Pregnancy & Birth
Birth Crisis
This is the wise and experienced birth attendant Sheila Kitzinger's latest informative masterpiece. Kitzinger identifies and discusses the major areas of maternal health care that are need of change. She looks at the growing rates of birth trauma and what can be done about it.
Birthing from Within*
An empowering birth class in a book! This is the ultimate textual preparation tool for mothers, partners and birth attendants. It's filled with useful and creative activities and suggestions that will put you on an amazing journey of self-discovery.
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering*
This well researched, easy to read parenting book, was written by Sarah Buckley MD. The main focus of the book is natural childbirth. Buckley takes a plethora of medical studies and turns them into accessible information for the non-medical minded parent.
Defiant Birth*
Australian journalist Melinda Tankard Reist has put together a collection of personal testimonies from women and families who were advised to terminate "abnormal" pregnancies but went against their doctors recommendations to have beautiful children, some with developmental challenges and others perfectly healthy! Her introduction and conclusion draw everything together, contextualise the issues, and provide an excellent critique of contemporary medical eugenics.
Lotus Birth*
This book is a collection of writings by midwives, birth attendants, and parents about their experiences of lotus birth (where their babies' umbilical cords are never cut, but detach naturally in the first week of life). With a great introduction from Obstetrician Michel Odent, this book is perfect for anyone interested in lotus birth.
Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities
Each chapter of this book, by medical writer Henci Goer, takes a particular medical procedure or complication that might occur during pregnancy and/or childbirth and outlines study after study giving readers a picture of the "reserach realities". She considers these realities against what is actually happening in the obstetric profession, concluding that there are many myths being told to pregnant and birthing women.
Of Woman Born*
Despite being over thirty years old, Adrienne Rich's text remains relevant to women, and particularly mothers, in the twenty-first century. This book is famous for highlighting the distinction between motherhood as a personal experience determined by each individual mum and her children and motherhood as an institution
Pursuing the Birth Machine
Marsden Wagner, former head of Maternal and Child Health for the European Office of the World Health Organisation, understands that birth is not simply a medical issue, he states that it is "biosocial" and the social significance and non-medical aspects of women's birth experiences are of just as much importance as the medical. In this book he outlines the two major models of understanding birth, what he calls the the medical model and the social. He then looks at how research suggests that the medical model leaves much to be desired.
Spiritual Midwifery
Ina May Gaskin is a very wise and very seasoned lay midwife, and this book offers readers some of her wisdom. It includes birth stories, including those of Amish women, information on the safety of natural childbirth, and heartening statistics from The Farm Midwifery Centre Gaskin pioneered .
The Natural Way To Better Babies*
Written by Francesca Naish a naturopath-herbalist and Jan Roberts a former pharmacist. This book is a comprehensive guide to pre-conception health care for parents. While it is aimed at creating optimal health and fertility for the purpose of conception, the knowledge gained from this book can be used for the reverse purpose of natural contraception.
This is one in a series of books about nurturing your body to it's natural best, the others are The Natural Way To Better; Pregnancy, Birth, Babies and Breastfeeding.
The Politics of Birth*
Sheila Kitzinger has been working within birthing communities for over thirty years, this book takes a look at the social and political side of many issues regarding birth such as caeasareans, timing labours, episiotomies, homebirths etc. This book gives those preparing for a birth experience of their own a better understanding of the context in which they will birth.
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
Like her earlier book Obstetric Myths and Research Realities, Goer takes an enormous amount of medical literature and makes it easy to read for the lay person. This particular book was written with women in mind, to help them make informed decisions based on the evidence.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding...Naturally*
If you only want to read on breastfeeding book, I recommend this one. It was compiled by Jill Day, a long-term breastfeeding counselor, from The Australian Breastfeeding Association's information and pamphlets. It includes photos, diagrams, and the wisdom of thousands of ABA members. It's layout makes it very easy to read, and ideal for those stressful moments when you need to quickly look something up.
Breastfeeding Your Baby
Another fantastic book that could be the one and only breastfeeding book on your shelf. It is filled with detailed and helpful photos. Each issue is discussed clearly and concisely, ideal for the busy mother or the frantic mother in need of information fast!
The Joyous Booby Book (coming soon!)
A beautiful coffee table book. This is a collection of photos of mothers breastfeeding their newborns, toddlers and young children, with quotes from mums, dads, tots and younglins about their experiences of breastfeeding.
The Natural Way to Better Breastfeeding*
Another book by Naish and Roberts, this book helps women understand breastfeeding, prepare for breastfeeding, and it explains why breastfeeding is such an important skill we need to hold onto. It contains page after page of helpful suggestions and strategies for improving and enjoying your breastfeeding relationship with your child.
General Parenting
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
While Buckley's book has a focus on birth, she also provides excellent chapters on breastfeeding, sleep issues, discipline, and parenting more generally. As with the information she shares about birth, each topic is discussed with reference to numerous medical studies.
Heart to Heart Parenting*
Another incredible book from Robin Grille, this one focuses on emotional intelligence from conception to school age. It will also put parents on their own healing journeys. Not a manual on how to raise your children, but a book about your natural instincts and love for them and how to foster that and a strong bonded relationship with them.
Of Woman Born*
Despite being over thirty years old, Adrienne Rich's text remains relevant to women, and particularly mothers, in the twenty-first century. This book is famous for highlighting the distinction between motherhood as a personal experience determined by each individual mum and her children and motherhood as an institution
Parenting By Heart
Pinky McKay has a gift for writing with sleep-deprived parents in mind. She is so easy-to read! This a fantastic introductory read to all the big issues for new parents including; birth options, breastfeeding, sleeping and babies, crying and babies, family health, postnatal depression, pressure and expectations on parents, and gentle discipline.
Parenting for a Peaceful World*
Robin Grille gives a well-researched account of the history of child raising throughout the world and argues that the way we raise children is directly related to the type of society we end up with. He provides reasonable strategies for improving the way we parent and demonstrates that if we make these relatively easy changes to the way we treat children a peaceful world is not far off.
Unconditional Parenting*
No loving parent wants to think that they manipulate their children to suit themselves, or that their love for their child is conditional, Kohn helps parents make this a reality by explaining the trouble with praise and rewards and offering parents a healthier way to parent. He argues that whether we love our children conditionally or not, there is some parenting behaviour that can accidentally communicate this message to our children. But it's not all bleak! There is a way to move forward and have more loving relationships with our children.
Women
Beauty and Misogyny*
Gyn/Ecology*
Of Woman Born*
Radically Speaking*
The definitive book of radical feminists the world over. Dworkin, Jeffreys, MacKinnon, Daly, Morgan, Raymond, and many more heavyweights are featured in this collection. Each major issue of oppression radical feminists rage against is critiqued by feminists of different classes, races, sexual orientations, and nations. And provides a comprehensive introduction to what exactly radical feminism is.
The Beauty Myth*
An excellent look at how the idea of beauty oppresses women. The author makes a compelling argument that Western women work three shifts, one in the home, one in the workplace and one in the bathroom as they make themselves look right for the world. An eye-opening read!
The Female Eunuch*
The Whole Woman*
*Owned by Ilithyia Inspired. The rest are on my wish list!
Thought harmful cultural practices were something that happened in other countries? Think again! This book picks up where The Beauty Myth left, but takes it further than you could have imagined, but then in the time between the two books the beauty industry has taken us from plucking and painting to cutting and suturing! The author takes a well-researched look at how beauty practices physically and psychologically harm women. A must read for every woman.
Gyn/Ecology*
An oldie, but a goodie! The author takes readers through a few major periods of history and a few major societies to explore religious, social, and medical rituals performed on the bodies of women to their detriment. Of particular interest is the author's analysis of the obstetric and gyneagological professions.
Of Woman Born*
This book is famous for highlighting the distinction between motherhood as a personal experience determined by each individual mum and her children and motherhood as an institution
Radically Speaking*
The definitive book of radical feminists the world over. Dworkin, Jeffreys, MacKinnon, Daly, Morgan, Raymond, and many more heavyweights are featured in this collection. Each major issue of oppression radical feminists rage against is critiqued by feminists of different classes, races, sexual orientations, and nations. And provides a comprehensive introduction to what exactly radical feminism is.
The Beauty Myth*
An excellent look at how the idea of beauty oppresses women. The author makes a compelling argument that Western women work three shifts, one in the home, one in the workplace and one in the bathroom as they make themselves look right for the world. An eye-opening read!
The Female Eunuch*
A quintessential second wave feminist text, which argues (not always coherently) that consumerist society, femininity, and the nuclear family oppresses women, in particular women's sexuality, robbing them of vitality, thus leaving them as eunuchs. Reading this is a journey, it can be scattered by it is incredibly passionate.
The Whole Woman*
The Female Eunuch's sequel after thirty years. The eunuch she spoke about earlier remains, and it's time to get angry again, but now at sixty, the author feels wise enough to know how to be the whole woman.
*Owned by Ilithyia Inspired. The rest are on my wish list!
