Books

fieldofflowers21

Does anyone have recommendations for books to read during your first pregnancy that aren’t what to expect when you’re expecting? Trying to limit my tendency to go down internet rabbit holes.

loveanddatadriven

Are you looking for pregnancy related books? I liked the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy as a comprehensive guide. I also REALLY liked Expecting Better by Emily Oster.

Edited to add: I also recommend reading through some early infant care books before your infant arrives. That'll probably be another thread, though.

fieldofflowers21

Thank you! I will check those out.

sammygirl18

@loveanddatadriven I agree with Expecting Better. Also I’d follow up with crib sheets by the same author, but that’s after baby is here.

fieldofflowers21

Expecting better seems to be popular. I will order!

Avrilmai

@fieldofflowers21 I used the Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy. I liked the format and that it was science based.  

monstera13

I read Mayo Clinic last pregnancy, so I just ordered Expecting Better for this one based of y’all’s suggestions! 

doxiemoxie212

Expecting Better is good - let go of the fear and enjoy your sushi! lol

I really like Bringing Up Bebe - not for the actual advice, necessarily, but it's almost an anthropological-style look at French parenting culture, and I think it's really helpful to get a thorough perspective in letting mom guilt go completely. For me, reading it and seeing how much the mom guilt did not HAVE to exist really helped me have a very minimal amount. It also normalizes that babies should sleep. I think a lot of things here in the US will tell you to just expect to never sleep again, and no one should accept that (in my BMB of 40 babies, only 3 were not STTN by 6mo, and those 3 were opposed to sleep training in all forms). I also just think it's really interesting to learn about another way of parenting than what's common here. 

I also think some instagram follows these days can be more helpful than books - Dr Cassidy for postpartum plans for mental health, Baby Sleep Trainer is my personal fav for sleep content, Kids Eat in Color for feeding, Women in Motion for pelvic floor health, etc. I mean there are tons now, like seriously endless, and I think it's wonderful to have so much more access to actual experts than just books alone. 

kiwi2628

I didn’t do books although I did read bringing up Bebe like Doxie, but I did do lots of Instagram pages. 

Tranquilitybyhehe for doula/labor info. She’s very evidence based and factual. She’s not like a lot of doulas, she loves anything based in facts and studies (which a lot of prenatal care and especially birth/PP care actually goes against evidence based medicine)

doc_Jen Morgan for pelvic floor health (both during and post birth)

Labor.nurse.mama and thebirthnurse are also very evidence based L&D nurses and have so much info

hoosiermamajayden

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Expecting Better by Emily Oster are probably the two I’d prioritize. 

Evidencebasedbirth.com is a great resource for all the things. 

I second looking into infant care and especially breastfeeding before baby is born, too! 

doxiemoxie212

yes, evidencebasedbirth.com is such a good resource, especially in the last few months of pregnancy

maggiemadeit

These are two great books on natural childbirth, if you’re into that sort of thing. Lots of positive delivery stories, which I really enjoyed when I was preparing. 

Natural Birth the Bradley Way
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

loveanddatadriven

I’m so intrigued by the Instagram following. Makes sense but I don’t even have an account, and wouldn’t have thought to look.

I also wanted to add Expecting 411 to the list because it’s so easy to use as a quick reference, and it’s evidence-based.

maggiemadeit

Not a book, but the Birth Hour podcast is awesome! Every episode is a woman’s birth story, and they are as diverse as you could imagine. There are hundreds of episodes and they are well-indexed if you’re looking for something specific. 

minnie_yoga_mama

If anyone is interested in yoga or Ayurveda I recommend Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, co-written by Deepak Chopra. It doesn’t go week by week, but it’s a great book to supplement the more comprehensive books if you’re looking for breathing techniques, meditations, practical tools for labor, and a way to prepare emotionally and spiritually for your baby. 

miss_lynn9

@minniecat Oh this sounds right down my alley! Thanks for sharing.

miss_lynn9

I love real food for pregnancy by Lily Nichols

emky0704

My OB recommend The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. I'm about half way through, but I have to say I don't really like it. The author tries to be you best friend, humorously telling you all the miserable aspects of pregnancy and commiserating with you. But I find a lot of her jokes to be dated, forced, or weirdly inappropriate. Plus, I could really use some positivity around this pregnancy! Anyone else try this book?