Fertility-related books
“How to Conceive Naturally” is the book that I credit with helping me “fix” my own fertility issues back in 2016. I followed the dietary recommendations, took some of the recommended supplements and was able to resolve my own amenorrhea (loss of period) and get pregnant, since loss of cycle was my main issue.
I have owned the Beautiful Babies book for a while too but haven’t read the whole thing yet. I’m super excited to dive into my latest purchases (the other 4 books) because I want a deeper understanding of various perspectives on fertility and I want to be able to share the best information I can with all of you!
Of course, I will be sharing tidbits as I move through them.
Pregnancy-related books
I was finally able to grab a copy of “Real Food for Pregnancy,” which I can’t wait to dive into as I am pregnant myself!
The rest of the books I already owned and have been helpful to me.
The 2 birthing books (“Mindful Birthing” and “Hypnobirthing”) provide such a different perspective than what we are presented with in our society regarding birth expectations. Both books encourage physiological birth, (which is unmedicated birth, how women birthed before medication and technology) and how to rise above the fear-pain-tension cycle we have been conditioned to expect with childbirth. I will do a separate post soon about this topic since there’s a lot to unpack there!
The other 2 books have info on fertility as well as pregnancy, and I followed along with “How to Conceive Naturally” with all of my pregnancies thus far as it has sections for each trimester.
All of these books come from a more holistic perspective than the typical “What to Expect” books and other pregnancy books out there. While I personally feel most comfortable delivering in a hospital and have great respect for allopathic medicine, I also love a natural approach and perspective when I can get it.
Postpartum-related books
This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good start! If you are interested in reading about any of these areas, PLEASE do not feel like you have to read ALL THE THINGS. It’s something I enjoy doing and information I want to incorporate into my nutrition coaching practice, so that’s why I have so many.
Not interested in pregnancy but still want to learn about hormonal health?
“Woman Code” is not just for fertility health! It’s actually a fantastic how-to book on hormone balancing and learning to work with your body and cycle to maximize your health and remediate hormonal issues. I also loved “The Hormone Cure” by Dr. Sara Gottfried, which is not pictured here. Both of these books tackle many hormonal diagnoses like PCOS, endometriosis and PMS in addition to teaching us about our hormones.
The Fifth Vital Sign: Master your Cycle and Optimize your Fertility I have not read this one yet but I have heard great things about it. The fifth vital sign referred to is your period/cycle, and this book highlights the insights that our cycle can tell us about our overall health.