This one’s a birth classic, and if you hire a doula, it’s probably one of the books they will recommend to you. It includes hundreds of real and inspiring birth stories.
You don’t need to read this one from beginning to end - you can pick it up, open to any section, and start reading. We found that learning about others’ experiences helped us feel less afraid of labor and birth, and more confident in our capabilities as women to birth our babies.
Read MoreTori Weschler walks you through exactly what is happening in your body throughout your cycle. She includes super tangible indicators that you can watch out for so you can know what phase you are in - like basal body temperature, cervical fluid and position, and breast tenderness.
It’s incredible how many signals you’ll find your body sends you every day - once you’re paying attention. She recommends a simple app for tracking these indicators so you can reach your goals, whether they be avoiding pregnancy naturally or trying to get pregnant.
Read MoreThis is a great resource that lends wisdom from both Western and Chinese medicine perspectives to help you discover your “fertility type.” We love the focus on the three month ‘pre-mester,’ during which patients can change lifestyle and nutrition to maximize their fertility (it works!). Today’s fertility medicine is all about surgical, chemical, and technological intervention, but Drs. David and Blakeway provide another way through supplements, herbs, dietary, and lifestyle changes.
Read MoreThe Fifth Vital Sign aims to better connect women with their menstrual cycles and to break the myth that ovulation is only important when you're ready to have a baby. Whether children are a part of your future plans or not, your reproductive health matters. This book also includes an incredibly comprehensive section on hormonal birth control.
Read MoreYour menstrual cycle is your fifth vital sign — a barometer of health and wellness that is as telling as your pulse or blood pressure. Yet most of us see our periods as nothing more than a source of inconvenience, shame, and stigma.
The reasons for this are vast and complex and many are rooted in misogyny. The fact is, women around the world are taught the bare minimum about menstruation, and the messages they receive are often negative: that periods are painful and gross, turn us into hormonal messes, and shouldn’t be discussed.
By examining the history of period shame and stigma and its effects on women’s health and wellness today, and providing a crash course in menstrual self-care, Heavy Flow aims to lift the veil on menstruation, change the narrative, and break the “curse” once and for all.
Read MoreDuring her more than twenty years of research and care for thousands of patients, Kirsten Karchmer found that most period problems women experience—even the most painful ones—are totally correctable and more surprisingly reflective of overall health and fertility. In this forthright, spirited, and all-encompassing guide, Karchmer draws on her decades’ worth of experience as a women’s health expert to break down the myths so many women have been led to believe about their periods.
Read MoreWe love this book because it is a really accessible and in-depth look at traditional Chinese medicine approaches to fertility care. It is an empowering resource that provides effective techniques and tools through the use of diet, herbs, acupressure, and self-massage to optimize fertility. The author is Chinese medicine practitioner Randine Lewis, who also has a strong background in Western medicine with pioneering research in the area of fertility. Though it was written in 2004, it is still an insightful resource offering a natural way to support your efforts in getting pregnant.
Read MoreHeavy Flow is a feminist, body-positive podcast about periods, reproductive health, and general health and wellness topics. Each week, host Amanda Laird sits down with a guest to have casual, candid conversations about the things “we’re not supposed to talk about.” While guest and host mostly talk about periods, they also discuss fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, birth control, sexuality, mental health, miscarriage, abortion, and gender. Their view is that “we are not truly empowered until we all understand the bodies we live in.”
Read More
