Product Spotlight: Pregnancy Books

Re: Product Spotlight: Pregnancy Books

• Options

  kagesstarshroom member

  July 2019

  • What book/s on pregnancy/motherhood/maternity/parenting do you own/have you read? I want to give a shout to IT STARTS WITH THE EGG by Rebecca Fett, which is a book on fertility rather than these exact subjects and something I read in full that helped me get here. I am currently in the middle of EXPECTING BETTER by Emily Oster and I have two other books on my shelf I haven't read: LIKE A MOTHER: A FEMINIST JOURNEY THROUGH THE SCIENCE AND CULTURE OF PREGNANCY by Angela Garbes and alsoTHE MAMA SUTRA by Anne Cushman which is a memoir partially about being PGAL. 
  • What about that the book/s drew you to it/them? As for the Oster and Garbes, I read this great article about the panopticon-like treatment women often go through when PG & how the WHAT TO EXPECT... serious reinforces that idea that you are no longer in charge of your own body when you're expecting--so I wanted to read some books that really countered that idea in intelligent ways and gave feminist and/or scientifically based arguments and stories and advice. The memoir one I got free on Goodreads!
  • What would you like to share about those you've read/started to read? @stassischroeder & I have both recommended the Oster multiple times in different threads on this board so far--it's a great resource, and I think relevant for anyone, even if you don't share my feminist beliefs. 
  • Any books on your radar that you don't own yet that you're hoping to get your hands on? No, but I am hoping this thread might lead me to some! I am a voracious but picky reader.

  Report3 Reply
• Options

  jpalacios892 member

  July 2019

  • What book/s on pregnancy/motherhood/maternity/parenting do you own/have you read? I have the Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy on my kindle, and I've read Expecting Better by Emily Oster, Like A Mother: A Feminist Journey Through The Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes and And Now We Have Everything by Meagan O'Connell. 
  • What about that the book/s drew you to it/them? The Mayo Clinic book was free on Kindle the other day, so I thought, why not. Expecting Better was recommended by a friend and it appealed to me by it's evidence based approach. I find that society and medicine treat you like you have to give up control of your body while pregnant, and that's why Garbes' approach appealed to me.I also saw it on a list of "best books of the year" by NPR.  I read a New York magazine article by O'Connell and it dealt with the emotional fallout of pregnancy which led me to her book. 
  • What would you like to share about those you've read/started to read? I don't think the Mayo Clinic book has taught me anything new, but I really enjoyed the other three for various reasons. 
  • Any books on your radar that you don't own yet that you're hoping to get your hands on? Why? Since I liked Expecting Better, I'm hoping to get Cribsheet later on. 

  Report2 Reply
• Loading the player...
• Options

  wednesdayschild member

  July 2019

  I've read a ton of pregnancy books and would definitely second Expecting Better, Like a Mother, and And Now We Have Everything. The birth scene in And Now We Have Everything in particular made me feel more confident, even though it was traumatic for the author. 
  
  Would definitely, definitely recommend Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood - and Trusting Yourself and Your Body - Erica Chidi Cohen. She's a doula and approaches birth in a thoughtful, intersectional way. Also has a great IG @ericachidicohen. 
  
  Also recommend:
  Common Sense Pregnancy by Jeanne Faulker (from an RN perspective, great, info-based advice especially regarding labor/birth)
  The Informed Parent by Tara Haelle, Emily Willingham PhD (similar to Expecting Better, but less helpful for pregnancy -- it basically only covers home births and first vaccines, etc). 
  I didn't mind Mama Natural, it's super crunchy, but I liked a lot of it with a huge grain of salt.
  
  For parenting (with the preface that I love parenting books that highlight what other cultures do too):
  Bringing Up Bebe - Pamela Druckerman 
  How Not to Hate Your Husband After Having Kids - Jancee Dunn (hilarious and great)
  There Is No Such Thing As Bad Weather - Linda Akeson McGurk 
  French Kids Eat Everything - Karen Le Billion (so many interesting ideas about food + culture)
  Achtung Baby - Sara Zaske
  All Joy and No Fun  - Jennifer Senior
  Act Natural - Jennifer Traig (this is less parenting book and more a super interesting anthropology book)
  How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen - Joanna Faber 
  Weird Parenting Wins - Hillary Frank (podcast: Longest Shortest Time)
  Parenting With Love and Logic - Foster Cline (my Montessori friends love this one)
  
  And on my to-read list:
  Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn - Penny Simkin
  Cribsheet - Emily Oster
  
  

  Report4 Reply
• Options

  kagesstarshroom member

  July 2019

  @pdx2020 Wow yes! Thanks for all these suggestions and explanations on what you thought of them!

  Report0 Reply
• Options

  knottieb8895182d1f3de20 member

  July 2019

  Any recommendations for pregnancy journals? Particularly for second time moms. Thanks!!

  Report0 Reply
• Options

  kagesstarshroom member

  July 2019 edited July 2019

  @knottieb8895182d1f3de20 You should check out the pinned post about knottie user names--and the BEST pregnancy journal out there is called THE NINE. I recommend it fully & passionately.
  
  ETA to add "@" for tag.

  Report0 Reply