Nancy Wainer Cohen

Read anything and everything you can by Nancy Wainer Cohen to learn some things you probably never knew about the non-scientific basis for many of the common pregnancy and birth interventions.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" published by La Leche League International is the Bible on breastfeeding. It will answer all your questions about the common concerns of breastfeeding.

Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally

"Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally" by Janet Balaskas. This book teaches mothers to follow their insticts and use their bodies actively in labor. My personal favorite for practical advice on coping with labor.

Recommended Magazines

I suggest people in Australia buy the following magazines. These two magazines are full of down to earth stories written by new partents and also give lots of professional medical advice. They provide helpful information on pregnancy, childbirth and paretnhood.

Australian Mother and Baby
Practical Parenting

Your Fertility Signals

The book "Your Fertility Signals: Using Them to Achieve or Avoid Pregnancy Naturally" by Merryl Winstein is a great resource. It has an easy-to-use format and explains both the facts about how things like mucous and temperature changes can predict fertility, as well as practical tips for using these.

A Good Birth, A Safe Birth

"A Good Birth, A Safe Birth" by Diana Korte and Roberta M. Scaer should be required reading for every woman contemplating pregnancy. Chapters include "If You Don´t Know Your Options, You Don´t Have Any," "Finding Doctor Right," and "How to Have a Normal Vaginal Birth (and Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean.)"

Pinpointing Ovulation

Many women trying to conceive often don't know their own menstrual cycle. One important key to knowing your most fertile times is to know your cycle, know how long it lasts thus being able to pinpoint ovulation times.

Most women ovulate 14 days before her menstrual period begins. This means if your cycle is 28 days long, you will most likely ovulate on day 14. If your cycle is 35 days long, then you will most likely ovulate on day 21.

Women should try to conceive on her most fertile days. She should have sexual intercourse anywhere from one to two days before she ovulates up to around one day after ovulation starts.

Another suggestion to pinpoint most fertile days is to use an ovulation calculator. An ovulation calculator is a calculator in which you input your last menstrual cycle and how long it lasts. With this information, the calculator will tell you what your most fertile dates for conception will be.

A good ovulation calculator can be found online on such sites as this: http://www.babycenter.com/calculators/ovulation/