Epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene expression, has been heralded as one of the most promising new fields of scientific inquiry. Current large-scale studies selectively draw on epigenetics to connect behavioral choices made by pregnant people, such as diet and exercise, to health risks for future generations. As the first ethnography of its kind, Weighing the Future examines the sociopolitical implications of ongoing pregnancy trials in the United States and the United Kingdom, illuminating how processes of scientific knowledge production are linked to capitalism, surveillance, and environmental reproduction. Natali Valdez argues that a focus on individual behavior rather than social environments ignores the vital impacts of systemic racism. The environments we imagine to shape our genes, bodies, and future health are intimately tied to race, gender, and structures of inequality. This groundbreaking book makes the case that science, and how we translate it, is a reproductive project that requires feminist vigilance. Instead of fixating on a future at risk, this book brings attention to the present at stake.

Get both mama and baby on track for a healthy, happy, and delicious life! We all know that "you are what you eat." And once you conceive, your baby is what you eat as well-prenatal health and nutrition during pregnancy is so imperative! The US is one of only eight countries in the world where the rate of mortality for pregnant women is on the rise, and obesity is one of the primary causes of this phenomenon-half of all pregnant women are considered overweight. Widely accepted, doctor- and dietitian-prescribed nutrition guidelines actually may be contributing to the growing obesity and gestational diabetes epidemics. Newly expectant mothers receive a packet of health information from their doctors, including a nutrition pamphlet, which proscribes a daily food regimen with 100 grams of sugar per day-the amount of sugar in 10 glazed donuts! Aimee has developed a comprehensive nutrition guide that helps expecting and postpartum women achieve ideal health and weight during pregnancy and beyond. Implementing philosophies of current, highly-effective gluten-free nutrition trends that have not been fully introduced to the prenatal and postpartum populations, The Whole Pregnancy offers a detailed dietary regimen that is based on whole and unprocessed foods, low-glycemic carbohydrates, quality proteins, and essential fats. Developed by a certified nutritionist, the meal-planning system presents a variety of simple, delicious recipes to benefit mother and baby. It also provides special instruction for each stage of pregnancy, including the first, second, and third trimesters, as well as the "fourth trimester" of postpartum weight loss and nursing.

From hormones to stretch marks, labor pains to diaper changes, motherhood is an adventure like none other. The rapid changes in your body, your lifestyle, and your very identity call for a certain mental and emotional agility. Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and an open heart. Based on research conducted at California Pacific Medical Center, and with a foreword by beloved meditation teacher Sylvia Boorstein, Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child's First Year (New Harbinger/Noetic Books, May 2009, $16.95) by psychologist and mom Cassandra Vieten, has been acclaimed by women's health experts, mindfulness teachers, and psychologists alike. Mindful Motherhood provides pregnant women and new moms with a brief, low-cost, easy to implement set of tools to deal with stress, difficult moments, depressed or anxious moods, and negative thought patterns during pregnancy and early motherhood. Based on the principles of mindfulness, this book also provides information, exercises, and ideas to enhance the positive emotions that are part of the experience of motherhood and improve the quality of mother-infant interactions, bringing more attention and awareness to the deep joy and satisfaction that motherhood can bring. Mindful Motherhood provides pregnant women and early moms with: 1) accessible information based on science and sound clinical theory, 2) practical tools for practicing mindfulness in everyday life, 3) stories and examples to inspire interest and clarify points, and 4) experiential exercises that will help readers integrate the information and experiences they have. Mindful Motherhood also offers current insights into the positive psychology of motherhood and mother-infant attachment, translating science and theory into jargon-free language and immediately applicable tools. This book is aimed specifically toward pregnant women and mothers with infants, who would like to deal more effectively with stress and mood during pregnancy and postpartum, who are interested in being the best parent they can be, and who want to cultivate a deeper connection to themselves and their children. The goal is to help women become the kind of present, authentic, connected, emotionally competent, psychologically-balanced, and loving mothers they want to be not to mention enjoying the extraordinary experience of motherhood to its fullest extent. Why it is Important A large body of evidence in both animal and human studies indicates that stress and mood disturbance experienced during pregnancy increases the risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, and other pregnancy-related complications, and may adversely affect the developing fetus. Postnatal mood disturbance can interfere with attachment, healthy parenting behaviors, and child development. While a wealth of evidence supports all these facts, surprisingly little information is available to women and clinicians for reducing stress and improving mood in pregnancy and postpartum. Mindful Motherhood is the only book oriented toward teaching research-based mindfulness principles to reduce stress and improve mood in pregnant women and new moms. It is an easy but informative read that gives new moms the psychology, science and health facts behind how mindfulness can enhance mother-infant attachment, and be used in childbirth.

What do a Dutch university lecturer, a US Marine, a Scottish artist, and an English engineer have in common? They have all experienced the transformative power of home birth, and their stories - and many others - are told in this groundbreaking book. As hospital-based maternity services become increasingly medicalised, more and more parents are deciding that birth belongs in the home. For many women, this choice may be an easy one, but for their partners, home birth raises some serious questions. For the first time, The Father's Home Birth Handbook provides a resource aimed specifically at exploring men's hopes and fears around home birth. Thorough research, balanced discussion, and dozens of home birth stories from real men all over the world make this book essential reading for all fathers-to-be and the professionals who support them.

Sara Midda is back and so are the tiny, whimsical figures that have always beguiled us. The acclaimed artist and author of "In and Out of the Garden," Sara Midda's South of France, and "Growing Up and Other Vices "(together with 436,000 copies in print), Sara Midda now celebrates the joys of babyhood.In the "Baby Book," the artist reinvents the traditional baby book as a delightfully practical album filled with unexpected touches. Here is a baby growing, baby eating, baby playing, and baby posing -- every page has a theme of baby's life and a jewel-like full-color border. It includes lots of room for photos plus miniature pasted-in envelopes in the back to store photographs and other important papers, and it's slipcased for gift-giving and safekeeping.

The touching, honest and laugh-out-loud account of what it's like to become a first-time mum after 40 Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all off, you discover you are almost old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your birth prep group? As one in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of women over 40 giving birth has doubled, The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 1/4) is Cari Rosen's timely and hilarious account of becoming a first-time mother in her 40s. Whether it's deftly side-stepping questions about your age and baby number two, weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth, or your doctor suddenly referring to you as geriatric, Cari approaches the shared experiences of an ever-increasing number of mothers with insight, humour and honesty. ***Praise for The Secret Diary of a New Mum*** 'Hilariously candid.' Daily Mail 'Brilliantly observed... funny, embarrassing and yet cruelly honest. It feels good to laugh about it, now the stitches are out.' Fay Ripley 'Warm, witty and very, very wise the perfect antidote to all those po-faced pregnancy books. As a fellow ''Geriatric Mother'' I found myself constantly laughing and nodding along in agreement.' Imogen Edwards-Jones

Let Rebecca Wilson, the mum behind @whatmummymakes, show you how to cook a week's worth of simple, healthy, and tasty meals to wean your baby from 6 months while feeding the rest of the family, too. Rebecca's recipes are fresh, accessible, nutritious, and made with the whole family in mind; you can cook just one meal for everyone, adults and children alike. Now, with this family meal planner, Rebecca aims to help mealtimes become even easier and take the stress out of feeding your family. There are 28 healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks and puds, plus space to record your baby's first 100 foods, the whole family's names, and favorite meals. The book also includes sections that make organizing shopping lists stress free. Follow the What Mummy Makes method and you'll find weaning can be a delicious breeze for the whole family.

Women are over four times more likely to have a caesarean birth now than they were thirty years ago and eight times more likely than they were fifty years ago. One of the main reasons that the rate is so high is that women are not encouraged to give birth vaginally once they have had a caesarean despite there being no evidence of the benefit of repeat caesareans for mother or child. Aimed at women who have had a caesarean or repeat caesareans, "Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC)" provides suggestions for constructive ways to achieve vaginal birth when this is the right option for mother and baby. As well as detailed explanations of all the pros and cons of VBAC, the book contains several real-life birth stories, a comprehensive glossary of terms and essential information for parents-to-be.

Let the trusted authors of Your Pregnancy (TM) Week by Week - the book you relied on while you were pregnant- guide you through baby's remarkable, sometimes mind-boggling first year. With easy-to-understand information at your fingertips, you'll know what to look for and understand what's happening. This book will provide you with the skills necessary to support and encourage baby's growth. Thoroughly revised and updated, Your Baby's First Year (TM) Week by Week includes the latest pediatric guidelines and recommendations, plus more than 50 new topics- everything from food allergies to cord-blood banking. It also features the essential milestones of baby's social, emotional, intellectual and physical development on a weekly basis. Valuable information includes: Common medical problems: what to look for and when to call baby's pediatrician Bonding with baby: from baby massage to talking, what you can do to create a meaningful connection Feeding baby: breast milk or formula? and introducing solids Sleeping habits: how to improve the situation for the entire family Vaccination guidelines: learn about the latest recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Playing with baby: how to help develop baby's cognitive, social and motor skills through play and with toys, many of them homemade Baby gear: the latest on carriers, high chairs, swings, cribs, clothing, diapers and everything else you may need

In recent years, breastfeeding has been prominently in the public eye in relation to debates on issues ranging from parental leave policies, work-family balance, public decency, the safety of our food supply, and public health concerns such as health care costs and the obesity "epidemic."

Breastfeeding has officially been considered "the one best way" for feeding infants for the past 150 years of Canadian history. This book examines the history and evolution of breastfeeding policies and practices in Canada from the end of the nineteenth century to the turn of the twenty-first. The authors' historical approach allows current debates to be situated within a broader social, political, cultural, and economic context.

Breastfeeding shifted from a private matter to a public concern at the end of the nineteenth century. Over the course of the next century, the "best" way to feed infants was often scientifically or politically determined, and guidelines for mothers shifted from one generation to the next. Drawing upon government reports, academic journals, archival sources, and interviews with policy-makers and breastfeeding advocates, the authors trace trends, patterns, ideologies, and policies of breastfeeding in Canada.

Ear infections need to be treated with antibiotics. Newborns and infants should be bathed daily. New parents are deluged with advice on how to care for their babies. This book explores common baby health myths--in areas such as feeding, sleeping, toilet training, and illness--to help them separate baby facts from baby fiction.

The Babyproofers are three women who wouldn't trade their roles as mothers for anything, and they love their husbands deeply. But after living through it and hearing the stories of hundreds of other couples, they know that with young children in the house, you need to block the stairs with baby gates, put plastic covers over the outlets, AND take the necessary steps to safeguard your marriage.

"Babyproofing Your Marriage" is the warts-and-all truth about how having children can affect your relationship. The transition to parenthood can be a tough adjustment for any couple, but the good news is: you are not alone. Better yet, there are hundreds of simple but effective ways you can stay connected as husband and wife and still be good parents. The authors' evenhanded approach to both sides of the marital equation allows spouses to understand each other in a whole new way. With loads of humor, compassion, and practical advice, the Babyproofers will guide first-time parents and veterans alike around the rocky shores of the early parenting years.

For expecting mothers, yoga is a great way to prepare for birth. Drawing on her long experience as a teacher, Theresa Jamieson has selected exercises and postures that are specific for pregnancy, safe and gentle, and take into account the pregnant body's ever-changing needs. Colour photography illustrates the postures, or 'asanas', that work best for relaxation and flexibility, while breathing techniques of 'pranayama', or conscious breathing, and meditation allow women to focus their minds. In addition, seven complete yoga programs are provided that can take pregnant women from the early stages of their journey through the post-natal experience.

This work is an informative exploration of the politics behind modern child-birthing strategies. This thoroughly researched and well written volume explores the multitude of issues that can influence the way women give birth in modern society. "A Wise Birth" makes a detailed examination of all the main areas of influence, from different cultural backgrounds, medical histories, psychology, and relationships, to technology and modern medicines. This informative volume is a must read for all expectant parents interested in the politics of birth, midwives, childbirth educators and obstetricians.

This definitive guide offers a balanced and comprehensive approach, combining natural therapies with conventional options and up-to-the-minute research. The biology of natural fertility, conception, pregnancy and birth is explained and practical issues after birth are also covered, with advice on childcare, feeding, sleeping, and how to encourage development. For parents of toddlers there is much-needed help with temper tantrums, toilet training, bed-wetting, and encouraging social skills. Finally a reference section offers advice on common illnesses, health checks, first aid, healthy eating plans and enticing recipes for your child.

It's time to empower yourself and just say no to giving birth passively. This is the book that has revolutionized childbirth, turning birthing mothers from subdued and passive "patients" to active and empowered owners of their childbirth experience. Janet Balaskas started a movement of women who refused to give birth lying down and she has been teaching women about "active birth" ever since. She emphasizes the importance of movement during labor, the wide range of options and positions for delivery itself, and the many natural alternatives to heavy sedation and other medical interventions. Her book is eminently useful whether you are planning to give birth in a hospital, a free-standing birth center, or at home. If such options as water birth or hypno-birthing are appealing to you, this is an essential book; at the same time, it is non-judgmental and encourages you to give birth in whatever manner and position you see fit. It covers: Exercises for pregnancy, to prepare you optimally for childbirth Massage and yoga during labor Labor and birthing positions that maximize your comfort and encourage efficient contractions Essential tips for birth partners, spouses, doulas, and other attendants Relaxation and recovery exercises, for the postpartum period Janet Balaskas shows you how to prepare for and experience a truly natural, joyful, and empowering birth.

There is growing recognition that baby-led weaning is the healthiest way for children to develop a love of good food. Aileen Cox Blundell used this method to successfully wean her three children. Since she began to share her delicious recipes, which are free from salt and refined sugar, on her blog, they have become a popular phenomenon. Here, in her first cookbook, she shares over 150 recipes that the whole family will love, including Three-Ingredient Banana Pancakes, Sweet Potato Super Muffins, Tuna and Quinoa Baby Bites, Avocado Pasta, Chicken Korma Pies and Buddha Bowls. Aileen also includes advice on how to get started when your baby is ready to be weaned, as well as her very own kitchen tips. Wave goodbye to wasting time on purees and preparing separate meals - with The Baby-Led Feeding Cookbook you can enjoy watching your baby effortlessly develop a happy relationship with food for life!