This is a short list of some of the classics I recommend to women for their pregnancies and births. There are so many books out there for specific interests from sibling preparation, prenatal yoga and how your dog will react to the new baby. Let me know if there is something in particular you are looking for...

Spiritual Midwifery by Ina Mae Gaskin
Great birth stories, she also now has an updated new book.

• Ina Mae’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina Mae Gaskin
  Fewer birth stories, with a more experienced message about normal birth.
• Birthing From Within by Pam England
  Exploring the creative and emotional side of birth and pregnancy.
• Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin
  An classic, but still relevant.
• Pregnant Feelings by Rahima Baldwin and Terra Palmarini Richardson
  Exercises for developing trust in birth.
• Birth Without Violence by Frederick Leboyer
  Another classic with a strong message.
• After Baby’s Birth a Women’s Way to Wellness by Robin Lim
  
 Life postpartum—get ready for the road ahead!
• Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League
  Everything you need to know about breastfeeding.
• Ourselves and Our Children by Boston Women Health Book Collective
  A book by and for parents.

Mothering, Hip Mama, Complete Mother and Brain, Child
Magazines offering creative support for mothers and parents.
• Birth by Tina Cassidy
  A reporter looks at the business of birth.
• Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper
  Focusing on waterbirth.
• The Baby Book by Sears & Sears
  Solid advice for parents.

• www.northlandbirthnetwork.org
  The Northland Birth Network offers monthly parent topic meetings, bi-annual Pregnancy Info Fairs, and much more. Please join and support the good work of the Northland Birth Network! Come to Birth Stories night—check out the online calendar.
• http://www.womencirclingwomen.com/
  Women Circling Women, by our own Stacy Holden, offers prenatal yoga, Mother Song, and annual retreats. Don’t miss this yoga class!
• http://www.lllusa.org/web/DuluthMN.html
  La Leche League: Your local breastfeeding experts. A huge lending library, lots of like-minded women, and the best advice you’ll find.
• http://www.birthingways.org/
  Birthing Ways Doula Connection provides trained, community-based doulas for mothers and families in need.
• http://ican-online.org/chapter/search
  The local chapter of International Caesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) meets monthly in Duluth.
• http://www.duluthnaturalparentinggroup.org/
  (Duluth Natural Parenting Group)
• http://magicboxphotography.com/
  Chelsea Morgan’s Magic Box Photography sets the standard for belly pictures. Check out her galleries.
• www.soulfulimagery.com
  Soulful Imagery offers amazing birth and pregnancy photography.

• http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom
  A large, retrospective study of American homebirths, published in British Medical Journal.
• http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/safety.pdf
  Fact Sheet on homebirth safety by the national organization Citizens for Midwifery.
• http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/MSM_96_24/MSM_96_24_table_of_contents.en.html
  The World Health Organization’s conclusion: “Studies of planned home births in developed countries with women who have had uncomplicated pregnancies have shown sickness and death rates for mother and baby equal to or better than hospital birth statistics for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. It has never been scientifically proven that the hospital is a safer place than home for a woman who has had an uncomplicated pregnancy to have her baby.”
• http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/homebirth.html
  A privately-maintained list of homebirth and out-of-hospital studies.
• http://www.globalmidwives.org/files/Article-homebirth-safety.pdf Another compilation of studies by Michael J. Stark, Ph.D. for the Maryland Friends of Midwives.
• http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/technologyinbirth.asp#why
  “Technology in Birth: First Do No Harm” by Marsden Wagner, MD
• http://www.childbirthconnection.org/
  The Childbirth Connection is a source for trustworthy, up-to-date, evidence-based information and resources on planning for pregnancy, labor & birth, and the postpartum period.
• http://www.motherfriendly.org/
  Coalition for Improving Maternity Services: Organizations, professionals, advocates, and families who share a commitment to making Mother-Friendly Care a reality.
• http://www.lamaze.org/Default.aspx?tabid=171 T
  he Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth supports initiatives that provide credible, relevant and useful information about normal birth to new and expectant parents and childbirth professionals.

• http://mana.org/pdfs/CPMIssueBrief.pdf
  Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs)—our training, credentialing process, national exams, and maintenance.
• http://mana.org/about.html
  MANA: An organization of North American Midwives and their advocates.
• http://www.narm.org/
  The North American Registry of Midwives: An international certification agency whose mission is to establish and administer certification for the credential "Certified Professional Midwife" (CPM)
• http://www.wisconsinguildofmidwives.org/
  The Wisconsin Guild of Midwives
• http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/
  The Big Push for Midwives is working to legalize out-of-hospital birth and midwifery in all 50 states.
• http://cfmidwifery.org/
  Citizens for Midwifery is a national consumer-based group promoting the Midwives Model of Care.
• http://mfmidwifery.org/
  Minnesotans for Midwifery is a grass-roots citizens' organization promoting midwife-attended births at home, in birth centers, and in hospitals throughout Minnesota

• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/health/07birth.html
  (Lessons at Indian Hospital About Births from NYTimes)
• http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/95188129.html
  (High-Tech birts vs. nature’s way from Minneapolis StarTribune)
• http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/
  (Midwives are common, c-sections rare from Minneapolis StarTribune)
• http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2010/the-best-and-worst-places.html
  (The Best and Worst Places to be a Mother)
• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/garden/13birth.html
  New York Times: “Baby, You’re Home”
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-23-childbirth_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
  Midwife Ina Mae Gaskin featured in USA Today.
• http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/24/opinion/oe-block24
  (LA Times) commentary on birth in America, by Jennifer Block.
• http://mothersnaturally.org/pdfs/whatIsABabyCatcher.pdf
  (“What’s a Baby Catcher?”) from Pregnancy Magazine
• http://www.utne.com/2007-03-01/DrugsKnivesandMidwives.aspx
  (“Drugs, Knives, and Midwives”) in the Utne Reader.
• http://www.newsweek.com/id/113700
  “The Delivery Debate” in Newsweek Magazine
• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?&entry_id=31189
  “Birthing the Old Fashioned Way” in The San Francisco Chronicle
• http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/midwives-found-to-aid-babies-survival/2008/10/09/1223145542010.html
  Women cared for by midwives rather than MDs are less likely to lose their babies within the first six months of their pregnancies.
• http://www.utne.com/2007-03-01/MidwiferysRenaissance.aspx
  “Midwifery's Renaissance” by Dr. Marsden Wagoner in Utne Reader.
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-08-childbirth-costs_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip
  The costs and risks of obstetric intervention in USA Today.
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-08-childbirth-fixes_n.htm
  USA Today article on how to fix our national obstetric crisis.
• http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,276422,00.html
  (Fox News) “Deciding How, Where to Give Birth”
• http://www.consumerreports.org/health/medical-conditions-treatments/pregnancy-childbirth/maternity-care/overview/maternity-care.htm
  (Consumer Reports) says there are too many obstetric interventions.

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92641635
  NPR story on birth in The Netherlands.
• http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL2691216820080327
  Dutch birth from Reuters.
• http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1448444
  Midwives and doctors work together in Sweden to make maternal mortality one of the lowest in the world.
• http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/verticalbirthing
  Vertical birthing saves lives in rural Peru.
• http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24081867-2,00.html
  How about a four-star post-partum recovery? That’s what Australia offers…
• http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1007636.html
  The politics of birth in Israel.
• http://www.ubumama.org/
  “Ubumama” is a Zulu word for motherhood and an arts-based project dedicated to bringing mothers' stories of giving birth in the developing world into public view, to honor the lives of mothers and to increase the commitment to saving the lives of women dying in childbirth.
• http://www.whiteribbonalliance.org/index.cfm
  The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood is an international coalition of individuals and organizations formed to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns in the developing, as well as, developed countries.

• http://www.midwiferytoday.com/ Midwifery Today
• http://www.mothering.com/
  Mothering Magazine
• http://mothersnaturally.org/
  Mothers Naturally
• http://www.attachmentparenting.org/
  (Attachment Parenting International)

• http://www.spinningbabies.com/
  Spinning Babies is a unique, step-by-step approach to Optimal Fetal Positioning.
• http://www.birthingfromwithin.com/
  Birthing From Within—find your way with creativity and awakening.
• http://www.hencigoer.com/
  Henci Goer’s “A Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth” website.

• http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/02/17/ptsd_in_childbirth
  (How Birth Caused My PTSD from Slate Magazine)

• http://www.llli.org/
  It doesn’t get any better than La Leche League.
• http://www.lllusa.org/web/DuluthMN.html
  Your local La Leche League. Go to a meeting!
• http://www.drjacknewman.com/
  Dr. Jack Newman’s great articles and how-to videos. If you’re having problems with latch, this is the answer.
• http://www.breastfeeding.com/
  All things breastfeeding!

• http://theshapeofamother.com/
  The Shape of a Mother has photos of real mothers. Spectacular and inspiring.
• http://www.007b.com/breast_gallery.php
  Breasts—what they really look like.
• http://www.maternitygallery.com/
  Look at all the pregnant bellies!
• http://www.pregnancysculpture.com/
  Looking for some belly casting inspiration? These are wonderful!

• http://www.ican-online.org/
  (The International Cesarean Awareness Network) (ICAN) was formed over 25 years ago in order to support women in their journey towards understanding the risks of cesarean section and with the purpose of helping them have healthy births and healthy lives after undergoing the surgery that changed them.
• http://vbac.com/
  (VBAC.com) has resources, VBAC info, and informed consent topics.
• http://slate.msn.com/id/2111499/?GT1=6065
  (The VBAC Backlash from Slate Magazine)

• http://www.dona.org/
  (Get a doula!) Become a doula! Learn more about all things doula!
• http://www.birthingways.org/
  (Birthing Ways Doula Connection) provides trained, community-based doulas for mothers and families in need.

• http://www.waterbirth.org/mc/page.do
  (Waterbirth International). Learn about the benefits of water in labor and delivery.

• http://www.askdrsears.com/
  (Dr Sears is always a good place to start)
• http://www.attachmentparenting.org/
  (Attachment Parenting International)
• http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/
  (The Mother-Baby sleep lab!)

• http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/parents.htm
• http://www.909shot.com/
  (The National Vaccine Information Center), promoting and monitoring a more mindful approach to vaccines.

• http://www.icgi.org/
  International Coalition for Genital Integrity
• http://www.nocirc.org/
  National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers, founded by healthcare professionals to provide information to expectant parents, healthcare professionals, educators, lawyers, ethicists, and concerned individuals about circumcision and genital cutting of male, female, and intersex infants and children, genital integrity, and human rights.

• http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm
  Iron in the vegan diet. Works for vegetarians, as well.
• http://www.weightlossforall.com/iron-rich-food.htm
  List of iron-rich foods with iron content measurements.

• http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Yeast_Infection#What_are_some_easy.2C_at-home_methods_to_rebalance_the_vaginal_pH.3F
  All about yeast infections and how to treat them naturally.

• www.missinggrace.org
  Missing GRACE Foundation provides resources and support for families that have experienced pregnancy loss, infant loss, infertility, or adoption and to advocate for comprehensive, patient-focused prenatal care for all women.
• http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/start.php
  Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep is a network of 6,000 volunteer photographers that will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session at no cost.
• http://www.smdc.org/classes/group_grief.asp
  Duluth area listing of facilitated support groups meeting on the SMDC campus.
• http://themiscarriageblog.blogspot.com/
  A gathering of women experiencing pregnancy loss.
• http://www.ourmiscarriage.com/home.html One couple’s effort to help other’s coping with miscarriage.
• http://aplacetoremember.com/
  A place of information, support and remembrance for those who are grieving a loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.