Resources That Helped Me Prepare for Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum
Books
Fertility Awareness Method/ Women’s health
The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson Jack
A comprehensive inquiry into what a normal cycle looks like and how to master your cycles to optimize your fertility. Resources for charting your cycles as well.
The Menstrual Calendar Journal by Veronica Ricksen of Kapu Community- use code WOODALL for a discount
Customizable pages for each month, including: a circular calendar to track your cycle, lined paper to write your new moon wishes, graph paper to chart your basal body temperature and blank paper for your creativity
Herbal and dietary suggestions for a healthy cycle
Information regarding the physiology, hormones and strengths associated with each of the four menstrual phases—menstruation, pre-ovulation, ovulation, and pre-menstruation
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
I can't tell you how many people have come to see me who have begun IVF or other fertility treatments before even knowing when they are ovulating. PSA: not everyone ovulates on day 14 of their cycle. It kills me to see women diagnosed with infertility when it might just be that they are not having sexual intercourse at the right time of their cycle! This book (and the ovagraph app) are great starting points to understanding the ins and outs of your menstrual cycle and how to detect if your hormones might be unbalanced. If that's the case, there is a lot we can do with nutrition to help balance hormones! Curious to read about my experience with the Fertility Awareness Method, see my post here.
Tempdrop- armband to make tracking your BBT super easy!
Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution by Jennifer Block
If observing the current treatment of women you know who engage with the medical system doesn’t trigger outrage, this book will. This is NOT a book I recommend reading while pregnant, ideally before conceiving
In Everything Below the Waist, “Block examines several staples of modern women's health care, from fertility technology to contraception to pelvic surgery to miscarriage treatment, and finds that while overdiagnosis and overtreatment persist in medicine writ large, they are particularly acute for women. One third of mothers give birth by major surgery; roughly half of women lose their uterus to hysterectomy.”
Get my Preconception Checklist here!
Pregnancy/Birth Preparation
Download my printable Pregnancy and Birth Affirmations freebie!
The book I wish I had so I wrote it myself: The Natural Mama’s Guide To Newborn Essentials: For Mindful, Healthy and Eco-friendly Living by Anisa Woodall
In a world of commercialized infancy, The Natural Mamas Guide to Newborn Essentials reminds mamas to listen to their natural instincts, respond to their newborn’s true needs, and only add items to their registry that aligns with the aim for minimalism, optimal health and environmental consciousness. The Natural Mamas Guide to Newborn Essentials is more than a superficial book reviewing baby products; It inspires mamas to think deeply about the choices they make in the most important days of the fourth trimester that will have lasting impacts on the health and relationship you and your child will share for the rest of your lives. This book beautifully blends traditional wisdom with evidence-based information to empower you to be the mindful, conscious mama your baby needs you to be.
Ancient Map For Modern Birth by Pam England
There are so many books you can read to prepare for birth. This was one I felt was the most balanced, unbiased and thorough. It walks the reader through the process of mindfully preparing for birth, regardless of whether it is planned to be at home, birth center or a hospital. It also guides the reader in facing her fears head on and planning for the unexpected. It acknowledges the spiritual and sacred nature of birth and views it as a normal and natural process, not a pathological “condition” that is to be feared.
My husband and I participated in the Birthing From Within Childbirth Preparation class created by Pam England in preparation for our first birth and follows the same philosophy as her book. You can learn more about that here. We loved having Barrie teach our class locally.
Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering by Dr. Sarah Buckley
“An authoritative guide to natural childbirth and postpartum parenting options from an MD who home-birthed her own four children.” Dr. Buckley describes the physiology of birth and how to create the most optimal environment to allow birth to unfold as it was designed to.
Real Food For Pregnancy by Lily Nichols RDN
A voraciously researched real-food, common-sense approach to how to eat for pregnancy. I have taken many of Lily’s courses for professionals so that I can be most up-to-date on supporting my clients in their pregnancy experiences. See my pregnancy package here if you’re interested in working with me.
Listen to our podcast “Concerns with a Vegetarian Diet in Pregnancy”
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed
Simple, safe remedies for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and newborns.
The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care by Sally Fallon Morrell and Dr. Thomas Cowan
An all around great resource for common questions that come up for mothers who desire to raise their babies in alignment with nature.
Exercising through your pregnancy by James F. Clapp III MD and Catherine Cram- Don’t judge this book by its cover. There is tons of great evidence shared in this book supporting the benefit (and importance) of exercising in pregnancy.
Ina May's Guide To Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin- Inspirational and real stories of women’s birth experiences on “The Farm” community where legendary Midwife Ina May served thousands of families with the lowest Cesarean rate. She shares wisdom about childbirth from her years of midwifery experience.
Postpartum
Ina May's Guide to breastfeeding by Ina May Gaskin- Ina May shares more of her wisdom and natural remedies for encouraging breastfeeding and navigating its challenges.
Nourished Postpartum e-cookbook by Nicole Parker
a collection of deeply comforting + nourishing eats for postpartum (+beyond!) curated with the mother in mind soups, stews, curries, slow roasted meats, fermented grains, custard + mousse, tea concentrates & dozens more all artfully crafted with restorative warmth + nutrient density in mind in the fully downloadable + printable ebook, you will receive 48 warm, delicious, nutritious recipes + rooted wisdom delivered straight to your inbox
The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother by Heng Ou- inspired by the Chinese tradition of zuo yuezi, this book shares essential wisdom in a modern and balanced way. The second half of the book includes many nutrient-dense recipes that I chose to make (during the waiting period) and freeze ahead for my early postpartum. The ginger lemonade switchel was one of the only things I could keep down while I was in labor, thankfully I made a 2 gallon jar of it! I drank the whole thing! I also loved the braised trottters (pig’s feet), the beef and seaweed soup, and the goji berry and Chinese date tea.
The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality by Kimberly Ann Johnson
This holistic guide offers practical advice to support women through postpartum healing on the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual levels - and provides women with a roadmap to this very important transition that can last from a few months to a few years.
Raising Babies
Baby Knows Best: Raising a Confident and Resourceful Child, the RIE Way by Deborah Carlisle Solomon
The RIE philosophy acknowledges children’s innate drive for excellence regardless of constant parental praise. It educates parents on how to create an environment that fosters baby’s natural drive to explore, learn and experience success. I listened to this book and found it to be very reasonable. My favorite part about this parenting philosophy is that it acknowledges babies as simply little humans, with their own thoughts and feelings that need to be respected. I will share that I disagree with the RIE approach of laying a baby down to fall asleep by itself, that didn’t feel appropriate for me.
Go Diaper Free by Andrea Olson- Learn how to potty your infant from birth using Elimination Communication (EC) and cut your diaper waste significantly by minimizing how long your child spends in diapers as well as how many they use while in diapers. Doing EC has helped me understand and connect to my children’s needs so well. Who would have knew that a baby’s sudden outbursts, distractions, nipple bites and smiles were simply them giving us signs to attract our attention to inform us of their need to use the bathroom?! Having practiced EC with both children and experienced the immense benefits to our bond and communication strategies, I can’t imagine my life without EC. It’s benefits far exceed going “diaper free” earlier than the cultural norm of 3 years.
The Wonder Weeks by Frans X. Plooj- I’ve enjoyed reading this book before and during each developmental leap to see what cognitive or motor skills my baby is learning and how I can foster an environment that helps him explore his new skills. It also helps explain why my baby might suddenly be clingy, fussy or have interruptions in his normal routine.
You might notice I have no recommendations for books on baby sleep. For some reason, I knew this wouldn't be an issue so I didn't really prepare for that other than optimizing my own sleep/circadian rhythms. If I did need a resource on sleep I would recommend Taylor Kulik and Raised Good Sleep Course as they vibe with my mothering philosophy most.
Parenting Toddlers and older
There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather by Linda Åkeson McGurk
Our kids don't become healthy, strong, confident and resilient from a young age by keeping them "safe" indoors and glued to a screen. They don’t develop a love of nature and a desire to preserve it by learning about climate change in a classroom. Spending time outdoors regardless of the weather, but especially in a variety of weather conditions, is an essential part of raising healthy children. Embodying this lifestyle yourself and approaching it from a perspective of developing it as part of your family culture is the best way you can model these mindsets and skills for your children.
Adopting this perspective of, “there’s no such thing as bad weather” what is a critical mindset shift (in addition to ditching my vegetarian diet) for me to be able to be able to regain my health, and especially my mental health, after moving from California to Washington, as the Pacific Northwest is substantially colder wetter, and darker.
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
My favorite quote when it comes to parenting is, “Children can’t bounce off the walls if there are no walls.”
How often are children “misbehaving” simply because they are trying to communicate their need for nature and movement? Last Child in the Woods is an important reminder of how our modern culture has been designed in a way that domesticates the wild child at the expense of their spirit.
Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy
I found this book to be particularly helpful once my child reached the age of testing boundaries and experiencing tantrums- about 2 years old. Good Inside has helped me see situations from my child’s perspective and model/adjust my behavior to help us both achieve the optimal outcome: good behavior while feeling genuinely heard and seen. An important book for modeling empathy, something I didn’t grow up with.
An exploration into three different cultures and their parenting/family life strategies to raise respectful, cooperative children who recognize their role as a helpful family member no matter their age (without resorting to bribes, threats, or chore charts).
Grow Wild: The Whole-Child, Whole-Family, Nature-Rich Guide to Moving More by Katy Bowman
Explorations and simple suggestions to foster a love of nature and movement for all ages, outside of athletics. I particularly find incorporating her principles with two very active sons to be a necessary piece of my parenting strategy.
Instagram Accounts to follow
If seeing is believing, then I recommend surrounding yourself with what you want to believe. If you visualize yourself having a homebirth, an unmedicated birth, or a planned cesarean, allow your social media feed to be filled with the positive stories that you want to see. If you want to be comfortable in your postpartum body, I encourage you to follow accounts that are body positive and inclusive.
During my preparation period, I found it to be SO helpful to see home/water births with regularity. Seeing so many women give birth helped me realize how natural and normal of a process birth is! In the same way, I found it encouraging to see other women weightlifting and exercising throughout their pregnancies as I was.
Podcasts/Audio
Many of the perspective that I share on my Resilient Fertility Podcast or in accumulation of knowledge and perspectives, I’ve gained from a variety of places, but especially some of these:
Birthfit- Sharing of birth stories among women in the Birthfit community, inspiring empowerment of women in the motherhood transition
Free Birth Society- A global community and education platform dedicated to providing radical content for mothers and birth-keepers on the power of instinctive pregnancy, physiological birth, and wild mothering.
Yolande Norris-Clark’s 20 minute Birth Affirmations track, loved listening to this for a mid-day rest and baby connection time during my second pregnancy
Whole Mamas Club Podcast A RD and ND share interviews and wisdom on nutrition/health topics of interest for mamas seeking optimal health
Unruffled Respectful Parenting with Janet Lansbury
The Aware Parenting Podcast- explores all elements of parenting through a developmental perspective. We explore why connection, attachment and compassionately understanding our own stories as parents are the foundation to parenting with awareness.
Move your DNA with Katy Bowman (formerly Katy Says)- Understanding the natural movements happening in pregnant women, babies' movement development and breastfeeding.
Episode 72: Breastfeeding Ecology, Part 1
Episode 77: Breastfeeding Ecology, Part 2
Episode 51- Babies and Movement, Part 1
Episode 52- Babies and Movement, Part 2
Episode 35- Diastasis Recti—The Book!
Episode 11- Diastasis Recti
Modern Mamas Podcast - Mindful motherhood, supporting mamas who seek to improve their health and that of their children
Rewild yourself Podcast
Orgasmic Birth: Dancing Babies into the World - Debra Pascali-Bonaro #165
Miscarriage, Menstruation & Mindful Mothering - Chloe Parsons #144
Human Milk is the Human Norm - Jennifer Grayson #134
The Ecstatic Hormonal High of Childbearing - Sarah Buckley #35
The Fourth Trimester Summit - Lots of great interviews to help you prepare for postpartum
Pain-coping practices and visualizations by Pam England - I particularly enjoyed listening to the tale of Inanna’s Descent, a mythical story of a woman humbling herself before this rite of passage.
Websites
Free Birth Society (see also their course The Complete Guide To Free Birth- hands down the most comprehensive resource for understanding and preparing for a physiological, autonomous home birth)
Birthfit
Go Diaper Free - Resources for Elimination Communication (pottying an infant from birth)
Janet Lansbury - RIE resource for respectful parenting
Wim Hof- I practiced the Wim Hof breathing Method in preparation for labor
Kelly Mom- Valuable Breastfeeding resource
Period of P.U.R.P.L.E.Crying- Understanding why it's normal for babies to cry, especially in the early months
Conscious Baby with Eliza Parker- Understanding baby-led movement milestones and aware parenting
Inspirational Quotes
“ Giving birth may be the single most athletic event of your life, train for it.”
“I do not care what kind of birth you have... a home birth, scheduled cesarean, epidural hospital birth, or if you birth alone in the woods next to a baby deer. I care that you had options, that you were supported in your choices and that you were respected.”
“We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.”
“Birth is not only about making babies.
Birth is about making mothers —
strong competent and capable mothers
who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
“The more difficulties one sees in the world the more perfect one becomes. The more you plough and dig the ground the more fertile it becomes. The more you cut the branches of a tree the higher and stronger it grows. The more you put the gold in the fire the purer it becomes.... That is why, in all times, the Prophets of God have had tribulations and difficulties to withstand. The more often the captain of a ship is in the tempest and difficult sailing the greater his knowledge becomes. Therefore I am happy that you have had great tribulations and difficulties.... Strange it is that I love you and still I am happy that you have sorrows.”
“The great importance attached to the mother’s role derives from the fact that she is the first educator of the child. Her attitude, her prayers, even what she eats and her physical condition have a great influence on the child when it is still in womb. When the child is born, it is she who has been endowed by God with the milk which is the first food designed for it, and it is intended that, if possible, she should be with the baby to train and nurture it in its earliest days and months.”
