The Book I Wish I’d Had For My First Pregnancy

Heather Dessinger

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mama natural pregnancy birth book

What I imagined my first pregnancy would be like: Take test. Positive! Look in the mirror and notice awesome pregnancy glow, pick up helpful books, rock pregnancy and birth.

What it was actually like: Realize I’m probably pregnant as I polish off a 24 ounce jar of olives in bed. Take a test plus three more just to be sure. Buy pregnancy books. Throw pregnancy books in the bottom drawer of bedside table, research my own path to rocking pregnancy and birth.

Back then, there wasn’t a comprehensive guide written from a natural perspective. I had to navigate a lot on my own, which meant figuring out how to choose a prenatal, encourage my breech baby to flip (she did), and decide whether or not to drink the glucola. Unfortunately, there were some things I didn’t learn about until later, like the benefits of skin-to-skin care after birth.

Y’all, The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth is the book I wish I’d had. Genevieve is like a friend taking you on a sacred journey, sharing wisdom that is both evidence-based and rooted in traditional wisdom. She’ll answer all your questions . . . even the ones you haven’t thought of yet.

mama natural birth book

4 Reasons I Love This Book

1. It’s written for people who don’t want to read a boring medical textbook.

The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth is beautifully illustrated and written with real mamas in mind. Genevieve literally had me crying in the opening pages as she talked about her own birth experiences, and the whole book feels like a fascinating conversation instead of a list of do’s and don’ts. (Weird fact, Genevieve and I birthed our babies within 24 hours of each other, and then three years later we did it again.)

2. It offers a natural perspective.

With insights from Cynthia Mason, CNM, APN and Maura Winkler, RN, CD, IBCLC, Genevieve covers:

  • Pregnancy diet guidelines based on real food principles
  • Natural remedies for common pregnancy symptoms
  • How to create a birth plan that actually gets read
  • The benefits and risks of “routine” pregnancy and labor procedures
  • Helping baby get optimally positioned for birth
  • Natural pain relief during labor
  • Benefits of delayed cord clamping
  • Placenta encapsulation (Including why you might want to do it, and why not)
  • How to have a gentle caesarean
  • Recovery and breastfeeding tips

As you can see from the 97% five star rating on Amazon (with 364 reviews and counting), Genevieve’s book has been very well received by the natural community. However, there has been some discussion regarding the section on circumcision. Although Genevieve has posted before on the subject, she released a statement saying that she feels like she missed an opportunity in that section and will be expanding it to focus on the benefits of keeping boys intact. I very much look forward to reading it.

3. The Labor Playbook

When it comes to labor, sometimes instinct takes over, but in my experience it usually takes awhile to get in the zone. The Labor Playbook is a stage-by-stage guide to birth that suggests positions – with illustrations – that you can try until you find something that feels right. It also includes ideas for how your partner can support you.

4. It can help change the birth culture in our country

Why is mainstream medicine beginning to embrace food as medicine, the gut brain connection, and other ideas that were previously dismissed? Because us, that’s why.

We’re educating ourselves, asking for more integrative care, and sharing what we’ve learned with others . . . and it’s making a difference. Our choices are affecting other industries, too – stores are dedicating more and more shelf space to non-toxic products, organic food, etc. I love that this shift increases access to healthier options for all families, not just ours.

That’s why I want to see this book in stores like Babies R Us and even Walmart, where – as Genevieve mentioned in this post on preparing for a natural birth – it will reach people who may have never heard about:

  • Delayed cord clamping, which boosts baby’s iron stores by 30% and improves fine motor skills and social development later in life.
  • Skin-to-skin contact, which regulates baby’s body temperature and blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and helps initiate early breastfeeding.
  • Gentle cesarean, which can “seed” baby’s microbiome, eliminate fluids from baby’s lungs, while empowering the mama.
  • Or the importance of eating during labor!!!

But in order to get into mainstream retailers, we need to show those stores that we want this game changing book.

Ready to get your copy?

Mama Natural Week By Week Guide To Pregnancy Childbirth book cover

Whether you’re a hopeful mama-to-be or pregnant, I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth.

Even if you aren’t TTC/pregnant, you could:

  • Donate your copy to a local library
  • Give it to a pregnant or TTC friend
  • Share it with your midwife, OB/GYN or chiropractor as these people are huge influencers
  • Pass it along in your local mom’s group
  • Give it to a church or community center

Thank you for all you are doing to help improve birth in our country: sharing pregnancy and birth articles, your own experiences, and helping to get the word out about this book. Muah!

Click here to buy The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth

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About HEATHER

Heather is a holistic health educator, herbalist, DIYer, Lyme and mold warrior. Since founding Mommypotamus.com in 2009, Heather has been taking complicated health research and making it easy to understand. She shares tested natural recipes and herbal remedies with millions of naturally minded mamas around the world. 

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4 thoughts on “The Book I Wish I’d Had For My First Pregnancy”

  1. Sure looks like a wonderful resource I love your idea of donating a copy to local libraries to help spread the word. 🙂

    It’s been quite some time since our last was born but you are right having a book like this back then would have been wonderful. We did go to a more natural birth center for our last child and it was a such a positive experience wish we would have known about that option for the first two.

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  2. Thanks so much Heather! I always love your book reviews because they’re so thoughtful and thorough. So appreciate your support of my third “baby” 🙂 Xoxo

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  3. I agree! I’m a midwife and a mom of three that were all born in the water so I’m very familiar with natural birth. This book is awesome! I included it in my top 8 books for pregnancy and breastfeeding because it is just so great. It covers EVERYTHING….and to top it all off …. it’s PRETTY! 🙂 Thanks for giving her such a great review!

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  4. I’m so glad I found this blog and this book! I’m pregnant for the first time and was desperate for a book that will calmly and naturally guide me. This book is just the right thing. So much helpful information written in a friendly, non-judgementmental way. With the weekly layout, the small doses of information make it easy to digest.

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