books

I’ve read a bunch of books pertaining to pregnancy and newborns. My midwife stocks a ton of titles and I’ve been borrowing a few each week. In my opinion, the best ones are as follows:

· Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin. Michelle asked me if I read this one - yes! It was the first book I’d ever read about pregnancy and it helped me understand why, when at all possible, ‘natural’ birth is the way to go. Gaskin reaffirms the truth that pregnancy and childbirth are natural and normal physiological events and that, in most cases, birth occurs with no problems and doesn’t require interference. Before I read the book, I knew I wanted to try going drug-free but after I read it, I knew why I felt that way. The book’s descriptions of orgasmic birth are pretty funny, to be honest, but it was interesting to learn that labour doesn’t hurt for everyone.

· Bestfeeding. I’m nervous about breastfeeding – I was not breastfed and I didn’t see anyone do it until I was a teenager, at least, and so it doesn’t seem ‘normal’ to me, whatever that means – and this book made me feel a bit more confident in my ability to feed my child from my body. I liked the pictures of correct and incorrect positioning because I could study them to learn what was right and what wasn’t, since I’ve never watched anyone bf in real life.

· Birthing from Within. Sort of a philosophical guide to preparing for childbirth; I think it’s a good companion to Spiritual Midwifery. The author recommends using art (including writing and drawing) as a catalyst for thinking about pregnancy and labour and birth. The only thing I disliked about this book was the part that addressed people who are unready for parenthood. For these people, the book includes a checklist to go through to see if you are, in fact, too immature and unprepared to have a child. According to this checklist, I fall into that category which made me cry and feel as though I’m going to be a terrible mother. Other than that, it’s a great book.

· The Birth Partner, by Penny Simkin. A very practical guide for labour and delivery. Aimed at birth partners but I learned a lot from it.