Recommended Reading

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. I read every night before bed, when I layout at the beach, and anytime I get a free moment to relax. Being that I am currently knocked up, most of my reading material is focused on baby related topics. I have checked out plenty of books from the library and found most of them to be just "fluff". Some good/funny stuff here and there but nothing that I would want to recommend to friends.

When I first found out I was expecting my friend at the San Diego Hydroponics store, Kelly, loaned me a book called Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. Kelly had spent time on the farm in Tennessee where this hippy community/farm was established in the 70's. An advocate for natural birth this book takes place on the farm and shares birth stories of the women who live there as well as a guide for midwives in training. The book is a pretty good read although I am not considering a home birth myself.

A few weeks ago I was at the library and picked up a book by the same author called Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Now this is the book I would recommend to ANYONE preparing to give birth. It gave me some great tips and perspective on labor that I had not heard anywhere else before. I will definitely be re-reading this book in the months to come. Buy a copy for yourself and read the stellar reviews on Amazon.com HERE.