My favourite books about bellies, birth, and babies

by Madelaine, doula & yoga teacher

The selection of books available can be overwhelming. What you are drawn to will largely depend on your approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. I think the most important thing is to find something that resonates with you, so that you will actually read it - and so that you can know the previously unknown.

Use books as a complement to a live childbirth preparation course. I have yet to hear that winging it is a good idea when it comes to birth!

As a starting point, here are a few of my favourites:

for general reference:

Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide (by Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, and Ann Keppler)

A great first reference for all things related to belly, your birth experience, and your newborn.

From The Hips: a comprehensive, open-minded, uncensored, totally honest guide to pregnancy, birth, and becoming a parent (by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris)

The personal anecdotes throughout the book make you feel as if you have a knowledgeable best friend in your pocket. I also love the space given to not just pregnancy and birth, but to your life after the baby arrives.

Approaches to birth:

HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method (by Marie Mongan)

An amazing approach which uses hypnosis, plus information to help you to learn to trust your body, your baby, and the process of birth. I have seen a number of HypnoBirth-supported births which were not necessarily breezy – but they all stand out as births where the mother knew how to focus inward when that was possible, and most importantly, where the mother trusted her instincts and was able to make decisions that were empowering for her. Comes with a cd of relaxation/preparation tracks.

Birthing From Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation (by Pam England & Rob Horowitz)

I highly recommend birth preparation classes based on this approach, and this book is a great companion to that. Whereas HypnoBirthing prepares you to not necessarily feel pain in childbirth, Birthing From Within prepares you for pain but brings about the knowing that you can absolutely handle it. I like the two approaches together, taking from each what works for you as an individual.

Your baby:

The Baby Book: Everything you need to know about your baby from birth to age two (by William and Martha Sears)

A thumper of a book – this is a baby bible. A great reference book for when you find yourself suddenly responsible for the care and wellbeing of a tiny human being.

A final note: The famous (or infamous) book What To Expect When You’re Expecting is known by caregivers to be the book that generates the highest number of anxious calls from pregnant mothers to their midwives and middle-of-the-night frantic visits to the ER. I wondered what was in there so picked up a used copy for my reference. Each chapter contains a section on “What You May Be Concerned About”. Probably not the best way to frame this – it seems that if you are not concerned, perhaps you better be?!?