Here is your guide to the fastest-growing trend in childbirth—a tradition as old as motherhood itself. Doulas, or professional labor assistants, have led thousands of expectant women through the birthing process in a way that’s safe and meaningful, and that creates the birth and postbirth experience all mothers long for.What exactly dodoulas do?How to find one that suits you.What are the “trade secrets” only doulas know but every woman should be aw...

The national C-section rate is at an all-time high of 31 percent. Are all these C-sections necessary, or are some of them done simply for the sake of convenience? Inductions seem to be the norm, but are they always needed? Today, expectant mothers are often left feeling powerless, as their instincts are replaced by drugs and routine medical procedures.What you are about to discover is that you have a choice, and you have the power to plan the kind of birth that's right for you-whet...

MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD! • In this completely revised and updated edition, the nation’s leading midwife shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience.“This book should be read by every woman who is having or may someday have a baby, and by every midwife, nurse, doula, childbirth educator, and doctor who assists or may someday assis...

The sequel to Jennifer Worth's New York Times bestselling memoir and the basis for the PBS series Call the MidwifeWhen twenty-two-year-old Jennifer Worth, from a comfortable middle-class upbringing, went to work as a midwife in the direst section of postwar London, she not only delivered hundreds of babies and touched many lives, she also became the neighborhood's most vivid chronicler. Woven into the ongoing tales of her life in the East End are ...

Now you can regain control of your body and prepare for the rigors of childbirth with The Everything Pregnancy Fitness Book. Recent studies indicate that exercise during pregnancy can alleviate discomfort, increase energy levels, speed labor, and reduce the risk of complications. The Everything Pregnancy Fitness Book walks you through specially tailored exercises for toning and strengthening legs, arms, abdominal muscles, and the lower back-the parts of the body most affe...

Previously published as part of WHAT'S UP DOWN THERE?Suppose you had a wise, warm, funny best friend—who just happened to be a gynecologist. You're out with the girls for cocktails and the conversation turns to sex, and then to girly parts. One by one, you start asking her all the questions you've secretly wondered about—and discover that you have a lot in common. If you were to write those questions down, then you'd have FERTILITY, PREGNANCY, AND CHILDBIRTH: A GYNOCOLOGIST ANSWERS...

A revised and updated edition of the classic handbook for women seeking a safe, organic, eco-friendly, and natural pregnancy, featuring an integrative-based approach with new medical, herbal, and nutritional information.Over the last two decades, The Natural Pregnancy Book has ushered thousands of women through happy and healthy pregnancies. Addressing women's health from conception to birth, Dr. Romm describes herbs that can promote and maintain a healthy...

In today's western cultures, the typical pregnancy focuses on the baby to the exclusion of the woman herself, so that the entire experience has become more about preparing for the baby's arrival than looking closely at oneself to prepare emotionally for all of the changes that creating a new life brings. Sacred Pregnancy was written to help the pregnant woman journey within herself to prepare for the birth of her baby.Sacred Pregnancy is a gorgeous four-color book...

In the United States, more than half the women who give birth are given drugs to induce or speed up labor; for nearly a third of mothers, childbirth is major surgery -- the cesarean section. For women who want an alternative, choice is often unavailable: Midwives are sometimes inaccessible; in eleven states they are illegal. In one of those states, even birthing centers are outlawed.When did birth become an emergency instead of an emergence? Since when is normal, physiological birth a crim...

The trusted editors of Our Bodies, Ourselves, called “a feminist classic” by The New York Times, present a comprehensive guide to pregnancy and childbirth, from prenatal care and emotional well-being to how to handle the pain of childbirth.Pregnancy and birth are as ordinary and extraordinary as breathing, thinking, or loving. But as soon as you announce you’re expecting, you may be bombarded with advice from every angle—well-meaning friends, rela...

Introducing the only clinically proven program—steeped in ancient Chinese healing traditions—that has enabled hundreds of infertile couples to conceive.At Wu's Healing Center in San Francisco, miracles are happening. Women and their partners come to the clinic—often from across the country-- to fulfill a passionately held yet fragile dream: to conceive and deliver the healthy baby that mainstream doctors have told them they cannot have. Using traditional Chinese medical te...

Nutrition expert Jackie Keller explains that women's bodies are designed naturally to drop pounds in the thirty days after childbirth. With this in mind, she developed a thirty-day nutrition and workout program composed of easy-prep meals and gentle daily workouts that take ten minutes or less to complete.The Body After Baby plan provides:- Meal plans and more than one hundred delicious recipes rich in the nutrients new moms need;- Helpful weekly shopping li...