I don’t have a deep reflection this month. Although the endless ups and downs both of chemo as well as the Michigan weather have got me going crazy, this month's blog is straight forward. I just wanted to give out one of my golden nugget resources that I usually suggest to each family as they are preparing for birth. 

There are so many books out there with so many different opinions. What books should you pick up that are going to be both educational and encouraging for the labor you want to have? What book should you even start with on this journey to inform you of all the decisions you feel looming ahead of you. Some may be excited by these choices, but I have had many conversations with women, especially in their first pregnancy, that feel overwhelmed by information. 

The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin is one of the best resources out there, in my opinion. I bring this book to every labor! I just keep it in my birth bag - ready to reference at any point. And I will tell you why. 

I was first introduced to this book by my doula mentor (the woman who guided me through my doula training and who I shadowed at my first birth as a doula). I asked her for resources and she quickly handed this to me. Many birth books explain what is going on in labor and what it means for you. But the reason why I like this book so much is it also explains at each stage what your partner can be doing in those moments and what the doula would naturally be doing at those stages too. It not only gives you insight into what is going on with your body stage by stage but also what the people around you could be doing to support progress and good pain management! 

I always bring it to births to reference the positions and movements section. They have pictures of different positions/movements that you could do and the contributions that those positions play in the progress of labor. Side note - I also always bring a few pieces of paper with tons of the labor positions on them to each birth. I find it’s more helpful to look at all of them in the lull of contractions to see what would work for mama. 

I love this book so much that I dedicated a blog to it. It’s just that good. I’m hoping it helps you in your search for good resources and where to start. I’m always here to help and ready to assist you in finding the right resources to help you achieve the labor you desire!!