When it comes to birth and breastfeeding,  reading fiction is nice, but simple facts and up-to-date, purposeful, information is best. Here are my top picks, must-read books:

If you were 37 weeks pregnant, with almost no time left before the big day, I’d say go for these two:

• Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth: It is very inspirational and opens you to possibilities you would not have expected. Plus, when you know how many links there are between the birthing process and the success of breastfeeding, it just makes sense to prepare for birth just as much as for breastfeeding.

• Jack Newman’s Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers: I’ll never say enough good of this book. Not only is it very interesting to read, it is also sooo helpful. 

Most of us give birth in hospitals, even though we now know that home births are just as safe (I’d say they are even safer than hospital births, since there are much less interventions). But I do not want to get into this home birth vs hospital birth debate now, and simply give you a couple of book titles to read if you are planning a hospital birth. I find these books especially important since it is really hard to make decisions when you are on the spot. It is better to know what can happen so you can prepare accordingly. If, after reading these books, you still trust your health practitioner, it will at least not be blindly :

*Hospital Births*

• Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. Ina May Gaskin does it a little bit at the end of her book, these girls go into more detail: they break down each intervention and weigh their risks and benefits. They also tell you how they are connected to other elements in the whole birthing experience.

• Birthing From Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz

• Penny Simkin’s The Birth Partner, for mothers just as much as for partners/fathers/doulas.

• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer.

Flickr/Faeryan