Recommended Reading

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer (This is the book I give to couples in my childbirth classes)
The Birth Book by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. (The Sears' make a good case for education so that you make the best choices)
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn by Penny Simkin, P.T., Janet Whalley, R.N., B.S.N. and Ann Keppler, R.N., M.N. (Best all around book)
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin, P.T. (This is the Bible for Doulas, everything you need to know to help a woman through labor)
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger (Great info for your baby's development and choices in childbirth)
Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper, R.N. (This book covers why it is important to bring our children into the world gently)
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (The whole first half of this book is filled with positive birth stories)
Birthing from Within by Pam England, CNM, MA and Rob Horowitz, Ph.D. (Great tool for dealing with personal fears and issues)

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International (The Bible of breastfeeding information)
Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers by Jack Neuman, M.D. (Another great book full of the answers to common breastfeeding questions)
The Breastfeeding Book by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. (Again the Sears' are the go-to couple when it comes to all things baby)
Medication and Mother's Milk by Thomas W. Hale, Ph.D. (This book goes over which medications can and cannot be passed through breastmilk)

The Baby Book by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. (The best all around baby book, everything you need from birth to age two)
How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of your Doctor by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D. (This book contains information on which ailments need to be seen by a Doctor and which do not)
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell (This book covers what each vaccine is for and why you may not want to follow your Doctor's timeline for administering them)
Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D. (Excellent info on calming baby)

Kids Are Worth It! by Barbara Coloroso (Let your children learn from the consequences of their actions)
Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster W. Cline and Jim Fay (More of letting your children learn by making mistakes)
The Discipline Book by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. (One more great book from the Sears.)

Helpful Links

www.birthyear.net - The Birth Year Network, a group of Birth Year Professionals who provide free monthly meetings with information relating to pregnancy, birth and postpartum. There is also a great directory for anything you may need in the birth year.

www.waterbirth.org - If you are interested in waterbirth this is the place to go.

www.mothering.org - The website for Mothering Magazine a great resource for more holistic non-mainstream mamas.

www.ican-online.org - International Cesarean Awareness Network. Everything you need to help with avoiding a cesarean section, recovering from a cesarean section or Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).

www.freewebs.com/ican_snv - The website for the local chapter of ICAN.

www.spinningbabies.com - Information on optimal positioning for labor.