Five Books to Read During Pregnancy, Especially If You're Aiming For A Natural Birth

The first time I was pregnant, I was just finishing my Green Medicine certification at the NY Open Center and was so excited to begin my pregnancy with my newfound knowledge. I found out I was pregnant right before my last class and was able to ask my teacher for reading recommendations, as she was the first person to introduce me to the concept of midwives and doulas. I knew I wanted to have a natural homebirth, so I was eager to learn as much as I could to prepare mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially for the experience. Most of the books she recommended are in my top 5 choices for reading during pregnancy. 

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin 

The first book I recommend to any expecting mom is Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, written by midwife Ina May Gaskin who is known worldwide for founding the Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee.The first 100+ pages of the book are filled with tons of birthing stories from women who have had natural births. The stories are uplifting and beautiful, empowering you to believe in your own ability to have a peaceful natural birth. There is even a story about a woman who didn’t know she was in labor until she heard her baby crying in bed next to her! I love that the book opens up this way versus more factual, informational text first. This helped with envisioning my most ideal birthing situation before getting down to the nitty gritty facts and figures associated with childbirth. After the personal accounts of natural birth, the book then provides very objective information about all the procedures that will be offered to you throughout pregnancy, labor, and afterwards whether you give birth in a hospital, birthing center or at home. The way the information is provided helps you decide what will be best for you and your family given the benefits and risks outlined in the text for each approach.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon

The second book on my list, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, is a resource that fathers or birthing partners can read during pregnancy to help the family feel prepared for what’s ahead. My partner read this book and took lots of notes, then took the initiative to make sure we practiced different birthing positions and pain management techniques in the months leading up to our due date. My partner was very active in our birth, which was super important for us as we planned for a homebirth. The stages of labor progressed very quickly for me, essentially skipping the first stage of labor and diving right into the second stage, so my partner being able to help me manage the pain  before my midwife and doula arrived was a huge blessing. By the time my midwife arrived at my house I was already 7 cm dilated!

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed is an essential guide on herbal preparations that can be used before, during, in labor, and after pregnancy. There are also herbal remedies for newborns in there. Instructions on how to prepare the remedies yourself are included as well as a breakdown of which vitamins and minerals can be found in which herbs. I love how down to earth the recommendations are, like recommending a glass of wine and “jovial company” to feel relaxed during labor as well as to get contractions to resume. The mindful meditation for being in labor was something I had my partner read out loud to me while we were in labor and it was absolutely magical.

Birthing From Within by Pam England & Rob Horowitz 

My next recommendation, Birthing From Within by Pam England & Rob Horowitz, is truly a gift and an adventure for the pregnant woman to read. This book provides a multi-sensory, holistic approach to childbirth education and prepares the parents to tap into their emotions, creativity, spirituality, and desires for a positive prenatal and labor experience. It allows the mother to process what her own knowing of birth is, which  in turn empowers her to nurture her skills. This book is a must have!

The First Forty Days by Heng Ou

After my birth, I practiced a 40 day cuarentena in order to heal, rest, and adjust to my new role of being a mother and my son’s new role of existing on Earth. This practice has existed traditionally all over the world and was seen as vital to the family and community to honor. The main pillars of this practice were to limit contact with the outside world as much as possible through staying home and not accepting many visitors in order to keep mom and baby safe from unwanted germs and energy, build the heat back up in the body through intentional practices and meals, and support the breastfeeding process between mother and baby with herbs, foods, and uninterrupted bonding. It was such a sacred time, one that affects a mom’s health for the rest of her life, and so I highly recommend that the postpartum woman honor these practices as much as possible. The book The First Forty Days by Heng Ou helped me prepare for this time period while I was still pregnant so that everything would be in place for me once my son arrived. I informed my family that I would be honoring a cuarantena and they were prepped beforehand on how to be there for us. This book shares a traditional Chinese approach but I was able to incorporate traditional Filipino and Caribbean traditions into my cuarentena through educating my family on how to support us beforehand. Honoring the first forty days of postpartum in this way felt like a treasure between my son and I that brings back such sweet, loving memories every time I remember it. I have a free resource on my website where you can print out the postpartum food recommendations from this book. I encourage pregnant moms  to print it out and keep it on their fridge for easy reference in those first forty days and to stock the fridge and pantry before the final hour. 

You can find these books wherever books are sold. Personally, I always like to support my local bookstore or Thrift Books if I can’t find them locally. I also recommend taking a childbirth education course in addition to reading beforehand, depending on your preferred learning style. If you’re a hands-on type of learner like I am, a class in addition to all these books will have you feeling more than ready for the big event! A breastfeeding course also helped me feel super prepared to breastfeed like a pro. Check out this blog I wrote on how to start a successful breastfeeding journey. Let me know if you end up reading any of these and how you like them!

Katrina Martinez is a flower essence and emotional well-being practitioner who works one on one with clients as well as creating a line of flower remedies called Radical Love Essences. She offers postpartum doula services in the San Juan, Puerto Rico area and seasonally in New Jersey.