Your guide to the emotions of pregnancy and early motherhood, from top reproductive psychiatrists Dr Alexandra Sacks and Dr Catherine Birndorf. With a combined thirty years of counselling new and expectant mothers, Drs Sacks and Birndorf have seen firsthand how the pressure to be perfect, and perfectly happy, leaves women feeling confused and even ashamed of the conflicting emotions that can bubble up during pregnancy. In What No One Tells You, the two psychiatrists show why it's natural for 'matrescence' - the birth of a mother - to be as stressful and transformative a period as adolescence. From the swirl of trepidation and joy of seeing that plus sign, to the complexities of bonding with a tiny yet mighty newborn human, the authors provide a roadmap for mothers-to-be, exploring the emotions (both positive and negative) that can develop, explaining the psychological backstory as to why, and offering women a practical guide for managing the ups and downs of this exciting and exhausting time. After years of hearing their patients say, 'But how come no one told me?' Drs Birndorf and Sacks are ready to share their secrets with the world.

What happens when a mother says she is 'fine' but really she is not? Post-natal depression (PND), an illness which affects four in ten new mothers, is still stigmatised, and devastatingly misunderstood. In Fine (not Fine), Bridget Hargreave charts her own experiences of depression following the birth of her sons and records the histories of a collection of mothers with a diverse range of perinatal mental health problems, such as anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and ante-natal depression. She includes the stories of the mother who was hospitalised with severe depression, the mother who was so anxious she was physically sick every day, the mother whose birth trauma means just hearing the word "midwife" leaves her in a cold sweat, and the mother who bravely and honestly outlines the plans she made to end her own life. Brought together by a series of interviews with mental health professionals and charities campaigning for changes in perinatal care, Fine (not Fine) tells the story of a hidden epidemic, and the remarkable people fighting it.

Feeding your baby is a big part of the first year. It can be an exciting and enjoyable time but also one that can raise many questions and concerns. What to give them? How much? And when? It can feel like everyone has an opinion on what you should do and what worked for them, with a confusing array of information online to wade through. Let's talk about feeding your baby helps support you through this. Covering breast and formula feeding, mixed feeding, starting solids and more, this supportive and non-judgemental guide brings you the evidence, top tips and lots of support to answer all your feeding questions. Focusing on both the practicalities and emotions attached to feeding decisions, it will answer your questions big and small, supporting you to confidently feed your baby as they grow, in whatever way works for your family. With expert contributors and quotes from parents, Professor Amy Brown's authoritative but easy-to-read style ensures that this book will inform and reassure anyone wanting to know more about how to support their baby to be a healthy and happy eater however they decide to feed them.

For many years there has been growing concern about the culture of fear that is penetrating maternity services throughout the world, and that the fear felt by maternity care workers is directly and indirectly being transferred to the women and families they serve. The consequences of fear includes increased risk of defensive practice, where the woman and her family become potential enemies to those providing her care. In addition, the prevailing risk management and 'tick box' culture in maternity services encourages maternity workers to give priority to the records instead of the childbearing woman. These factors contribute to the dissatisfaction felt by those using and providing maternity services, and the apparent lack of kindness and respect. There is however increasing evidence that kindness, compassion and mutual respect improves efficiency, effectiveness, experience and staff morale within healthcare settings. The Roar Behind the Silence provides information, inspiration and practical suggestions to support maternity care workers, policy makers, and maternity care funders across the world in their quest to deliver sensitive, compassionate and high quality maternity services. The book highlights examples of good practice, and practical tools for making change happen, using evidence and stories where appropriate. Edited by Sheena Byrom & Soo Downe, with contributions by Hana Ruth Abel, Maria Helena Bastos, Dean Beaumont, Dianne Bowser, Anna Byrom, Sheena Byrom, Penny Campling, Michael Clift, Hannah Dahlen, Raymond de Vries, Soo Downe, Ngai Fen Cheung, Julie Frohlich, Kathryn Guttridge, Jennifer Hall, Shelagh Heneghan, Milli Hill, Billie Hunter, Mavis Kirkham, Mande Limbu, Amali Lokugamage, Kerstin Uvnas Moberg, Mercedes Perez-Botella, Gill Phillips, Elizabeth Prochaska, Progress Theatre Group, Rineke Schram, Anna Ternovszky, Lucie Warren and Robin Youngson.

Learn how to be a great dad and partner with this practical, hands-on guide to welcoming the newest member of your family.

How does my baby develop over 9 months? What can I do to be supportive during pregnancy and labour? And exactly how sleepless are those sleepless nights everyone talks about? Becoming a dad is all about entering a new phase in life, and it’s normal to have questions! With Dad’s Guide to Pregnancy For Dummies, you can stop stressing about the unknown and learn how to step up in your new role as a parent.

This handbook walks you through how you can be there for your partner from conception to birth, as well as the first steps for settling in at (your newly baby-proofed!) home and caring for bub. Not only will you discover new ways to help mum throughout this journey, but you’ll also get advice on how to find support for yourself as a new dad.

You’ll quickly get up to speed on:

• The nitty-gritty on how to make a baby (and where to find help if things don’t go to plan)
• What happens at each stage throughout pregnancy, including how to navigate morning sickness, ultrasounds, making a birth plan and more
• What to expect in the delivery room―and what you can do to make things easier
• How to get your home ready for your baby―like what to buy and how to baby-proof your life!
• Up-to-date advice on what it means to be a great dad today

By parenting expert (and father of six!) Dr Justin Coulson, this newly revised edition of Dad’s Guide to Pregnancy For Dummies is a must-read for fathers-to-be who are keen to build a happier, healthier family life right from the very beginning.

As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, pregnancy and maternity services underwent a rapid transformation in an attempt to deal with transmission of the virus and the growing pressure on healthcare services. In a climate of fear, and with many unknowns about the virus and the risks to pregnant women and their babies, restrictions and hastily implemented policies often overrode years of work to improve maternity care, with devastating consequences for new families. Covid Babies: how pandemic health measures undermined pregnancy, birth and early parenting considers how policies put in place to protect us from the immediate threat of the virus ultimately had the unintended consequence of harming many who needed maternity and postnatal care. It highlights how hard-won gains, even when supported by overwhelming evidence, can be lost at the drop of a hat in a crisis. By learning the lessons of the pandemic - through close examination of the evidence base that is now emerging - Amy Brown shows how we can begin to move forward and unravel what has gone wrong. This is no easy task when our health services continue to face significant challenges, but one that is necessary to ensure the health and wellbeing of our new families and those who care for them.

The Politics of Breastfeeding, first published in 1988, remains a hugely important book. It exposes infant feeding as one of the most important global public health issues of our time, and describes how big business and vested interests influence the intimate relationship between mothers and their babies to the detriment of all, rich or poor, in the West or in the developing world. In Why the Politics of Breastfeeding Matter, the central ideas of The Politics of Breastfeeding are distilled into a concise form, making it the perfect introduction to understanding the complex forces that govern what many think of as a simple choice to breastfeed or not.

The loss of a baby, however it occurs, can be heartbreaking and painful and leave parents in need of support as they grieve. While awareness about baby loss is increasing, the suffering and sadness, isolation and loneliness parents feel is often invisible and it can be hard for them to reach out, and for those around them to know how best to support them. Why Baby Loss Matters explores what happens when families experience baby loss or the end of a pregnancy, drawing on the first-hand experiences of parents who have navigated life and the fourth trimester without their baby, and the vital work of charities and services which offer support. By examining different approaches to coping with the loss of a baby and keeping memories alive, the book offers insight into the ways that families have found the support and peace that they need to continue living after saying goodbye.

The raw, relatable call-to-arms memoir, breaking the silence on postnatal depression - from the bestselling author of Animals and Adults An Unmissable Memoir for Summer, Stylist A Hot Summer Book, Refinery29 'I am so grateful for this beautiful, honest book. It has helped me immeasurably' Pandora Sykes 'I loved it' Amy Liptrot Six months after the birth of her son, Emma Jane Unsworth finds herself in the eye of a storm. Nothing - from pregnancy to birth and beyond - has gone as she expected. She's swapped all night benders for grazed labia and Whac-a-Moling haemorrhoids. How did she end up here? In this brave, vital account of postnatal depression, Emma tells her story of despair and recovery. She tackles the biggest taboos around motherhood and mental health, from botched stitches and bleeding nipples to anger and shame. How does pregnancy adapt our brains? Is postnatal depression a natural reaction to the trauma of modern motherhood? And are people's attitudes finally changing? After the Storm is a celebration of survival, holding out a hand to women everywhere. 'Hilarious, heart-breaking and wise' Leah Hazard, midwife and author

Evidence continues to increase on the practical and emotional benefits of babywearing, both to parents and their children. Among many other benefits, babywearing can help parents bond with a new baby, and facilitate both breastfeeding and the care of the baby's older siblings. Babywearing also has benefits for society at large. Children are more securely emotionally attached and there is evidence of a link between the reduced incidence of postnatal depression and babywearing. In this new book, Rosie Knowles explores all these advantages, along with the practicalities of how to babywear and babywearing culture. She demonstrates how a clearer understanding of babywearing, and the attachment parenting philosophy as a whole, can ultimately lead to a happier, healthier society.

Many mothers and those who support them do not know that they can experience negative emotions associated with breastfeeding. In modern society breastfeeding is often used - problematically - to exemplify myths about motherhood and maternal love, and is bound up with ideas of what makes a 'good mother'. In this context nursing aversion and agitation - intense, distressing feelings that are experienced by the mother during breastfeeding - can be both unexpected and hugely upsetting, particularly when women may have already overcome significant challenges in order to breastfeed. In When Breastfeeding Sucks Zainab Yate examines what we know about this poorly understood aspect of infant feeding, in a carefully researched discussion that will be valuable for individual mothers who may be suffering, and the breastfeeding supporters who work to support them.

From the beloved nanny to stars like Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and Cash Warren and Jessica Alba comes a loving yet no-nonsense guide to the first four months of parenthood so you can raise a happy baby-and be happy parents. There is nothing like the overwhelming love of gazing upon your beautiful newborn, but there is really nothing like the overwhelming terror of not being able to comfort that screaming baby. Have no fear! Nanny Connie is here with all the solutions you need for every baby-care dilemma from comforting a colicky infant to trying to breastfeed in public. Her sweet and sassy drawl seeps right out of these pages, reassuring you that everything will be fine, as she guides you with her God-given wisdom, larger-than-life compassion, and three decades worth of experience and patience. Connie, "quite simply one of the greatest humans on this planet" (Emily Blunt) and a mother herself, comes from many generations of strong women with loads of experience in mothering, midwifery, and Southern values. Broken into three easy-to-follow sections (pre-baby arrangements, that immediate post-birth glow, and the first four months of the rest of your life), The Nanny Connie Way is your go-to, first-time-parent-proof baby manual that will give you not only the guidance you crave, but also the confidence to be the best parent you can be. Connie tackles everything from: -Breastfeeding Do and Don'ts -The Power of the Pacifier -Bath Time With Baby -The Nighttime Sleep Ritual -Managing New Mommy Stress Connie won't just get you through the sleepless nights and the explosive diapers-she's going to make you thrive. *Download The Nanny Connie Way AR App to experience Nanny Connie in your own home through exclusive videos! (Please note, readers reading on a mobile device may not be able to experience the AR videos.)

• That "glowing skin" everyone promised you looks remarkably similar to the hormonal acne you battled as a teen
• Your special bond with your husband? It means he can't sleep in the same room as you, thanks to your killer gas
• The lady at the grocery store remarks "it must be any day now " when you haven't finished your "second" trimester
• You debut the perfect name for your baby--which your mother-in-law immediately describes as "interesting" (complete with a wrinkled nose)

So whether you're looking for the scoop on hypnobirthing, you want to know a cure for your hemorrhoids, or you really just want a laugh (even if you might pee in your maternity leggings), this book will tell you exactly what to do when that miracle of yours is making you totally, completely, gestationally miserable.

Swedes are some of the world’s happiest people, and their children are no exception. Parenting the Swedish Way will help you and your family embrace the Scandi style of childrearing: practical, egalitarian, and free from outdated myths.

Expectant parents will be relieved to hear: Put away the vacuum ― dust does not lead to allergy. Breastfeeding protects against allergies? Never has done, never will do. Stop boiling bottles and pacifiers ― sterilising is unnecessary in most industrial countries. Think you shouldn’t drink alcohol when breastfeeding? Plain moralism.

Dr Agnes Wold has been named Sweden’s Woman of the Year for her tireless work in women’s health. Paediatrician Cecilia Chrapkowska runs the country's most popular parenting blog and is a specialist on vaccinations. Together they present cutting-edge research from around the world which can guide you to make better parenting choices. Drawing on Sweden’s famously generous parental leave and enlightened social policies, they also demonstrate the importance of equal parenting and provide practical tools for parents everywhere to share responsibility equally.

From the progressive land in the North, this is the fact-based, feminist guide to parenting you have been waiting for.

In the United States, nearly 11 million children are in daycare each day, yet it's surprising how uninformed many parents are about what really goes on while they are away. How do you find the right daycare or know that the one you have chosen is indeed the best choice? Every parent wants peace of mind knowing their children are in good hands but how can they ever really be sure. Imagine that you were given a magic crystal ball that allowed you to see what your kids were actually experiencing at daycare Daycare Diaries will take you through the doors of in-home daycares and childcare centers and provide a "behind the scenes" peek into the daycare world many never get to see. Written by two daycare providers with over 30 years of combined childcare experience, Daycare Diaries is a unique collection of true daycare stories, each providing an important lesson. Whether you are a first time parent or have used daycare for years, these stories will leave you feeling more confident knowing what the ideal daycare should look like for your child Let our experience be your guide on this exciting journey into the childcare world. . .you just might be surprised.

As a vegetarian or vegan you already know how important it is to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. But being pregnant aswell can make it seem even harder to eat and drink in a way that will keep you healthy, your baby safe and provide the ideal fuel for growth and development. What to Eat When You're Pregnant and Vegetarian is your no-nonsense companion. This handy, compact book is the definitive healthy-eating guide for vegetarians and vegans who are expecting and provides expert guidance on what foods are safe and what you should steer clear of.

Very practical science-based tips and guidelines, and stories for moms and dads of baby boys. Including:

• Why we need a book just about boys. The very different health issues, genetic predisposition, hard wiring, neurological and biological development of boys from conception that relates to birth issues and unique strengths and weaknesses.
• How to understand the core nature of your boy and nourish it through problems of crying, fussing, eating, sleeping, attaching and other key issues during the first 12 months of life.
• Warm hearted stories about boys and tips from real moms who have baby boys, and a preview of what's to come for boys as they become toddlers, preschool kids, pre-pubescent and beyond.