Recommended Reading
These are some of the books I have found most helpful and/or others have highly recommended. New books are being published all the time so if you have a good one I should add, please let me know!
I highly recommend all products and resources from Plumtree Baby as you prepare!
Birth Stories and for Fun:
Cesarean and VBAC
Special Circumstances
These are some of the books I have found most helpful and/or others have highly recommended. New books are being published all the time so if you have a good one I should add, please let me know!
I highly recommend all products and resources from Plumtree Baby as you prepare!
- Birth Vibes by Jen Hamilton
- Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
- Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifesta by Ina May Gaskin
- Why Did No One Tell Me This?: The Doulas' (Honest) Guide for Expectant Parents by Natalia Hailes and Ash Spivak
- Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel
- Mindful Birthing by Nancy Bardacke
- The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
- The Pregnancy Book and The Birth Book by William and Martha Sears
- Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper
- Pushed: the Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block
- Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr. Sarah Buckley
- Active Birth by Janet Balaskas
- Any titles from Sheila Kitzinger
- Into These Hands: Wisdom from Midwives by Geradine Simkins
- Birthing a Better Way: 12 Secrets for Natural Childbirth by Kalena Cook, Margaret Christensen M.D. and Christiane Northrup
- Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner
- Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
- The Doula Guide to Birth: Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Should Know by Ananda Lowe
- Holy Labor by Aubry Smith (written from a Christian perspective)
Birth Stories and for Fun:
- Belly Button Bliss: A Small Collection of Happy Birth Stories by Jennifer Derryberry Mann
- Giving Birth: A Journey Into the World of Mothers and Midwives by Catherine Taylor
- Journey into Motherhood by Sheri Menelli
- Adventures in Natural Childbirth by Pam England and Janet Schwegel
- Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent
Cesarean and VBAC
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: the VBAC Handbook by Helen Churchill and Wendy Savage
- Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention & VBAC by Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois Estner
- Natural Birth After Cesarean: A Practical Guide by Johanne C. Walters, Karis Crawford
Special Circumstances
- Why Me? Understanding and Managing a Potential Preterm Pregnancy: A Medical and Emotional Guide by Kelly Whitehead
- When Survivors Give Birth: Understanding and Healing the Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Childbearing Women by Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus
- I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith
- When Hello Means Goodbye by Paul Kirk and Pat Schwiebert