Resources
These resources have been grouped to give you some idea of their approach and what they have to offer. Many are comprehensive and could belong in several categories.
It is possible to find books, websites, blogs and forums with all kinds of perspectives, approaches and beliefs about pregnancy, birth and mothering. This list reflects my own preferences and resources that have been recommended to me.
You need to find those resources that make a supportive, encouraging and positive contribution to how you feel about birth, mothering and yourself. Don’t distract yourself with TV programs, blogs or forums that undermine, cause anxiety or anger due to core differences in opinion or values. A little challenge to get you thinking, considering differences and making sure you have looked at all angles is a wonderful thing. However, do not allow yourself to become enraged or bitter towards other perspectives while you are pregnant. Your health and state of mind have an impact on your baby’s wellbeing. Your positive birth is about you and your baby, not someone else and what they believe or value.
Pregnancy and Birth Guides
A Labour of Love: An Australian Guide to Natural Childbirth
Gabrielle Targett
Birth Day [DVD]
Diana Paul, Frank Ferrel
Birth Into Being [DVD]
Tatyana and Alexi Sargunas
Birthing from Within
Pam England, Rob Horowitz
Childbirth Without Fear: The Principles and Practice of Natural Childbirth
Grantly Dick-Read
Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth
Sheila Kitzinger
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
Dr Sarah Buckley
In a Simple Way, A Child is Born [DVD]
Vicki Chan, Nic Edmondstone
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
Ina May Gaskin
Making Sense of Pregnancy, Birth and Baby [DVD]
Natural Birth: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding
Kristina Turner
Natural Pregnancy [DVD]
Janet Balaskas
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide (4th Edition)
Penny Simkin, April Bolding, Ann Keppler, Janelle Durham, Janet Whalley
The Art Of Birth [DVD]
Shea Caplice
The Big Book Of Birth
Erica Lyon
The Big Stretch [DVD]
Alieta Belle, Jenny Blyth
The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth
William Sears MD, Martha Sears RN
The Down to Earth Birth Book: a practical guide to natural birth
Jenny Blyth
The Natural Way to a Better Pregnancy
Francesca Naish, Janette Roberts
The Natural Way to Better Birth and Bonding
Francesca Naish, Janette Roberts
The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence (2nd Edition)
Judith Lothian, Charlotte De Vries
What If [DVD]
Nic Edmonstone, Vicki Chan
Your Birth Choices
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth: Choosing and Having the Childbirth Experience You Want (3rd Revised Edition)
Diana Korte, Roberta Scaer
Birth in Water at John Flynn Hospital: A gentle start to life [DVD]
Dr Andrew Davidson
Gentle Birth Choices [Book/DVD]
Barbara Harper
Home Birth: A Practical Guide
Nikki Wesson
Homebirth in the Hospital: Integrating Natural Childbirth with Modern Medicine
Stacey Marie Kerr, MD
Lotus Birth
Shivam Rachana
More Business of Being Born [DVD]
Abby Epstein, Ricki Lake
The Business Of Being Born [DVD]
Abby Epstein, Ricki Lake
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth
Henci Goer
The Water Birth Book
Janet Balaskas
Water Labour, Water Birth (4th Edition)
Annie Sprague
What Babies Want [DVD]
Debby Takikawa
Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience
Ricki Lake, Abby Epstein
Skills, Knowledge and Methods for Labour and Birth
Birth Skills: Proven pain-management techniques for your labour and birth
Juju Sundin, Sarah Murdoch
Birth Without Violence: The Book That Revolutionalized the Way We Bring Our Children into the World
Frederick Leboyer
Dance of the Womb: The Essential Guide to Belly Dance for Pregnancy and Birth [Book/DVD]
Maha Al Musa
HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A Natural Approach To A Safe, Easier, More Comfortable Birthing
Marie F. Mongan
New Active Birth: A Concise Guide to Natural Childbirth
Janet Balaskas
Prenatal Yoga and Natural Childbirth
Jeannine Parvati Baker
The BirthSkills Book [Book/CD]
Dr Shari Read
The Gentle Birth Method: The Month-by-month Jeyarani Way Programme
Dr Gowri Motha, Karen Swan Macleod
Political and Social Perspectives
A Breech in the System: A Natural Breech Against the Odds [DVD]
Karin Ecker
Birth as an American Rite of Passage (2nd Edition)
Robbie E. Davis-Floyd
Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifest
Ina May Gaskin
Birth Reborn: What Childbirth Should Be
Michel Odent
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born
Tina Cassidy
Laboring Under An Illusion: Mass Media Childbirth vs. The Real Thing [DVD]
Vicki Elson
Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood
Naomi Wolf
Our Bodies, Our Babies
Kerreen Reiger
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care
Jennifer Block
The Birth Wars
Mary-Rose MacColl
The Face of Birth [DVD]
Kate Gorman, Gavin Banks
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
Christiane Northrup
Emotional, Philosophical and Spiritual Approaches
25 Ways To Awaken Your Birth Power [Book/CD]
Stephanie Corkhill Hyles, Danette Watson
Birth Place, Safe Space: Emotional Well-being Through Pregnancy and Birth
Adela Stockton
Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Experience the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation
Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
Joyful Birth: A Spiritual Path to Motherhood [Book/CD]
Susan Piver
Orgasmic Birth: The Best Kept Secret [DVD]
Debra Pascali-Bonaro
Painless Childbirth: An Empowering Journey Through Pregnancy and Childbirth
Giuditta Tornetta
Spiritual Midwifery
Ina May Gaskin
Ten Moons: The Inner Journey Of Pregnancy, Preparation For Natural Birth
Jane Hardwicke Collings
With Child: Wisdom and Traditions for Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood
Deborah Jackson
Honouring and Celebrating Mothers and Babies
25 Ways to Joy and Inner Peace for Mothers [Book/CD]
Stephanie Corkhill Hyles, Danette Watson
Celebrating Motherhood: A Comforting Companion for Every Expecting Mother
Lisa Burnett Bossi, Andrea Alban Gosline, Ame Mahler Beanland
Blessingways: A Guide to Mother-Centred Baby Showers
Shari Maser
Mother Rising: The Blessingway Journey into Motherhood
Barbara Lucke, Donna Miller Watelet, Yana Cortland
Mother’s Nature: Timeless Wisdom for the Journey Into Motherhood
Andrea Alban Gosline, Lisa Burnett Bossi
For Your Supporters
Cheers to Childbirth: A Dad’s Guide to Childbirth Support
Lucy Perry
Men at Birth: Real stories from Australian men about the birth of their children
David Vernon
The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and Other Labor Companions
Penny Simkin
The Father’s Home Birth Handbook
Leah Hazard
Birth Stories
Birth Stories: Real and Inspiring Accounts from Australian Women
David Vernon
From the Heart: A Book of Inspiring Birth Stories
Louise Luscri
Caesarean Births and VBACs
Birth After Caesarean Unlimited Possibilities
Coralie Daniels, Kathleen Oldman, Tricia Riggs and Jenny Allan
Birth Choices: What is best for you… Vaginal or Caesarean Birth?
Allison Shorten
Birthing Normally After a Caesarean or Two: A Guide for Pregnant Women; Exploring Reasons and Practicalities for VBAC
Hélène Vadeboncoeur
Caesarean Birth: A Positive Approach to Preparation and Recovery
Leigh East
Caesarean Recovery
Chrissie Gallagher-Mundy
Pregnancy Loss and Stillbirth
A Mother’s Tears: a story of stillbirth and life
Nicole Wyborn
Empty Arms: coping with miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death
Sherokee Ilse
The Sound of Silence: journeys through miscarriage
Irma Gold
Baby Care
100 Ways to Calm the Crying
Pinky McKay
Baby Love: Everything you need to know
Robin Barker
Baby Magic: Planning For A Lifetime Of Love
Sue Cox
Breastfeeding… Naturally
Jill Day & The Australian Breastfeeding Association
Gentle Baby Care
Elizabeth Pantley
Parenting By Heart
Pinky McKay
Sleeping Like a Baby
Pinky McKay
The Mighty Toddler
Robin Barker
Toddler Tactics
Pinky McKay
Parenting
Buddhism for Mothers: A calm approach to caring for yourself and your children
Sarah Napthali
Heart to Heart Parenting
Robin Grille
Love, Tears and Autism
Cecily Paterson
Parenting for a Peaceful World
Robin Grille
The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood
Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett
Your Child’s Emotional Needs: what they are and how to meet them
Dr Vicky Flory
For Children
A Special Something
Jan Fearnley
Baby on the Way
William Sears MD, Martha Sears RN
Daddy’s Having a Horse
Lisa Shanahan
Happy Birth Day
Robie H. Harris, Michael Emberley
Hello Baby
Jenni Overend, Julie Vivas
Hi New Baby!
Robie H. Harris, Michael Emberley
I Watched my Brother Being Born: Including Children At Birth
Anne Vondruska, Katarina Vondruska
Mummy Laid an Egg!
Babette Cole
My Brother Jimi Jazz
Chrissy Butler
On the Night You Were Born
Nancy Tillman
There’s a House Inside My Mummy
Giles Andreae, Vanessa Cabban
There’s Going to Be a Baby
John Burningham, Helen Oxenbury
We’re having a Homebirth!
Kelly Mochel
What Baby Needs
William Sears MD, Martha Sears RN
Where Did That Baby Come From?
Debi Gliori