Your guide to the emotions of pregnancy and early motherhood, from two of America’s top reproductive psychiatrists. When you are pregnant, you get plenty of advice about your growing body and developing baby. Yet so much about motherhood happens in your head. What everyone really wants to know: Is this normal? -Even after months of trying, is it normal to panic after finding out you’re pregnant? -Is it normal not to feel love at first sight for your baby? -Is it normal to fight with your parents and partner? -Is it normal to feel like a breastfeeding failure? -Is it normal to be zonked by “mommy brain?” In What No One Tells You, two of America’s top reproductive psychiatrists reassure you that the answer is yes. With thirty years of combined experience counseling new and expectant mothers, they provide a psychological and hormonal backstory to the complicated emotions that women experience, and show why it’s natural for “matrescence”—the birth of a mother—to be as stressful and transformative a period as adolescence. Here, finally, is the first-ever practical guide to help new mothers feel less guilt and more self-esteem, less isolation and more kinship, less resentment and more intimacy, less exhaustion and more pleasure, and learn other tips to navigate the ups and downs of this exciting, demanding time

Follow the Hero’s Journey from Pregnancy to Motherhood Filled with unique insights into the spiritual nature of pregnancy, this compassionate guide takes you, the expectant mother, and your loved ones along a “hero’s journey” of discovery. Each trimester correlates to a stage of the epic journey where emotional, spiritual, and physical connections heighten your awareness of yourself and your unborn child. Through these stages, the mundane and everyday are elevated to the sublime and transformative. With their extensive training and experience in allopathic wellness and integrative medicine, Shawn A. Tassone and Kathryn M. Landherr have created a book full of guided meditations, journaling exercises, and spiritual traditions from a variety of cultures. Spiritual Pregnancy also includes yoga postures created by popular doula and pregnant-fit yoga instructor Jennifer (Wolfe) More for specific times throughout pregnancy. Praise: "Spiritual Pregnancy presents birth as the spiritual initiation it truly is. I highly recommend this deeply moving book."—Christiane Northrup, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause “. . . the information shared by the authors will show future mothers how to unify the two lives within them during pregnancy.”—Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles “Spiritual Pregnancy is the best guide I know on developing, nourishing, and sustaining [the mother-infant bond].”—Larry Dossey, MD, author of Healing Words “Expert integrative obstetricians, [the authors] guide you through the traditions of the ancients, and illuminate the vibrant path to your own heroine’s journey.” —Victoria Maizes, MD, Executive Director of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine “From the practical to the profound, I'm confident you will find what you are looking for within this book's pages. I highly recommend it.”—Tieraona Low Dog, MD, Fellowship Director at University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine “Spiritual Pregnancy does an incredible job at marrying the physical and the spiritual . . . It will be a great resource to anyone having a baby and it makes me proud to be an ob-gyn.” — Jeniffer Ashton, MD, leading medical correspondent for ABC and ob-gyn physician

From hormones to stretch marks, labor pains to diaper changes, motherhood is an adventure like none other. The rapid changes in your body, your lifestyle, and your very identity call for a certain mental agility. Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and an open heart. Easy ten-minute meditation exercises and yoga poses throughout this book will help you cultivate greater flexibility and mindful awareness during pregnancy, childbirth, and your baby's first year. Whenever you have a moment to spare, open Mindful Motherhood and discover a skill that will help you find balance and fulfillment during those times when you feel most overwhelmed. Co-published with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Mindful Motherhood contains what so many other parenting books omit:: the consoling information that each mother has the ability to know, deep within, how to care for her child. Mindful Motherhood is a gem. -Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Wise, soothing, and helpful-this is really good stuff for new mothers. -Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart

Whether you?re an expectant parent or you?re just thinking about it, this comprehensive guide features a nonbossy, fresh, and fun approach to the greatest adventure life has to offer. Based on the best advice from over 100 Canadian parents, this information is served up with a uniquely Canadian spin. Never one to shy away from the tough topics, Ann Douglas addresses the concerns that all parents have to consider when facing pregnancy. With over 225,000 ?Mother of All? books sold in Canada, Ann Douglas provides the inside scoop on what it?s really like to have a baby The straight goods on preparing your body for pregnacy Practical advice on how to increase your chances for conceiving quickly The top ten worries for each trimester -- with a hefty dose of reassurance A glossary of pregnancy -- and birth-related terms A sneak peek of life after baby This book is the manual for those looking for real-world advice to help them during all the stages of pregnancy, from conception to birth and all that can occur throughout!

Explores the mental states associated with pregnancy, birth and the early days of motherhood from a psychoanalytic perspective. Drawing on clinical research findings and the infant observation method originally developed by Esther Bick, the contributors examine a range of topics which include: how women's view of motherhood is influenced by social, cultural and biotechnological factors; how women's sense of identity changes throughout pregnancy and motherhood; how women's relationships with her family, partner and future child are shaped; and how mental health professionals can better understand ways to work with issues of maternal and infant mental health.--Publisher description.

Mary Melcher's Pregnancy, Motherhood, and Choice in Twentieth-Century Arizona provides a deep and diverse history of the dramatic changes in childbirth, birth control, infant mortality, and abortion over the course of the last century. Using oral histories, memoirs, newspaper accounts, government documents, letters, photos, and biographical collections, this fine-grained study of women's reproductive health places the voices of real women at the forefront of the narrative, providing a personal view into some of the most intense experiences of their lives.

A candid, feminist, and personal deep dive into the science and culture of pregnancy and motherhood Like most first-time mothers, Angela Garbes was filled with questions when she became pregnant. What exactly is a placenta and how does it function? How does a body go into labor? Why is breast best? Is wine totally off-limits? But as she soon discovered, it’s not easy to find satisfying answers. Your obstetrician will cautiously quote statistics; online sources will scare you with conflicting and often inaccurate data; and even the most trusted books will offer information with a heavy dose of judgment. To educate herself, the food and culture writer embarked on an intensive journey of exploration, diving into the scientific mysteries and cultural attitudes that surround motherhood to find answers to questions that had only previously been given in the form of advice about what women ought to do—rather than allowing them the freedom to choose the right path for themselves. In Like a Mother, Garbes offers a rigorously researched and compelling look at the physiology, biology, and psychology of pregnancy and motherhood, informed by in-depth reportage and personal experience. With the curiosity of a journalist, the perspective of a feminist, and the intimacy and urgency of a mother, she explores the emerging science behind the pressing questions women have about everything from miscarriage to complicated labors to postpartum changes. The result is a visceral, full-frontal look at what’s really happening during those nine life-altering months, and why women deserve access to better care, support, and information. Infused with humor and born out of awe, appreciation, and understanding of the female body and its strength, Like a Mother debunks common myths and dated assumptions, offering guidance and camaraderie to women navigating one of the biggest and most profound changes in their lives.