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.

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 hospital births. Her wise counsel on issues like breastfeeding and sleeping during post-partum helps extend the gentle birth experience into a gentle parenting relationship.

No matter how you birth your baby, feel calm and safe with hypnobirthing "This woman is a great healer and birth expert. This book will be brilliant." Russell Brand Your Baby, Your Birth is a truly modern hypnobirthing book for ALL births. In-demand hypnobirthing coach Hollie de Cruz provides you with the skills and tools to make any birth feel safe, calm, connected and empowering. Drawing on her experience working with new mums, including Fearne Cotton and Giovanna Fletcher, Hollie de Cruz helps you prepare for a positive (not 'perfect') birth experience and approach motherhood with confidence in yourself and your instincts. Your Baby, Your Birth will teach you: - That birth is safe - listen to your body, embrace the changes, prepare your mind and relax during pregnancy - Exercises and breathing techniques for labour and birth for you and your birth partner, along with guided meditations to keep you calm and engaged - How to trust your instincts, understand your body and baby, and make informed decisions throughout your pregnancy and beyond Hollie de Cruz, creator of the award-winning yesmum positive affirmation cards, is renowned for demystifying hypnobirthing and her down-to-earth, realistic approach is highly sought after. Whatever kind of birth you are planning, let Hollie de Cruz provide you with a set of deep relaxation, mindfulness and meditation tools for an empowering experience.

Why do some mothers and babies take to breast feeding while others don't? And what are the emotions involved for mother and baby when the baby rejects a feed, or when breast feeding stops? What happens when parents and their babies have to negotiate separations, or deal with night-time crying? What if your baby's distress makes you feel that you cannot cope? This book takes the reader through the entire first year of a baby's life, anticipating parents' questions and covering topics ranging from parental feelings during pregnancy to a 10-month-old's sociability and deepening relationships.

Baby Notes is a must-have journal for every new mum. With all the information you need in one place, it is designed to help you care for your baby's every need and stay organised as you do the all-important job of being a mum. Easy-to-use sleep and feeding logs, as well as meal planners and recipe notes, help you to provide the best possible babycare, while at-a-glance medical notes put you in charge of your baby's health. A development `firsts' section ensures you record those never-to-be-forgotten milestones and organising that Christening or name day, or baby's first holiday and festive seasons has never been easier with an easy-to-use event planner to help you stay one step ahead with tear-out shopping lists, useful contacts and a diary planner.

Oh Boy! Or Girl!

Just had a baby? Relax, lie down and breathe a sigh of relief. The Mother of All Baby Books has arrived! From the author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, comes the guide that all new parents have been waiting for, whether they know it or not. The Mother of All Baby Books is the instruction manual that Mother Nature forgot to include with your new bundle of joy. Packed with important advice and insider tips to coping with the joys and challenges of caring for your new baby, this comprehensive, refreshing guide is an excellent resource for first time or even experienced moms and dads.

Warm and delightful, The Mother of All Baby Books offers a wide range of topics including basic childcare, nutrition, health, and physical, emotional, and social development. Inside you’ll find the facts about sleeping patterns, breastfeeding, circumcision, and immunization issues, as well as charts and tables to bring you up to date on the latest information, a handy glossary of baby-related terms, and insider secrets on shopping for baby. Get the inside scoop on how to handle colic, diaper rash and all those pressing questions that have you pacing the floor at 3 a.m.! With an extra-added dose of reassurance, discover what it’s really like to become a parent in this bible to babyhood and beyond!

"The Mother of All Baby Books provides excellent advice for topics that are easily overlooked during the pregnancy/baby adventure."
–Sandra Gookin, co-author of Parenting For Dummies and Parenting For Dummies, 2nd ed.

The Mindful Mother shows you how to experience your daily life as a mother with mindfulness. Helping you to be present, more positive and able to truly engage in your life-changing journey through pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. When you become a mother, you fall deeply in love with your child yet may also struggle to put the pieces of your life back together again with a young baby in toe. The Mindful Mother helps you to keep both feet firmly on the ground as you experience the joys and sorrows of having a baby or small child, helping you to accept, resolve, and grow into your new mothering role. It explores how to approach everyday mothering scenarios and dilemmas from a more mindful and calm perspective, giving you the mindfulness tools to live with greater self-awareness, contentment and fulfilment. Using clear mindfulness practices and techniques based upon Buddhist and Yogic principles, you can understand how your mind works, so you can support it to work with you, rather than against you. So now being a mother becomes a spiritual journey of self-discovery and inner growth, as you get to understand and know yourself more deeply in the reflection of getting to know your child. The Mindful Mother guides you to truly connect to, appreciate and fully live in each moment you share with your children and family, to truly enjoy being the mother you are. Speaking with down-to-earth wisdom, insight and humour to women's hearts, The Mindful Mother throws you a lifeline to: * Prepare and connect to your mind and body during pregnancy * Empower yourself to have a positive experience of childbirth * Cope and thrive through common daily mothering issues* Find balance and harmony in your family relationships * Restore and raise your energy levels, vitality and resilience* Engage your mind to work with you, rather than against you* Create the happy family life that you truly want to live * Awaken the heart to greater love, contentment and fulfilment.

The classic book on home birth is now available in a new edition, with updated information on the safety of natural childbirth, new birthing stories, and the most recent statistics on births managed by The Farm Midwives. Included are stories of working with Amish women, shedding light on a different culture with a similar appreciation for natural childbirth. Ina May also provides new information about potentially dangerous techniques routinely used in hospitals during and after birth, as well as the latest findings about VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). Improved instructions for handling breech births are also given. When the first edition of Spiritual Midwifery was published in 1976, it introduced an entire generation of young women to the possibility of home birth and breast feeding. It also breathed new life into the all-but-vanished field of midwifery.

The indispensible guide to choosing a special name for a baby.
Clear, helpful, and easy-to-use, "The Penguin Book of Baby Names" offers thousands of wonderful suggestions for picking the perfect name for your bundle of joy. It includes:
* Separate sections for boys' and girls' names
* More than 5,000 names, from well-loved favorites to something a little different
* The most popular celebrity names
* Top ten names through the centuries
* Facts about the true meanings and stories behind each name

Humanity, argues Michel Odent, stands at a crossroads in the history of childbirth - and the direction we choose to take will have critical consequences. Until recently a woman could not have had a baby without releasing a complex cocktail of 'love hormones'. In many societies today, most women give birth without relying on the release of such a flow of hormones. Some give birth via caesarean section, while others use drugs that not only block the release of these natural substances, but do not have their beneficial behavioural effects. 'This unprecedented situation must be considered in terms of civilization', says Odent, and gives us urgent new reasons to rediscover the basic needs of women in labour. At a time when pleas for the 'humanization' of childbirth are fashionable, the author suggests, rather, that we should first accept our 'mammalian' condition and give priority to the woman's need for privacy and to feel secure. The activity of the intellect, the use of language, and many cultural beliefs and rituals - which are all special to humans - are handicaps in the period surrounding birth. Says Odent: 'To give birth to her baby, the mother needs privacy. She needs to feel unobserved. The newborn baby needs the skin of the mother, the smell of the mother, her breast. These are all needs that we hold in common with the other mammals, but which humans have learned to neglect, to ignore or even deny.' Expectant parents, midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, those involved in public health, and all those interested in the future of humanity, will find this a provocative and visionary book.

"Becoming a mother is rarely what you expect."

Jane Roper never expected she'd have twins--or that they'd be such a spirited twosome. She didn't expect that finding the right balance of work and home would be so tricky. And she certainly didn't expect she'd grapple with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder during her daughters' toddler years. But she also didn't anticipate just how much joy, laughter and self-discovery motherhood would bring.

Full of warmth, honesty, occasional advice, and a generous helping of humor, "Double Time" is a smart and engaging account of the first three years with multiples and a refreshingly candid and vulnerable look at clinical depression. It's a memoir that will resonate countless women--especially those parenting in double time.

"Impossible to put down, makes you laugh and cry, Sophie's story is inspirational. It gives us so much hope and encouragement. I don't think we would be where we are on our own journey without her advice." OLLIE LOCKE "A read so twisty your heart pounds as you turn the pages." THE SUNDAY TIMES Brave, funny and honest, columnist Sophie Beresiner takes us on her complex journey to parenthood and shows us that there's more than one way to become a mother. Sophie's journey to motherhood began aged 30 with a cancer diagnosis that stole her fertility. Today, Sophie is older, wiser (and agonisingly excellent at hindsight), and somewhat battered. Through interminable cycles of hope and failure, her infertility story spanned three countries, five surrogates and a debt she'd rather not dwell on. Part memoir, part manifesto, The Mother Project is the epic story of Sophie's quest for happiness. Exploring the complexities, expectations and injustices faced by millions of women across the world, it is a book that is both personal and universal.