When to start reading pregnancy books
Top 5 Pregnancy Books for Preparing for Birth | What to READ to Learn HOW TO HAVE A POSITIVE BIRTH
hey mamas the moment i found out that i
was pregnant with my first i took to
books to learn
everything i could about how to have a
natural healthy informed
and positive pregnancy and birth i had
not yet become a professional doula
although birth was something i was
familiar with and in awe of
and my own mama had recently passed away
so i felt this
urgency to learn everything i could
about pregnancy and birth
reading the right books during pregnancy
to prepare for labor is so
important many books focus on the scary
parts of pregnancy and birth
all the things that could go wrong and
leave you with more questions and doubts
about your ability to give birth
the books that i recommend are ones that
i have loved when i found out that i was
going to be a mama and the ones that i
still love and encourage mamas to read
now as a child birth educator in birth
doula
where your mind leads your body follows
so the more that you fill your mind
with inspiration and empowerment and
education
the easier it will be to have a happier
healthier and easier birth
i'm bridget and i'm a childbirth
educator and doula and it's my passion
to help mamas just like you
to believe that they are built to birth
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future videos that can help you have a
more empowering
pregnancy birth and postpartum period so
the internet as
many of you know is a massive black hole
of information which is
why it can sometimes be intimidating to
type into google your question
and then trust the results you get yes
there are tons of trustworthy things
to look at and learn from the web but
sometimes it's easier to stick to books
to get some of those answers
by the end of this video you will have
my top 5 books to prepare for you
for birth that as a child birth educator
i love and trust
these books will fill you with
trustworthy information inspiration and
practical tools
to help you love your birth all of these
books will be
linked down below in the description for
you to access
super easily so the first book that i
recommend every mama reading is aina
may's guide to childbirth
aina mae gaskin is an incredible midwife
who has had a lifetime of experience
helping women learn to trust their
bodies their babies
and in the process of birth to
experience a natural and empowering
birth experience this book is so
inspiring and insightful and she teaches
mamas about how
interconnected her mind is with her body
and how deeply
that impacts the birthing process she
talks about how to trust and facilitate
the physiological process of birth
and why interventions are often made
necessary
because of man-made problems and then
how to remedy
common issues that arise in the medical
care model of birth
and then how to know when interventions
are necessary
each time i pick up this book i get
goosebumps because of the way that she
talks about birth
and it's so moving and powerful and
truly makes every woman want to
experience the strength and victory
that aina mae speaks of when she talks
about birth
this is a pretty long book but it is so
worth the time that you spend
reading it and to make it easier you can
just get it on audible which actually
gives you a 30 day free trial and access
to
your free first book of your choosing so
that way
you can just put it on while you're
doing housework you're in the car you're
exercising
or doing your kick counts with your baby
and it makes it super easy to absorb
all of the knowledge and inspiration
that this book holds
if you are a doula or nurse and haven't
read this book yet
you also need to read this one as soon
as possible because it's
just that good so much of what anime
wrote in this book inspired me as i was
writing my birth affirmation so if you
guys are trying to
find affirmations that like speak to you
i really recommend checking this book
out and then writing down
her quotes or just inspirational things
that she says so you can have them up in
your birth space
as a reminder to be affirming your bo
your mind and your body in the direction
that you want it to go
the second book that i recommend reading
that i love is pregnancy
birth and the newborn written primarily
by penny simkin
who is another leading birth worker and
natural birth proponent
this book is so valuable because it is
so full of easily understandable
information that really empowers parents
to make informed decisions
regarding their birth the information in
it is evidence-based and up-to-date and
helps you understand how normal and
natural pregnancy and birth is
but also how sometimes women do face
challenges that don't make
pregnancy and birth feel as normal and
natural and how you can make the best
decisions for yourself to have a happy
healthy and easy birth
as much as possible even when there are
bumps in the road
i definitely recommend this book to any
mama who is giving birth in a hospital
to read
because it really helps you understand
what interventions are commonly used
and why and how you can decide which
interventions if any
are in your best interest again doulas
this is such a good book for you to read
to understand what many hospital birds
are like but it also has information
on home and birth center births as well
and it's just a great resource to have
with you to refresh your memory if you
have a client facing a particular
circumstance in regards to their
pregnancy and birth
this book also touches on the early
weeks of life with a newborn
it talks about how to help that
transition if you have other kids
to a new baby in the family how to
navigate postpartum depression
and just life in general after baby is
born the third book is the mama natural
week by week guide to pregnancy and
childbirth and
i love this book because the author
genevieve howland
gives an awesome perspective on changing
her life around and basically saving
herself
from herself and how empowering it was
to focus on her physical mental and
spiritual health
and how that impacted the way that she
approached her pregnancy and birth
for my mamas who don't know where to
start to have a healthy pregnancy this
is
such a great place to look and for my
mamas who are already
natural living holistic junkies you will
love what she has to say about pregnancy
and birth
all of the chapters are really
bite-sized which is what i love about it
and it's really easy to read and digest
and then implement into your own
pregnancy journey
the fourth book that i recommend is
natural hospital birth
and this book is one that i poured over
over and over again throughout my
own pregnancy most mamas giving birth
today
do so in a hospital setting but still
many of you
want to try to have as natural of a
birth as possible with as few
interventions many of you wanting to do
it unmedicated which can sometimes be
hard in a setting
where there is such easy access to so
many interventions
that when necessary can be life-saving
some women want the comfort of being in
a hospital setting to have the care
they need if the circumstances arise and
other women
don't have a choice to give birth
anywhere besides the hospital
well you do have a choice in is how your
birth unfolds and this book
is so helpful in giving you very
practical and easily remembered advice
to be able to make decisions regarding
your birth at a hospital and how to have
as natural of a birth as possible
in a very medicalized environment i 100
recommend reading this book which is
written by cynthia gabriel
who is a doula herself and actually
helps teach hospital staff
how to help women in labor have fewer
unnecessary interventions
during birth so she's a great expert on
this topic it's so packed with
information and it's an easy and pretty
quick read and i promise you won't
regret
regret learning everything you can that
this book has to offer
now before i get to the last book let me
know down in the comment section below
what resources you have
been loving to stay educated and
empowered through your pregnancy as you
prepare for
birth and postpartum so that you can
help other mamas out there get informed
and excited for their own birth too it's
not just
books but include books down there that
i haven't mentioned but any other
resources
that you've been using and loving so the
fifth book that i recommend
is the birth partner which is written by
penny simkin who is a renowned doula and
a childbirth educator
and has so much information to glean
from especially from her book
this book is geared more towards the
birth partner and it's actually a book
that is on the required reading list for
doulas
who go through donut international doula
training but partners
you will benefit so much from reading
this book and implementing even a few of
the tips that this book has to offer
it's not for just the professionals who
are in this field
it is very easy to implement the tips
that she offers in this book
mamas this is also a really great
resource for you as well and i
especially recommend reading this book
if you really don't know
anything about how to facilitate the
process of birth
and can't have a doula to support you
through your birth
this book does a really good job of
preparing birthing mamas and their birth
partners
for situations that may arise in labor
whether it's a really straightforward
experience or for one that has a few
twists and turns
you can almost use this book as a
checklist for the last things
that you want to prepare for before the
arrival of your baby which makes it
super useful and practical
i recommend reading this book in the
early third trimester because it has so
much valuable information in regards to
birth which you don't want to forget
which could be easy to do if you read it
like fairly early on in the first or
early second trimester
so for anyone watching this video mamas
partners birth workers or whoever you
may be these books anime gaskins guide
to childbirth
pregnancy birth and the newborn the mama
natural week by week guide to pregnancy
and childbirth
natural hospital birth and the birth
partner are books
that are all going to leave you more
educated
more empowered and more inspired and
ready to
have an amazing birth than before you
read them
again all of the links to these books
are down below in the description for
you
to access all of these books were
foundational in helping me create the
philosophy that i hold about birth today
that women are built to birth and that
birth is not an event
that needs to be feared or dreaded but
is an experience that women can truly
love birth is an experience that will
transform your life
for the better mama and the more you
know the less you fear
and these and these books can truly help
you replace that fear
with knowledge and empowerment so thanks
for being with me in this video and i
will see you in the next one
bye mamas
