Minimalist Reading List: 3 Books to Help You Birthsmarter
Friday, June 18, 2021
Whether you’re five weeks or five months into pregnancy, there’s a common moment in pregnancy when you realize you should probably read a birth book.
With literally hundreds of choices, it can be overwhelming to know what to read. Here’s our highly curated list. Our top Three. To get you from the positive pee stick to pushing. Of course, we think you should take a birth class too.
Written by Rebecca Dekker, founder of Evidence Based Birth, Babies Are Not Pizzas documents the realities of institutional care during childbirth and reveals creative solutions for anyone preparing to navigate the U.S. healthcare system. If you’re in your first or second trimester, ready, willing, and able to think critically about your birth location and chosen medical provider this book is a must read!
Angela Garbes developed a following in 2015 when she published this piece on the science behind breastmilk. _Like a Mother_ combines the research skills of a journalist with the passion a new mother. The book explores lesser focused on but much more important aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum: Miscarriage, mediocre birthing experiences, the placenta, pelvic health, and overall vulnerability to name a few. It is part science, part memoir, and most closely resembles the Birthsmarter approach that there’s no right way!
Penny Simkin’s The Birth Partner educates partners on their role as labor support but is truly a brilliant read for pregnant people as well. I much prefer it over all other generic pregnancy/birth books! It covers what to expect from the end of pregnancy through labor and the early stages postpartum, offers care-taking techniques for the whole process, and lays out information on the many possible options a laboring woman will face so that she and her partner can make educated decisions before and during labor. It is as much a guidebook for mother and partner to prepare for labor as it is a reference tool for partners during labor.
What are we missing? Tell us below which books you’ve been really enjoying!
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