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A much-needed antidote to our modern, assembly-line approach to childbirth, this new book is designed as a guide for all who wish to participate in the wondrous process of bringing new life into the world. Its ideas derive from two sources: the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, with its emphasis on body, mind, and spirit, and the latest Western scientific prenatal research. By integrating the best information from these two very different perspectives, this remarkable book gives readers the tools to ensure that our children are nourished by thoughts, words, and actions from the very moment of conception. Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Livesis rich in practical information, including strategies to help enliven the body intelligence of unborn babies by nourishing each of their five senses, as well as through Ayurvedically balanced nutrition and eating with awareness. Specific yoga poses and meditation techniques reduce the mother's stress and improve the infant's emotional environment, as do tips for conscious communication with a partner. Exercises prepare parents for the experience of childbirth itself, followed by natural approaches to dealing with the first weeks of parenting, from healing herbs to enhancing your milk supply to coping with postpartum depression. Inspiring, expansive, and remarkably informative, this unique book from acclaimed experts in mind-body medicine will profoundly enhance the experience of pregnancy and birth for both parents and baby.

In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior analyzes the many ways children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear. Recruiting from a wide variety of sources—in history, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, and anthropology—she dissects both the timeless strains of parenting and the ones that are brand new, and then brings her research to life in the homes of ordinary parents around the country. The result is an unforgettable series of family portraits, starting with parents of young children and progressing in later chapters to parents of teens. Through lively and accessible storytelling, Senior follows these mothers and fathers as they wrestle with some of parenthood's deepest vexations—and luxuriate in some of its finest rewards.

Inside Bumpin’ you’ll find:
-A trimester-by-trimester overview from trimester zero (conception) through the postpartum period and return to work
-The truth about age and fertility and how to manage any issues that arise
-Research on topics like vaccinations, breastfeeding, and exercise
-The science behind your physical changes, leaks, sweats, and every other unexpected pregnancy symptom – and how to manage them to enhance your long term health
-Birth preferences and preparing for unpredictable changes
-The challenges of navigating parental leave and returning to work
-Unique advice for partners
-Budgeting, finance tips, baby registry, and hospital checklists

In Conceivability, Elizabeth Katkin, now a mother of two, exposes eye-opening information about the medical, financial, legal, scientific, emotional, and ethical issues at stake. “A well-researched, informative, and positive account of a very long journey to motherhood” (Kirkus Reviews), Conceivability sheds light on the often murky and baffling world of conception science. Her book is an invaluable and inspiring text that will be a boon to others navigating the deep and “choppy waters” of fertility treatment (Publishers Weekly), and her chronicle of one of the most difficult, painful, rewarding, and loving journeys a woman can take is as informative as it is poignant.

Armed with the data, Oster finds that the conventional wisdom doesn't always hold up. She debunks myths around breastfeeding (not a panacea), sleep training (not so bad!), potty training (wait until they're ready or possibly bribe with M&Ms), language acquisition (early talkers aren't necessarily geniuses), and many other topics. She also shows parents how to think through freighted questions like if and how to go back to work, how to think about toddler discipline, and how to have a relationship and parent at the same time.

In that heartbreaking essay, Boggs eloquently recounts her realization that she might never be able to conceive. She searches the apparently fertile world around her--the emergence of thirteen-year cicadas, the birth of eaglets near her rural home, and an unusual gorilla pregnancy at a local zoo--for signs that she is not alone. Boggs also explores other aspects of fertility and infertility: the way longing for a child plays out in the classic Coen brothers film Raising Arizona; the depiction of childlessness in literature, from Macbeth to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; the financial and legal complications that accompany alternative means of family making; the private and public expressions of iconic writers grappling with motherhood and fertility. She reports, with great empathy, complex stories of couples who adopted domestically and from overseas, LGBT couples considering assisted reproduction and surrogacy, and women and men reflecting on childless or child-free lives.

What if I drop my baby when I go down the steps? What if I burn the baby in the bathtub?

Thoughts like these can be frightening to new mothers, but are a common symptom pregnant and postpartum women can experience. Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts addresses the nature of these intrusive, negative and unwanted thoughts. Kleiman and Wenzel offer answers to the women who seek information, clarification, and validation in this useful resource for healthcare professionals working with these mothers. Written by two clinicians who have established themselves as leading experts and authors in this specialized field, this book maintains a compassionate tone that will be a voice familiar to many women in the postpartum community. Whether you must confront these negative notions personally or in your practice, this book will explain what these thoughts are, why they are there, and what can be done about them.

Witty and insightful, Domestic Affairs is an extension of Joyce Maynard’s celebrated, widely syndicated newspaper column of the same name that ran from 1984 to 1990. Each essay gives an unfiltered look at the ups and downs of family life and a remarkable window into the challenges of modern motherhood. Topics range from babysitter woes to family visits to coping with a child’s burgeoning independence. These collected writings represent nine years’ worth of stories about the greatest adventure of Maynard’s life, or, as she writes, “the difficult, exhausting, humbling, and endlessly gratifying business of raising children, of ensuring the health of both body and soul.”

This uber-digestible illustrated book is a lighthearted yet serious window into the postpartum period serving compassion, validation, hope, and expertise.

Though one in four pregnancies ends in loss, miscarriage is shrouded in such secrecy and stigma that the woman who experiences it often feels deeply isolated, unsure how to process her grief. Her body seems to have betrayed her. Her confidence in the goodness of God is rattled. Her loved ones don't know what to say. Her heart is broken. She may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, depressed, confused, or alone.

With vulnerability and tenderness, Adriel Booker shares intimate stories about her experiences with early and mid-term miscarriages to help you navigate your own grief and know you aren't alone. She tackles complex questions about faith, suffering, and God's will with sensitivity and clarity, devoid of religious clichés or pat answers. Ultimately, Adriel invites you to a wide-open place of grace, honesty, and genuine hope as you discover a redemption story unfolding in the shadows of your loss. She also includes practical resources for ways to help guide children through grief, advice on pregnancy after loss, and special sections for dads and loved ones.

What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you. Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention.

Sixteen weeks into her second pregnancy, psychologist Jessica Zucker miscarried at home, alone. Suddenly, her career, spent specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health, was rendered corporeal, no longer just theoretical. She now had a changed perspective on her life’s work, her patients’ pain, and the crucial need for a zeitgeist shift. Navigating this nascent transition amid her own grief became a catalyst for Jessica to bring voice to this ubiquitous experience. She embarked on a mission to upend the strident trifecta of silence, shame, and stigma that surrounds reproductive loss—and the result is her striking memoir meets manifesto.

A biohacking program for women, teaching them how to use their natural 28-day cycle to optimize their time, diet, fitness, work, and relationships.

In Motherless Mothers, Edelman uses her own story as a prism to reveal the unique anxieties and desires that these women experience as they raise their children without the help of a living maternal guide. In an impeccably researched, luminously written book enriched by the voices of the mothers themselves—and filled with practical insight and advice from experienced professionals—she examines their parenting choices, their triumphs, and their fears, and offers motherless mothers the guidance and support they want and need.

Maybe you have suffered a miscarriage. Maybe you have been told you cannot have children. Maybe you have followed every bit of advice from every doctor and self-help book, but you still aren’t seeing that pink plus sign.

Many women face the disheartening struggle of infertility in silence. Between the feelings of shame, the strain on marriages, and the loads of money spent on medicines and failed procedures, they don’t want to admit what they often see as a personal flaw: that they cannot bear children.

After four miscarriages and years of infertility, Cathie Quillet felt stuck and alone in her negative emotions. In Not Pregnant, Quillet offers a place for women who are experiencing infertility to come together, validate their emotions, and let go of their pain.

Nurture is an all-inclusive pregnancy and birthing guide that gives soon-to-be mothers and their partners the information they need to make decisions, feel confident, and enjoy the beauty of creating new life.

This book describes contemporary woman's search for wholeness in a society in which she has been defined according to masculine values. Drawing upon cultural myths and fairy tales, ancient symbols and goddesses, and the dreams of contemporary women, Murdock illustrates the need for—and the reality of—feminine values in Western culture today.

Informed by her clinical expertise and her own personal experience with miscarriage, the Miscarriage Map offers women, their partners, and loved ones with the nitty gritty realities of a miscarriage, the accompanying emotional roller coaster, and specific steps to take to help them get through this loss.

In pop culture as much as in policy advocacy, the feminist movement has historically left infertile women out in the cold. This book traverses the chilly landscape of miscarriage, and the particular grief that accompanies the longing to make a family. Framed by her own desire for a child, journalist Alexandra Kimball brilliantly reveals the pain and loneliness of infertility, especially as a lifelong feminist. Her experience of online infertility support groups -- where women gather in forums to discuss IVF, surrogacy, and isolation -- leaves her longing for a real life community of women working to break down the stigma of infertility.

There are so many ways to be Not Pregnant: You can be young, old, partnered, or unpartnered. Maybe you have endometriosis. Maybe you don’t have enough eggs or your partner doesn’t have enough sperm. Or maybe there’s nothing wrong except you’re Just. Not. Pregnant.

Amy Klein has been there. Faced with fertility obstacles, she quickly became an expert. After nine rounds of IVF, four miscarriages, three acupuncturists, two rabbis, and one reproductive immunologist, she finally became a mother. And she wrote about it all for the New York Times Motherlode blog in her “Fertility Diary” column.

Now, Amy has written the book she wishes she’d had when she was trying to get pregnant. With advice from medical experts as well as real women, she outlines your options every step of the way, from questions you should ask to advice on getting your mother-in-law to mind her own beeswax

If you or someone you love is among the one in seven women stricken by PPD, you know how hard it is to get real help. This proven self-help program, which can be used alone or with a support group or therapist, will help you monitor each phase of illness, recognize when you need professional help, cope with daily life, and recover with new strength and confidence. Learn how to:

• Identify the symptoms of PPD and distinguish it from "baby blues"

• Deal with panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive urges, and stress overload

• Break the cycle of shame and negative thoughts

• Mobilize support from your husband or partner, family, and friends

• Seek and evaluate treatment options

• Cope with the disappointment and loss of self-esteem

Postpartum depression is hard on a marriage. In their private practices, authors Karen Kleiman and Amy Wenzel often find themselves face-to-face with marriages that are suffocating, as if the depression has sucked the life out of a relationship that was only prepared for the anticipated joy of pending childbirth. What happens to marriage? Why do couples become angry, isolated, and disconnected? Tokens of Affection looks closely at marriages that have withstood the passing storm of depression and are now seeking, or in need of, direction back to their previous levels of functioning and connectedness. The reader is introduced to a model of collaboration that refers to 8 specific features, which guide postpartum couples back from depression. These features, framed as “Tokens,” are based on marital therapy literature and serve as a reminder that these are not just communication skill-building techniques; they are gift-giving gestures on behalf of their relationship. A reparative resource, Tokens of Affection helps couples find renewed harmony, a solid relational ground, and reconnection.

What Am I Thinking contains essential information for a woman and her family who plan on having another baby after a previous experience with postpartum depression. As these women know, planning another pregnancy can be a process filled with profound anxiety, indecision, fears, and self-doubt. What if I get depressed again? What if it's worse this next time? What if something terrible happens? What if I'm making a mistake? Filled with self-help strategies, current treatment recommendations, and practical advice, this book offers women the hope, confidence, and support they need to make this journey in spite of their anxiety. With this resource and available knowledge in hand, they are likely to feel more empowered, enabling them to proceed with confidence.