Recommended Reading List

This is a post that I will be constantly updating.... It won't contain much now, but will grow as I post reviews.

* I have reviewed this book on this site.

BEST OF THE BEST

Pregnancy & Birth
"Heart and Hands" (Elizabeth Davis)
"Creating Your Birth Plan" (Marsden Wagner)
"Active Birth" (Janet Balaskas)
"The Water Birth Book" (Janet Balaskas) *
"Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" (Ina May Gaskin)
"Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care" (Jennifer Block)
"Hey! Who’s Having This Baby, Anyway?" (Breck Hawk)
"The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" (Henci Goer)
"Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First" (Marsden Wagner)
"Giving Birth"
"Gentle Birth Choices" (Barbara Harper, RN)
"Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year" (Susan S. Weed) *
"Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth" (Boston Women's Health Book Collective) *
"The Natural Pregnancy Book" (Aviva Jill Romm) *

Special Pregnancies
Hyperemesis
"Body Mutiny: Surviving Nine Months of Extreme Morning Sickness" (Jenna Schmidt"
"Beyond Morning Sickness: Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum" (Ashli McCall) *

Postpartum
"Natural Health After Birth" (Aviva Jill Romm)

Baby


Midwifery
"Mainstreaming Midwives: The Politics of Change" (Robbie Davis-Floyd)
"Babycatcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife" (Peggy Vincent)
"Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years With a Midwife in Mali" (Kris Holloway) *
"Book for Midwives: A Manual for Traditional Birth Attendants and Community Midwives" (Susan Klein and Suellen Miller)
"Sisters on a Journey: Portraits of American Midwives" (Penfield Chester and Sarah Chester McKusick)
"Home Delivery: A Midwife's Journey Through Motherhood and Other Miracles" (Cara Muhlhahn)
"Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart" (Carol Leonard)

Fertility
"Taking Charge of Your Fertility" (Toni Weschler)

For Children
"I Watched My Brother Being Born" (book & video set for children)

VERY GOOD

Pregnancy & Birth
"Pregnancy the Natural Way" (Zita West)
"Husband-Coached Childbirth" (Robert Bradley)
"Homebirth" (Sheila Kitzinger)
"New Natural Pregnancy" (Janet Balaskas) *
"Spiritual Midwifery" (Ina May Gaskin)
"The Complete Organic Pregnancy" (Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu)
"Childbirth Without Fear" (Dr. Grantly Dick-Read) - a historical classic
"Unassisted Childbirth" (Laura Shanley) *

Baby
"Natural Baby" (Janet Balaskas) *

Midwifery

Fertility



Good

Natural Pregnancy & Birth
"Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method" (Marie Mongan)

Mainstream Pregnancy/Birth
"From Here to Maternity: A Complete Pregnancy Guide" (Connie Marshall, RN, MSN) *

Special Pregnancies
Hyperemesis
"Managing Morning Sickness" (Miriam Erick) *

Infertility
"Infertility for Dummies" (Sharon Perkins, RN, Jackie Meyers-Thompson)


Average
The "Whatever" Rating
* Some of these are rated "average" for having both good and bad material

Pregnancy & Birth
"From Here to Maternity" (Connie Marshall, RN) *

Special Pregnancies
Multiples
"Two at a Time: Having Twins" (Jane Seymour) *

Novels
"Playing Catch: A Midwife's Memoir" (Sally Urang) * - warning for crude and vulgar content


JUST PLAIN BAD
The "Yuck" Rating

Pregnancy & Birth
"The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy"