10 Must-Read Books for Pregnancy Through Early Parenting
If you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, I can already guess that your library card is melting from so much use. You may have even bit the bullet and signed up for Amazon Prime because yeah, that free shipping is totally worth it when you're buying enough books you could sink a small ship.
But what do you really need to read to prepare? First hint: put down What to Expect When You're Expecting. No, seriously. Put. It. Down. 🙅🏽♀️
Here's our list of 10 must-read books for a more calm & confident pregnancy, birth, and parenting experience.
PRECONCEPTION
1) Taking Charge of Your Fertility: You'd be surprised how many of us have some serious gaps in understanding how our own body works. This book is super, super helpful.
PREGNANCY
2) Nurture: It’s the only all-in-one pregnancy and birthing book for modern mothers-to-be and their partners who want a more integrative approach.
3) Expecting Better: This new kid on the block stirred up quite a bit of controversy when it was released in early 2014. But it's a super interesting read with an evidence-based approach to busting some of our long held standard practices around pregnancy.
LABOR & BIRTH
4) Natural Hospital Birth: Are you giving birth in a hospital but wanting as few interventions as possible? This is basically your manual. Interventions and procedures are explained in an easy to understand way, with tips on how to prepare for and achieve a low-intervention/unmedicated birth in a medicalized setting.
5) The Birth Partner: No matter who your primary labor support person will be (partner, mom, husband, etc.) this is truly a must read. Written by the godmother of the doula profession, Penny Simkin, this book guides support people in how to effectively help a mother in labor including a handy illustrated guide for comfort measures.
BREASTFEEDING / CHESTFEEDING
6) Breastfeeding Made Simple: Just read this one, okay? And buy your copy so you can keep it as reference. This book revolves around "7 natural laws" of breastfeeding which are common sense and won't drive you crazy. It's informative without being too dry and, most importantly, nonjudgmental. There's even a section on pumping when you go back to work.
7) La Leche League: While not a book, this article packed full of helpful tips for transgender and non-binary parents who will be body feeding.
NEWBORN
8) Happiest Baby on the Block: Written by a true baby-whisperer, this book gives you 5 very effective tools for soothing baby and encouraging sleep. Trust us, it’s like magic! (But actually it’s just good old science.) This one is MUST HAVE.
9) The Wonder Weeks: The beauty of this one is that it lays out clear expectations for the weeks of babies development so you’re not left throwing your hands up in frustration because you don’t know what’s happening. There’s also guidance on how best to navigate those transitions so you can be fully prepared.
10) Touchpoints: This really focuses on the cross-relationship between physical, emotional, and behavioral development. 'Touchpoints' will put your mind at ease during all the leaps your little one will go through in the first three years. Happy reading!
Offering expectant and new parents :
newborn and infant care
infant and child CPR
body (breastfeeding/chestfeeding) + bottle feeding
childbirth education
relaxation in birth
tools for partner support