3 Books That Will Help You Achieve A Naturally Healthy Pregnancy

When I think back to my first pregnancy, I remember it being a time of great joy… as well as a time of uncertainty.

I didn’t know the first thing about being pregnant or what to do to nourish my baby other than eating a healthy diet.

Sure my OB-GYN gave me some handouts to read, but I already knew I wanted to have a different kind of pregnancy than they were recommending. I wanted to skip many of the unnecessary interventions, I didn’t want to take synthetic vitamins, and I wanted to deliver my baby without medication of any sort.

Ultimately, I wanted my pregnancy to be as natural and healthy as possible… but I didn’t know where to begin.

Benefiting From The Experiences Of Others… Or Not

I knew from the moment I was pregnant that I was going to have to reach out to other women who’d been down this road before.

Thankfully my mother-in-law had delivered five children, and she was a huge help to me during this time. Unfortunately, pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding were not things she remembered fondly. She also didn’t have much experience with doing things naturally and couldn’t stand the thought of labor and delivery with no pain medicine. No matter, she gave me a lot of good advice and was 100% behind me doing things naturally as she too had started learning more about the benefits of natural living.

This was also true of my own mother’s experience delivering me. I remember hearing all of the downsides or struggles surrounding that event, but not much about the joys or benefits of it. Sure, my mom was very supportive of me taking the natural approach to pregnancy, labor, and delivery, but she didn’t have a lot of experience to share with me.

I knew that I needed to seek out moms who had experience with natural pregnancies. 

I wanted to be able to look back on this time in my life and see happiness and peace. I wanted to be able to share my birth experiences with my own children one day in a positive light.

Now, after four pregnancies, I have what I hoped for… good memories that can encourage other mamas who want to pursue natural pregnancy and delivery for themselves. I can also see how my own experiences have now changed my mother-in-law and my own mom’s outlook on this time of life as well.

How To Get An Education In Naturally Healthy Pregnancies

When it came to finding other women that lived naturally and had healthy pregnancies and deliveries, the first thing I did was to search the internet for any information I could find on having a naturally healthy pregnancy.

My search led me to Well Tell Me, a free forum where people would share information on natural living and health. 

It was a God-send for me. I learned so much, and I met so many amazing people through that site who are still online friends to this day. The site is no longer active although all of the information can still be accessed. Most of us have moved over to a private Facebook group.

Through Well Tell Me, I developed a thirst for knowledge on natural living… and not just related to pregnancy. This is where I found the majority of the books that helped me learn how to approach my pregnancies, labors, and deliveries from a natural perspective. They helped me to learn what was going on with my body, how to nourish and support it during this time, how to address ailments in a natural manner, and how to make it through delivery without pain meds.

Well Tell Me was that start of it all for me… living life naturally that is, and getting pregnant was THE thing that led me to find it in the first place.

I’m not sure what your “thing” is that has given you the desire to live life naturally, but if it’s pregnancy, then I think you’ll like what I have for you today.

Below, I want to share 3 of my absolute favorite books on naturally healthy pregnancies with you. I still, to this day, go back and reference these books when I need info on a particular pregnancy topic.

3 Books That Will Help You Achieve A Naturally Healthy Pregnancy

1. Making Babies by Shoshanna Easling

When it comes to having a healthy pregnancy, motivation can sometimes be lacking. Especially when you’re feeling fat and tired. That’s where this book comes into play.

Making Babies is a DVD and book combo that follows herbalist, Shoshanna Easling through her entire 9 months of pregnancy as well as through the labor and delivery of her baby. It’s a 3 part series that takes you through the entire process naturally and healthily from pre-conception to postpartum, it’s full of healthy food recipes and herbal remedies to help make your pregnancy healthy and natural, and it’s a definite must in my opinion!

I like to watch these videos at different times during my pregnancy… usually, when I’m getting ready to go into a new trimester and I want to know what I should be doing in the coming months. Shoshanna is fun to watch and she really makes eating healthy and using herbs more like play than work!

2. The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy by Shonda Parker

This book is a great book if you’re looking for specifics on nutrition during pregnancy as well as how to approach common pregnancy ailments using herbs and nutritional supplements.

It’s written from a Christien perspective by an herbalist who has not only been through several natural pregnancies herself, but she’s also worked with many women over the years to help them have their own natural pregnancies, labors, and deliveries.

The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy book covers information on how your body changes during pregnancy, common pregnancy complaints and how to manage them naturally, labor and delivery, the postpartum period, breastfeeding, nutrition, miscarriage, natural family planning, and more.

3. Natural Childbirth – The Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon

I love this book so much! I wish I’d had it for my first labor and delivery. Maybe things wouldn’t have been so long and drawn out that way! 

Natural Childbirth – The Bradley Way focuses on teaching you what your body is doing during labor and how to relax and work with contractions so you can have a quicker, easier labor. (Caution…mature images. Don’t leave this one laying around for your kiddos to find!)

This is not a book to pick up 2 weeks before your due date. Oh no, mama. You need to read this baby and practice teaching yourself how to relax so when the time comes, you are calm, cool, and collected. You can do it! 

Since finding this book, I have had 3 labor and deliveries that were all very managable, void of screaming and yelling like women in labor on TV, and a good experience for everyone involved. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

For The Mama Who Desires A Natural Pregnancy

You can do it! There is hope, and there is a way. 

I have found that the first step in having a naturally healthy pregnancy is to want it. Next, do everything you can to learn how to stay healthy. Keep yourself away from processed foods, toxins, and synthetic supplements. Exercise and do things that bring you happieness and joy. After that, put what you have learned into action.

Anyway, I hope this has given you a bit more insight into how I do things when I’m pregnant. 

Now it’s your turn!

Do you have a favorite book that you’ve used to have a naturally healthy pregnancy? If so, what is it? Share it with me in the comment section below.