Resources for your birthing journey

Learn about racism in birth & reproductive health disparities
Black Mamas Matter: Advancing the Human Right to Safe and Respectful Maternal Health Care
Taproot Doula Project, Why Fund BIPOC in birth?
National Partnership for Women & Families Maternity Care Reports
Reproductive Injustice: Racial and Gender Discrimination in U.S. Health Care via the Center for Reproductive Justice, SisterSong, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
The extraordinary danger of being pregnant and uninsured in Texas, a reported piece from Vox and ProPublica

Books
Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel Reed
The First Time Parent’s Childbirth Handbook by Dr. Stephanie Mitchell
Transformed by Birth by Britta Bushnell
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
Ancient Map for Modern Birth by Pam England
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Penny Simkin, April Bolding & Ann Keppler
Active Birth by Janet Balaskas
Nurture by Erica Chidi Cohen
Like a Mother by Angela Garbes
Breastfeeding Made Simple by Nancy Mohrbacher
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding from La Leche League
Mothering the New Mother by Sally Placksin
The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson

Articles
Why Are We Only Talking About “Mom Books” By White Women?
The More I Learn About Breast Milk, The More Amazed I Am
How to Mine an Uninvited Birth Story for Gold
Tips for Labor Progress
Professional Recommendations to Limit Birth Interventions
How to Do Reverse Kegels
How to Do Perineal Massage to Help Prevent Tearing
Phases of Labor
"Am I in Labor?" cheat sheet
Have a Safe & Satisfying Birth
Hormones & Labor Pain
Birth & Baby's First Hour
Working through fears of birth & labor

Movies & videos
The Business of Being Born
Watch how contractions work on the uterus here.
Here’s a visual representation of how the cervix thins during labor.
Watch this very retro (but awesome!) video of births in squatting positions here.
Watch the five baby words to look for from 0-3 months.
How to do a Psoas Release Exercise - a crucial muscle to release leading up to birth!
Here's how to do Side Lying Release - another favorite third-trimester practice for physical comfort & pelvic floor release
Teach yourself Hand Expression
And learn Deep Latch Techniques for Pain-Free Breastfeeding
Hypnobirthing Midwife Youtube Channel, lots of educational videos on breathing, perineal massage and so much more
Practice Ice Contractions Exercise
Transformed by Birth with Britta Bushnell short Youtube series

Podcasts
Prenatal Yoga Center’s Yoga|Birth|Babies
* Reducing Unnecessary Cesarean Birth with Dr. Neel Shah
Birthful Podcast
* Listen here >>
Evidence Based Birth Podcast
* Listen here >>
Informed Pregnancy Podcast
* Listen here >>

Websites
Gilligan’s Guide - for learning about optimal fetal positioning
Spinning Babies - all about optimal fetal positioning
Miles Circuit - movements for early labor & comfort in pregnancy
Birth Monopoly - includes info on human rights in birth, obstetric violence & birth trauma
Birth Rights - learn about your human rights during labor & birth
KellyMom - answers to all your breastfeeding questions
Evidence-Based Birth - analyzes research on MANY hot-button birth topics
VBAC Facts - for all things birth-after-cesarean

Infant & Child development resources
The Babies Project: Preparing for Caring
7 Tips for Making Tummy Time Less Miserable, from a pediatric Occupational Therapist
How to Play with Your Newborn Baby
How to Roll Your Newborn Into & Out of Tummy Time. Start tummy time as soon as you can!
Read The Whole Brain Child.
Read The Baby Settler.
Read Touchpoints: Birth to Three.