my top pregnancy reads

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Ina May Gaskin

This has been without a doubt my favourite book concerning childbirth.  I am now obsessed with Ina May; her philosophy on birthing a baby and the innate ability of our bodies to accomplish this naturally, without fear in the right circumstances and environment with the right support is empowering.  I don’t yet know how my first birth will play out, but if I lived in the United States and could deliver on the Farm – I would be there in an instant!

Ina May founded a village community called the Farm in 1971, which fosters a safe, calming environment for women to birth their babies.  The statistical outcomes associated with the births are positively outstanding, to the point whereby this midwife and her community have gained exceptional renown and respect in the United States.  People travel from near and far to birth their babies there.  One half of this book recounts numerous birth stories written by the women who have delivered there, and aims to help strengthen your spirit and belief in yourself for what your body is capable of prior to your own delivery.  The second half of the book covers a range of topics from an explanation of what happens physiologically in labour, to coping mechanisms and anecdotes, and a history of midwifery.  If you were to pick up one book in the whole of your pregnancy – this would be the one that I would recommend.

Your Baby, Your Birth: Hypnobirthing Skills For Every Birth

Hollie de Cruz

Hypnobirthing (despite the terrible name) is simply the practice of relaxing during labour to facilitate an easier and calmer birth.  Relaxation releases ‘oxytocin’ – a hormone produced by the body which helps your body to contract efficiently and reduces pain.  In contrast - the hormone ‘adrenaline’ produced when we are fearful or distressed, suppresses contractions and can result in a painful and in-efficient labour.  The whole point of hypnobirthing is to help you prepare for labour, so you can produce as much oxytocin as possible during the birth.

This was the first hypnobirthing book I read and was a very helpful introduction to the practice.  It provided me with a foundation to build upon: breathing techniques for relaxation and to utilise in labour, exercises to practice relaxation with my partner, positive birth stories, and free access to an affirmations mp3 which I used to listen to in the car.  It was a positive, uplifting book and I took a lot from it.

How to Grow a Baby and Push It Out: Your no-nonsense guide to pregnancy and birth

Clemmie Hooper

As I read this towards the end of my pregnancy I found it less helpful, having used the BabyCentre app on my phone throughout the pregnancy, it covered lots of the same topics. If, unlike me - you picked it up from the start and followed through reading a section with each week it would be great (I just can’t do that with a book, I find myself turning the pages to find out what’s next and before you know it the whole thing is finished!)

It is a lovely book with gorgeous illustrations and colours throughout, and essentially guides you through each step of pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period providing tips, information, recipes, personal stories and cute pictures of fruit and veg to depict how large your baby is at each stage. It’s very comprehensive, and provides a great mish-mash of all things pregnancy, labour and even touches on the postnatal period.

The Positive Birth Book: A New Approach to Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Weeks 

Milli Hill 

This was the very first pregnancy related book I read, and I went from being incredibly fearful about labour to anticipating it with eagerness and excitement.  I am no longer dominated by fear for what is to come, but feel as though I have an arsenal of knowledge for how I can make my experience precious and positive no matter what mode of delivery my baby chooses to come into this world.  I think it’s a wonderful book to pick up when you discover you are expecting, and reading it early on really changed my entire outlook on the pregnancy and birth. It covers the phases of labour (amended to fourteen rather than the traditional three phases) with input from real mothers on their experience of each stage, a run through of birth stories in different settings, coping mechanisms for birth, and advice about all manner of birth related topics. 

This is up there with ‘Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth’ as one of the best books I read during my pregnancy, as an all-encompassing overview of birth.  One of the very helpful resources available with this book is a free download for pictorial birth preferences, so you can create your own birth plan.  This isn’t to say that things will definitely go how you plan, but Milli encourages you to make a plan for each scenario (for instance, an unplanned caesarean) so you can prepare and retain some control regardless of how your baby’s birth unfolds.

Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better

Siobhan Miller

This was the second hypnobirthing book I read, and Ryan read it too on our Babymoon.  It was structured differently to the other one: it began by explaining clearly the physiology of the uterine muscles and how they work in labour, and went on to provide a ‘toolkit’ of techniques to aid relaxation in labour (including visualisations, breathing techniques, positive affirmations and guided relaxation exercises). It was a nice book because it was geared towards the partner as well as the mother, and a few of the chapters focused on the partner’s role in labour.  Although it was at times a little repetitive, I understand this was to hammer the points home, and reinforce the positive and empowering thinking that comes hand in hand with hypnobirthing. We both found the book enlightening and helpful.

Spiritual Midwifery.

Ina May Gaskin

This is another book by my current heroine Ina May Gaskin!  It is quite different to the last in that it is geared towards midwives which I hadn’t realised when I purchased it.  I still enjoyed it immensely though as the entire first half of the book is filled with birth stories written by labouring women, their partners and attending midwives – and it worked again to instil me with confidence in anticipation of our birth.  The second half of the book is broken up into a section for new parents, a large section for midwives and a very small section for obstetricians.  I enjoyed the second half too, which may be due to keen curiosity or my medical background. It deals with a huge range of topics including complications of pregnancy, labour and postnatally, different presentations for birth and management for various scenarios.  I appreciate this wouldn’t be for everyone though and some women may not want to read about possible complications or negative experiences during their pregnancy.