Mindful Birthing Book: Train Your Mind, Body & Heart for Childbirth & Motherhood | Pregnancy Meditation Guide for Expecting Mothers | Perfect for Prenatal Yoga & Natural Birth Preparation

This is the best possible book I could have read before giving birth to my daughter. I was really worried about the childbirth process, and the class my husband and I took actually made me more nervous, not less (I felt that it focused too much on all the things that can go wrong and not enough on techniques to stay calm and problem solve). Several women in my family have wound up having emergency c-sections, and their stories had me worried. This book really helped me change that outlook and gave my husband and I a ton of great tools for labor and delivery (as well as some great perspective on how to approach new parenthood!).A lot of the techniques in the book are similar to what you might learn in a childbirth class or in other books on relaxation techniques. But what sets this book apart for me was its wholistic approach to the process. I love that the book speaks to every childbirth experience, from home birth to drug-free to c-section, without judgment. Instead, the focus is on staying present in the process and finding ways to ensure that you and your partner (and doula, doctor/midwife, or other helpers) can deal with wherever the process leads and make decisions that feel right for you. Instead of being afraid of an emergency c-section, I began focusing on my physical experience and the mindfulness methods at my disposal to handle the pain and make sure I delivered a healthy baby.In the end, many things about my birth experience went as planned (who was in the room, the way my daughter was delivered, and how we recovered afterwards). Other things didn't, like when the birth happened and my hope to go drug free. But through it all, I felt calm and in control (to a point, you can't control everything, but importantly, I didn't feel like I was at the mercy of my doctor or hospital policy). I really credit this book and the mindfulness work I did before birth, including a meditation practice, with helping get me to that point.Bonus: I love the chapter at the end on maintaining mindfulness after your baby is born, especially the part about shifting from "Industrial Time" to "Agrarian Time". It's one of the shortest sections of the book, but it really stuck with me, especially during those challenging first few months when we were both exhausted and everything is new and a little scary. I still find myself using mindfulness techniques with my daughter a year later, and I sense these tools and techniques will be helpful for many years to come.