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.
From preconception to adolescence to creating a healthy family lifestyle, this guide covers health during pregnancy and natural childbirth; healthful eating for the whole family; uses and abuses of TV, computers and video games; discipline issues; and more.
Experience the journey of fertility, conception, pregnancy and birth, naturally! Millions of people struggle with fertility problems. Most can overcome them with simple lifestyle changes and natural therapies. Written by two experts in the field of Natural Health, "Do You Want to Have a Baby?" covers optimal nutrition for conception, the best fertility-enhancing supplements, and the documented success of bodywork therapies. The book also addresses the heartbreak of miscarriage and how to improve your chances if you are at risk. The book includes a step-by-step diet for nutritional demands during pregnancy with special suggestions for women expecting multiples. It provides detailed recommendations on herbs you can use safely during pregnancy and nursing, and what to avoid. An expanded section on the special problems of pregnancy reveals the best natural therapies to reduce fatigue, haemorrhoids, morning sickness, labour pain, stretch marks, swollen ankles and many other common complaints. The book also explains your options for labour and delivery, how to avoid unnecessary medical interventions, and even offers special recommendations for losing post-pregnancy weight. Look for the bonus section on natural baby care!
Many mothers-to-be find themselves torn between choosing a natural childbirth with minimal medical intervention, and the peace of mind offered by instant access to life-saving technology that only a hospital can provide. Cynthia Gabriel, a doula who has attended hundreds of births and who advises hospitals on how to facilitate low-intervention childbirths, knows that new moms can have both. In this fully updated edition of her popular and pioneering book Natural Hospital Birth, Gabriel gives moms, as well as partners and even medical personnel, concise and reassuring guidance on how to have as natural a birth as possible in a hospital setting. Gabriel shows expectant mothers how to avoid unnecessary medical interventions, how to take the initiative and consciously prepare for the kind of birth they want, and how to prepare a birth plan to share with doctors and nurses at the hospital.
“Wolf offers a powerful and important cultural critique...this is an insightful and eye-opening book that will be of interest to sociologists of gender, medical sociologists, and science studies scholars.”—American Journal of Sociology “Wolf notes the 'insular and unidimensional zealotry' of breastfeeding campaigners and skillfully uncovers elements of racism and elitism in their behavior toward working women who do not have the luxury to breastfeed.”—Choice “Beautifully written, powerfully argued. . . . Challenges the science prescription that all infants must be breastfed.”—Linda Blum, author of At the Breast: Ideologies of Breastfeeding and Motherhood in the Contemporary United States Why has breastfeeding re-asserted itself over the last twenty years, and why are the government, the scientific and medical communities, and so many mothers so invested in the idea? In Is Breast Best? Joan B. Wolf challenges the widespread belief that breastfeeding is medically superior to bottle-feeding. Despite the fact that breastfeeding has become the ultimate expression of maternal dedication, Wolf writes, the conviction that breastfeeding provides babies unique health benefits and that formula feeding is a risky substitute is unsubstantiated by the evidence. In accessible prose, Wolf argues that a public obsession with health and what she calls “total motherhood” has made breastfeeding a cause célèbre, and that public discussions of breastfeeding say more about infatuation with personal responsibility and perfect mothering in America than they do about the concrete benefits of the breast. Parsing the rhetoric of expert advice, including the recent National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, and rigorously questioning the scientific evidence, Is Breast Best? uncovers a path by which a mother can feel informed and confident about how best to feed her thriving infant—whether flourishing by breast or by bottle. Joan B. Wolf is Associate Professor of Women's Studies at Texas A&M University and author of Harnessing the Holocaust: The Politics of Memory in France. In the Biopolitics series
Attached at the Heart offers readers practical parenting advice for the modern age. In its most basic form, "attachment parenting" is instinctive. A crying baby is comforted and kept close to parents for protection. If hungry, he or she is breastfed. And while it is understood that there is no such thing as perfect parenting, research suggests that there is a strong correlation between a heightened sense of respect, empathy, and affection in those children raised the "attachment parenting" way. In this controversial book, readers will gain much needed insight into childrearing while learning to trust the intuitive knowledge of their child, ultimately building a strong foundation that will strengthen the parent-child bond. Contrary to popular belief, "attachment parenting" has been practiced in one form or another since recorded history. Over the years, it had been slowly replaced by a more detached parenting style—a style that is now believed by experts to be a lead contributing factor to suicide, depression, and violence. The concept of "attachment parenting"—a term originally coined by parenting experts William and Martha Sears—has increasingly been validated by research in many fields of study, such as child development, psychology, and neuroscience. Also known as "conscious parenting," "natural parenting," "compassionate parenting," or "empathic parenting," its goal is to stimulate optimal child development. While many attachment-parenting recommendations likely counter popular societal beliefs, authors Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker are quick to point out that the benefits outweigh the backlash of criticism that advocates of detached parenting may impose.
Nominated for the 2007 Book Prize by the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction (AAA) Reproductive disruptions, such as infertility, pregnancy loss, adoption, and childhood disability, are among the most distressing experiences in people's lives. Based on research by leading medical anthropologists from around the world, this book examines such issues as local practices detrimental to safe pregnancy and birth; conflicting reproductive goals between women and men; miscommunications between pregnant women and their genetic counselors; cultural anxieties over gamete donation and adoption; the contested meanings of abortion; cultural critiques of hormone replacement therapy; and the globalization of new pharmaceutical and assisted reproductive technologies. This breadth - with its explicit move from the "local" to the "global," from the realm of everyday reproductive practice to international programs and policies - illuminates most effectively the workings of power, the tensions between women's and men's reproductive agency, and various cultural and structural inequalities in reproductive health.
Be a Greener Parent: Teach Yourself gives a parent all the information they need to make informed choices about how to bring up their child in an ethical, environmentally conscious manner. It goes beyond the immediate concerns of washable vs. disposable nappies to provide an all-round approach to a balanced, ethical family and domestic life. It covers everything from pregnancy through childbirth and beyond, and features plenty of advice on how to make ethically informed choices about education, travel, and even issues such as how much clothing and how many toys does your child really need? The approach is centred firmly on a realistic vision of ethical parenting, and offers parents a system whereby they can either make wholly 'green' choices, or can opt for a more convenient and practical approach with a minimum of effort. These unique 'Green Box Guides' in addition to the substantial resources and bibliography featured make this a comprehensive yet accessible handbook for all those who want to take a more ethically aware approach to their family. NOT GOT MUCH TIME? One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started. AUTHOR INSIGHTS Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the authors' many years of experience. TEST YOURSELF Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress. EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE Extra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of environmentally friendly parenting. THINGS TO REMEMBER Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.
Birth as every woman would like it to be • Recommended by Lamaze International as one of the top ten books for pregnant women and their families • Includes a 45-minute DVD of six live gentle births • More than 32,000 copies sold of the original edition New parents are faced with a myriad of choices about pregnancy, labor, and birth. In Gentle Birth Choices Barbara Harper, renowned childbirth advocate, nurse, former midwife, and mother of three, helps to clarify these choices and shows how to plan a meaningful, family-centered birth experience. She dispels medical myths and reimagines birth without fear, pain, or violence. Harper explains the numerous gentle birth choices available, including giving birth in an independent birth center, at home, or in a hospital birthing room; finding a primary caregiver who shares your philosophy of birth; and deciding how to best use current technologies. She also provides practical advice for couples wishing to explore the option of using a doula or water during labor and birth to avoid the unwanted effects of drugs and epidurals. The Gentle Birth Choices DVD blends interviews with midwives and physicians and six actual births that illustrate the options of water birth, home birth, and vaginal birth after a prior Cesarean section. The DVD clearly reveals the strength of women during childbirth and the healthy and happy outcome of women exercising gentle birth choices. It is a powerful instructional tool, not only for expectant parents, but also for midwives, hospitals, birth centers, and doctors.
This essential clinical companion provides quick access to a wealth of information on effectively managing common womens health issues. It offers just the right level of coverage for health professionals, with concise, user-friendly protocols for diagnosing and treating a wide range of conditions. This book also explores alternative natural treatment options such as physical therapy, nutrition, herbs, chiropractic, and naturopathic therapies.
Midwifery is used to describe a number of different types of health practitioners, other than doctors, who provide prenatal care to expecting mothers, attend the birth of the infant and provide postnatal care to the mother and infant. Nurse-midwives also provide gynaecological care to women of all ages. Practitioners of midwifery are known as midwives, a term used in reference to both women and men (the term means "with the woman"). Most are independent practitioners who work with obstetricians when the need arises. They usually deal with normal births only but are trained to recognise and deal with deviation from the norm. If something abnormal is discovered during prenatal care, the client is sent to an obstetrician. Other midwives will deal with abnormal births, including breech birth. There are two main divisions of modern midwifery in the United States, nurse-midwives and direct-entry midwives. In the United Kingdom midwives are practitioners in their own right, and take responsibility for the antenatal, intrapartum and immediate postnatal care of women. In many parts of the world, midwives delivery far more children than doctors. This new book brings together the latest research on this ever-changing field.
An authoritative guide to natural childbirth and postpartum parenting options from an MD who home-birthed her own four children. 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 high-technology approaches to birth. Her wise counsel on issues like breastfeeding and sleeping during postpartum helps extend the gentle birth experience into a gentle parenting relationship.
