As we step into the New Year, we look forward to fresh starts and new beginnings. For those embarking on the journey of parenthood, it is also the start of an incredible new chapter in their lives.
Whether you’re expecting, planning, in the postpartum phase or simply curious, these new titles available with your Livingston Library card will guide you with expert advice, emotional support, and practical tips.
Baby Making for Everybody : Family Building and Fertility for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents by Ray Rachlin
Queer millennial midwives Ray Rachlin and Marea Goodman use their professional expertise to demystify the dizzying process of pursuing parenthood as queer and solo people, offering concrete, gender-affirming advice on topics like tracking fertility, choosing a sperm donor, legal considerations, IVF, IUI, adoption, navigating gender and pregnancy, and more. The result is a much-needed how-to guide for every aspect of the complicated, messy, and glorious process of building a family as an LGBTQ+ or solo parent. Combining practical information with personal narratives and first person community wisdom, this book provides prospective parents with the information they need to grow their families outside of a traditional heterosexual nuclear family mode.
The Big Book of Pregnancy Nutrition : Everything Expectant Moms Need To Know for a Happy, Healthy Nine Months & Beyond by Stephanie Middleberg
The comprehensive handbook to everything a mama-to-be needs to feel healthy and supported for her entire pregnancy–and beyond–from licensed nutritionist, registered dietitian, and mom-of-two Middleberg. This one-of-a-kind resource covers everything from prenatal vitamins and supplements to foods that alleviate constipation and heartburn to preparing for your glucose test and what to cook and freeze before the baby comes. Learn which foods may help your baby’s developing microbiome, decrease nausea, ease labor pains, and build your milk supply.
Dear Future Mama : A TMI Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and New Motherhood From Your Bestie by Meghan Trainor
A heartfelt and humorous guide for expectant mamas inspired by Meghan’s own journey into motherhood and expert insights from Meghan’s own personal trainer, registered dietitian, husband, and ob-gyn. No shame, no judgment–just straight talk (and laughs) from a bestie who’s been there, including: a TMI guide to the good, bad, and WTF of conception, pregnancy, and childbirth — advice about everything from ovulation apps to random hair growth — Meghan’s personal stories about body image, mental health, and navigating her career path as a new mother — permission to find the right path for you–ignoring the judgment of others and freeing yourself from the shifting standards of motherhood.
Expecting Better : Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong–and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
When award-winning economist Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, this is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy–and the occasional glass of wine.
How to Baby by Liana Finck
How do you know if you’re ready to have a baby? How do you know if you might be pregnant? And how do you deal with peeing all the time and being hungry all the time and fielding well-meaning but kind of insulting advice and finding a doula and being dropped by your old friends and learning why it’s called mom brain and not dad brain and spending half your life on hold with your insurance company and the tyranny of the milestones you’re not meeting and negotiating boundaries with in-laws and realizing that your heart now exists outside of your chest and in the body of this tiny little being whose entire existence depends on the quality of your care? To tackle these questions and many others, award winning cartoonist and memoirist Finck began illustrating her early years of motherhood, sharing her joys, fears, and insecurities with her many fans.
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
The ultimate guidebook for navigating the road to parenthood, with everything you need to know along the way to help you have a healthy pregnancy and baby. This inclusive, updated manual is packed with research-backed advice for every part of the journey, from conception to postpartum and the newborn weeks. Inside you’ll find the latest expertise from Myra Wick, M.D., Ph.D., a mom of four — along with contributions from many other pregnancy specialists at Mayo Clinic. Month-by-month chapters walk you through the physical changes you can expect as your baby grows and develops, milestones to watch for (feel those kicks!), and key steps in prenatal care. You’ll also learn about diet and lifestyle choices to give you and your baby a healthy start, exercises to stay active and strong, and treatments that can actually help with morning sickness.
The Unexpected : Navigating Pregnancy During and After Complications by Emily Oster
50 percent of pregnancies include complications, and we don’t talk about it. Preeclampsia, miscarriage, hyperemesis gravidarum, preterm birth, postpartum depression: these are lonely experiences, and that isolation makes treatment harder to access-and crucial research and policy change less likely to happen. This book lays out the data on recurrence and treatments shown to lower or mitigate risk for these conditions in subsequent pregnancies. It also provides readers roadmaps to facilitate productive conversations with their providers, with insights from lauded maternal fetal medicine specialist Dr. Nathan Fox.
Your Brain on Pregnancy: A Guide to Understanding and Protecting Your Mental Health During Pregnancy and Beyond by Dawn Kingston
An enlightening and practical guidebook for mothers to help them navigate mental health challenges during and after pregnancy—based on cutting-edge science by one of the world’s foremost researchers of maternal mental health. Kingston takes readers through the three most common mental health struggles—anxiety, depression, and toxic stress—and shows how common life challenges such as relationship issues, financial problems, job transitions, and lack of support are often the trigger. She also debunks the popular belief that hormonal changes are to blame. Then, using proven science-based strategies, she shares easy and effective ways expecting parents can manage the stress and other feelings caused by these challenges, and actually reverse negative effects to make a lasting difference to both them and their babies.
Your Postpartum Body : The Complete Guide to Healing After Pregnancy by Ruth E. Macy
What should you expect when you’re done expecting? Too many of us think that there’s no way to fix everyday concerns after a pregnancy, such as pelvic floor issues, exhaustion and burnout, and getting back into a fitness routine. But it’s simply not true. With this revolutionary resource in hand, you’ll learn what happens to the body during pregnancy and childbirth, common changes in function and feeling, and solutions for healing. a complete reference guide for every eventuality, from making sure you’re getting enough fluids to troubleshooting breastfeeding to pelvic floor recovery, with helpful illustrations and photos throughout. While your body is undoubtedly different (after all, you just grew a human!), you do not have to live with pain, incontinence, weakness, or nursing/feeding stress.
—Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian