doctor or midwife, to the realities of assisted and cesarean births, to the many different pain-coping options you can use during delivery and proven techniques that can help you relax and often speed along your labor. The Big Book of Birth guides women through the four stages of labor, dispelling misconceptions and providing a wealth of objective information in a warm, welcoming, and well- organized format. A long-overdue resource, The Big Book of Birth gives expectant mothers the knowledge they need to approach childbirth with confidence and joy.

    Diana Korte and Roberta M. Scaer, both long-time La Leche leaders, analyze today's childbirth options and help readers to choose among them â?? to find "Dr. Rightâ? (or a midwife), and perhaps a labor assistant, too, and to pick a hospital, birthing center, or home birth. They describe the pros and cons of medications, fetal monitoring, induction of labor, and other medical interventions during birth, and they tell readers how to avoid an unnecessary cesarean section and ensure that all their wishes are followed. In chapters such as "If You Don't Know Your Options, You Don't Have Any,â? "The Obstetricians Black Bag of Interventions,â? and "How to Have a Normal Vaginal Birth (and Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean)â?, Korte and Scaer are refreshingly frank but never dogmatic; they want their readers to decide for themselves what's best for them.