Here are 6 books that introduced me to the idea of being in charge of my birth, and, of course, prompted me to look for a local hypnobirthing teacher!

Not everyone’s got time to read this many books on birth! But here are my top 6 birth reads. Rather than putting my favourite as number 1, and so on, I have put them (roughly) in the order in which I read them, or in the order I think it makes sense to read them! They go from more general to quite in-depth. Also, some make sense to read early on in pregnancy (like Expecting Better) and some make more sense to read towards the end (like In Your Own Time). That said, you could absolutely pick up any of them and start there!

1. The Positive Birth Book, by Milli Hill

What’s covered: A general overview of everything pregnancy and birth!

Why I love it: It was clear, easy to read, and left me with idea sof what I wanted to read or look into next!

Key take-away: I absolutely love her birth plan icons, which you can download for free here with or without purchasing the book.

2. Expecting Better, by Emily Oster

What’s covered: An explanation of what evidence there is to support all of the ‘rules’ or advice you’re told when you get pregnant. Alcohol, coffee, sushi, epidurals… she explains what scientists know, and what they don’t know, so that you can make your own informed decisions.

Why I love it: When you get pregnant you can feel a bit like a vessel, losing your own identity a bit as you do whatever is best for baby. This book helped me keep hold of myself a bit and reminded me that I matter, too!

Key take-away: I found out that you had to drink way more caffeine than I did before you needed to worry about cutting down, so that was a relief!

3. The Hypnobirthing Book by Katherine Graves

What’s covered: What hypnobirthing is, why it works, how to do it, and what choices you have during pregnancy and birth.

Why I love it: It’s simple and logical.

Key take-away: Hypnobirthing works and is incredibly simple to do.

4. Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

What’s covered: The first half of the book is positive birth stories back-to-back. The second half is a really interesting read about how the body works in birth.

Why I love it: The story-telling! Rather than saying ‘do this is you’re baby is stuck’ she tells you a story about a women in labour, describes a problem occurring, then explains what solution she or the mum/partner found. The tips and tricks stick in your head way better that way.

Key take-away: Her ‘horse lips’ technique – I used it during my birth and I tell all my clients about it.

5. Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage, by Rachel Reed

What’s covered: Oh. My. God (Janice’s voice). I can’t even summarise this. It’s everything that every women should know, regardless of how old they are, whether they want no babies or have had 7 babies.

Why I love it: It really helped me understand my body.

Key take-away: Our bodies are awesome. Every aspect of life would be easier of we understood our bodies better.

6. In Your Own Time, by Dr Sara Wickham

What’s covered: This is a book all about spontaneous labour and induction of labour: how they are different, how they impact mum and baby differently, and why you might choose to do one or the other.

Why I love it: It is clear, factual, and evidence based. It tells you stuff that you probably won’t hear at your appointments.

Key take-away: Being induced is very different to waiting for baby to arrive. In general, waiting is better for mum and baby unless there is a good reason not to wait. This book helps you wade through all of the info and make a decision about whether or not induction is a good idea for you.

So there we are! Happy World Book Day pregnant people! I hope you enjoy some of these books and find them as useful as I did!

Ruth xxx

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