Pregnancy and Natural Childbirth
Natural Fertility: The Complete Guide to Avoiding or Achieving Conception
By Francesca Naish
Many women have problems with their fertility at some time in their lives. Solutions and preventative advice here will contribute to women's well-being, and help to overcome problems with contraception, 
infertility, reproductive and hormonal health.
Table of Contents
The natural approach; The unnatural approach; Your bodies; Cervical mucus changes; Basal body temperature changes; Rhythm calculations; The lunar cycle; Synchronising cycles; Sexual expression in fertile times; Charting and co-ordinating the methods for contraception; Times of change; Natural remedies for hormonal and reproductive health; Natural, healthy conception; Case histories; Index.
Beautiful Birth: Practical Techniques to Help You Achieve a Happier and More Natural Labour and Delivery
Preparation for birth is often marked with fear and anxiety but this need not be the case. Birth is a natural process with which a woman's body is designed to cope. A pregnant woman who is physically and emotionally prepared for the experience will have a much more positive birth experience and is better able to manage labour and delivery. The techniques that enable a pregnant woman to become more in touch with her body and baby can be leant and practised at home. As many are done with a partner, the techniques also strengthen the relationship between expectant parents and make the dad more part of the birth process. Even if medical intervention is required, the breathing and visualisation techniques, postures and massage routines demonstrated in the book can help make the birth a more positive experience. More
The Whole Pregnancy Handbook: An Obstetrician's Guide to Integrating Conventional and Alternative Medicine Before, During, and After Pregnancy
As complementary and alternative health care becomes ever more popular and mainstream, and as the continued success of books like "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and "Healthy Child, Whole Child prove, women are eager for a comprehensive pregnancy guide by a physician on the best conventional, complementary, and alternative medical practices. "The Whole Pregnancy Handbook will offer just that--information from a trustworthy authority that cannot be found in any other pregnancy book on the market. More
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices
Sarah Buckley might be called a third-wave natural birth advocate. A doctor and a mother, she approaches the question of how a woman and baby might have the most fulfilling birth experience with respect for the wisdom of both medical science and the human body. Using current medical and epidemiological research plus women's experiences (including her own), she demonstrates that what she calls 'undisturbed birth' is almost always healthier and safer than hospital births. Her wise counsel on issues like breastfeeding and sleeping during post-partum helps extend the gentle birth experience into a gentle parenting relationship. More
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Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth
By Jackie Facciolo, Peggy O'Mara, Wendy Ponte
For more than twenty-five years, Mothering magazine has captured an audience of educated women who appreciate its "we'll inform, you choose" approach to parenting. Having a Baby, Naturally reflects this spirit with straightforward, uncensored information about pregnancy and childbirth, addressing common concerns and questions in a compassionate, nonjudgmental style.
Written by Peggy O'Mara, the longtime publisher, editor, and owner of Mothering magazine, it synthesizes the best theories and safest practices used in natural childbirth, including recommendations from the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Throughout, O'Mara reinforces her belief that each woman's pregnancy and birth experience is a one-of-a-kind event. She covers such topics as:
- Nutrition, diet, and exercise
- Emotional self-awareness during and after pregnancy
- A trimester-by-trimester guide to what is happening in your body and your child's
- Birth choices -- offering suggestions, not "rules"
- Pain medication alternatives
- Birth locations, from hospitals to home birth
- Relieving morning sickness with natural remedies
- Prenatal testing
- Breastfeeding
- Prematurity and multiple births
- Balancing work and family
- The father's role during pregnancy and beyond
- Difficult subjects, such as birth defects, miscarriages, and postpartum depression, are also treated with sensitivity and candor.
Finally, a book for the thinking woman who believes in her own inherent capacity to make smart, informed decisions about her pregnancy and birth, just as she makes in other areas of her life. Having a Baby, Naturally is a celebration of childbirth and an accurate and objective guide to helping women fortify their spirits, develop trust in their bodies, and make the best
possible choices to protect their new baby's health. More
Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation
By Pam England, Rob Horowitz (Joint Author)
This holistic approach to childbirth examines this profound rite-of-passage not as a medical event, but as an act of self-discovery. Exercises and activities such as journal writing, meditation, and painting are designed to help mothers analyze their thoughts and face their fears during pregnancy. 144 line drawings. 17 photos. More
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The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition and Other Holistic Choices
By Aviva Jill Romm
Reading THE NATURAL PREGNANCY BOOK is like having your own personal herbalist and midwife at your side. Expertly written by Aviva Jill Romm, who has been providing family-centered natural health care for almost 20 years, it was one of the first books to explore botanical medicine and pregnancy. In this revised and updated edition, Ms. Romm thoughtfully follows the woman’s journey from conception to birth, focusing on natural health. She describes herbs that can promote and maintain a healthy pregnancy (along with those you should avoid during your term) and the basics of a healthy diet, with an emphasis on natural foods. THE NATURAL PREGNANCY BOOK is a complete guide for the woman who envisions a safe pregnancy without technological intervention, as nature intended. More
About the Author
AVIVA JILL ROMM is a midwife and herbalist who has been the director of the LifeCycles Center for Midwifery and Botanical Medicine since 1985. Current president of the American Herbalists Guild, she is the author of several books and many articles on natural healing and pregnancy issues. Ms. Romm lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and four children.
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The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions
By Penny Simkin
Destined to become the birth partner's bible, [this] book provides the answer to many a labor coach's prayer in a comprehensive yet easily referenced fashion. --Marian Thompson, co-founder of La Leche League International
The Birth Partner is the ultimate guide for mothers, birth coaches, and doulas. There is nothing else so complete, well balanced, and reassuring. --Kathleen Huggins, author of The Nursing Mother's Companion and The Expectant Parents' Companion
If you want to learn how best to help an expectant mother have a happy and healthy childbirth, The Birth Partner, Third Edition is the only book you'll need. For almost 20 years, husbands, partners, friends, relatives, and doulas have turned to this book for guidance on being a supportive partner in the delivery room. The expanded third edition includes the most up-to-date information about techniques, devices, and medications for easing labor pain; tests and treatments of the fetus and newborn; strategies to help labor progress; potential medical procedures and interventions; and how best to help the mother during the early days after the birth. And, with its easy-to-use format and new illustrations, the The Birth Partner is the essential guide have on hand in the delivery room. More
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Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Experience the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation
By Kaur Khalsa Gurmukh, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa,
From internationally renowned yoga teacher Gurmukh comes a book on pregnancy unlike any other. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful is a treasury of wisdom, information, and inspiration for pregnancy and motherhood based on the spiritual and physical practices of Kundalini yoga, which Gurmukh has taught for the last thirty years.
With illustrated, step-by-step instructions, she teaches time-tested techniques, meditations, and exercises that will help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. In the timeless way that women have passed down wisdom surrounding birth and child rearing to one another for centuries, Gurmukh weaves folk stories and contemporary testimonials into a program designed to help you get profound results in the shortest possible time.
The sections in this book cover each trimester of pregnancy as well as delivery and life with the baby. In her wise, gentle, and comforting voice, Gurmukh suggests meditations, exercises, and yoga positions to respond to the various needs of expectant and new mothers as you undergo dramatic body changes. Gurmukh also helps you explore and, when necessary, heal your own history and unconscious attitudes about pregnancy, birth, and parenting.
In Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful, Gurmukh gives you all the tools you need to have a healthy and happy pregnancy while increasing your connection to your partner and building compassion and prosperity. The ancient practices of yoga can lead you back to your own power as a woman, capable of more than you ever dreamed. All you need is a belief in the possibility of change and a commitment of as littleas three minutes a day. Gurmukh has helped thousands of women and their families find fulfillment through the healing movements and meditations of Kundalini yoga---and she can help you, too! More
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The Garden of Fertility: A Guide to Charting Your Fertility Signals to Prevent or Achieve Pregnancy-Naturally-And to Gauge Your Reproductive He
"The Garden of Fertility" is a guide to using fertility awareness-that is, reading fertility signals in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy. Certified fertility educator Katie Singer explains how to observe and chart fertility cycles to determine when a woman is most fertile to increase chances of conception, or to exercise birth control naturally-a method that, when followed precisely, is as effective as the Pill. Unlike other books on fertility awareness, "The Garden of Fertility also describes how to use the charts to gauge gynecological health and offers nonmedical options for strengthening reproductive wellness. This book provides all the information women never learned in sex education class, but should have. More
Pilates for Pregnancy: Safe and Natural Exercises for Before and After the Birth
From the author of the best-selling "The Pilates Difference" comes this gentle exercise program designed to keep women fit and healthy throughout pregnancy. With its focus on strengthening the back and building abdominal and pelvic muscles, pilates is one of the best ways to make labor more comfortable and recover more quickly. The easy-to-follow, fully illustrated exercises are designed to suit bodily changes from the first to the ninth month, and even continue into the post-natal stages to help women regain their figures. Also, learn breathing techniques to aid relaxation. With these calming workouts plus tips on nutrition and safety, maintaining a toned body while expecting has never been easier. More
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