There are so many fantastic books out there about pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Here’s a selection of my favourites that I have read and highly recommend.
The Positive Birth Book – Milli Hill
This book is the starting point for educating yourself about your options for birth in a completely non-judgemental way. Whether you are planning a hospital birth, home birth, caesarean or vaginal birth, this book helps you to understand your rights to make your experience as positive as possible and the birth that’s right for you.
The Birth of a Mother – Stern
The Birth of a Mother covers the concept that when a child is born, a mother is also born. Stern covers the whole psychological process of becoming a mother starting from the moment you find out you’re pregnant and the milestones and hurdles that women experience in this ongoing process. Really interesting and definitely one to help you prepare for the mental challenges that we sometimes face in becoming a mother.
Your Baby, Your Birth – Hollie de Cruz
This book is a lovely introduction to hypnobirthing – I see it as a great way to get an idea of whether hypnobirthing might be for you and if so to then look into attending some specialist hypnobirthing classes – I can recommend practitioners in the local area so let me know if this is of interest.
The Modern Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond – Marie Louise
Similar to The Positive Birth Book this guide gives another perspective from a practicing midwife, giving you a really good overall understanding of what happens in each trimester and birth and tips for enjoying the journey.
Buddhism for Mothers – Sarah Napthali
This is one that I could read over and over, each page has a gem on how we can enjoy and survive the demands of motherhood. I would recommend this as an essential read both before and after becoming a Mother.