A humorous and heartfelt autobiographical comic essay of a manga artist new to the challenges of motherhood! Follow her journey as she learns the ins and outs of pregnancy and childbirth-and the impossibility of finding comfy maternity underwear!

As featured on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 5 Live Selected as one of the Independent’s 10 best pregnancy books for expectant parents Birth is a feminist issue. It’s the feminist issue nobody’s talking about.

Women are valued for their ability to bear children in many cultures. The birth process, though supposedly the most painful experience of a woman’s life, is seen as a necessary evil to achieve the end goal of children and motherhood. And yet, in the face of a typically masculinized Christianity that nevertheless professes that women are equally created in the image of God, shouldn’t childbirth—a uniquely feminine experience—itself shape Christian women’s souls and teach them about the heart of the God they love and follow? Drawing on her own experience of giving birth and motherhood—and the conflicting assumptions attached to them, by Christians and the culture at large—Aubry G. Smith presents a richly scriptural exploration of common conceptions about pregnancy and childbirth that will not only help mothers and soon-to-be mothers understand how to think biblically about birth, but also walks them through how to put the ideas into practice in their own lives. Along the way, she shows all readers how to see God’s own experience of the birth process—and how childbirth leads to a deeper understanding of the gospel overall.

Unassisted birth. Freebirth. Self-directed birth. An undisturbed birth sounds great in theory, but how is it done?Whether you want practical guidance for an unassisted birth or simply want to deepen your understanding of natural birth in general, this book is the how-to manual you've been waiting for.Introducing the idea of a Brave New Birth - any birth where the mother and baby are free to birth by instinct and are given the privacy and safety necessary for the body and baby to birth themselves, without interference, intervention, or being watched/measured/observed.Here's a short list of what we'll cover inside this book: ?Learn 9 core ideas underlying unassisted birth. ?Decide whether freebirth is for you. ?Plan and prepare during an autonomous pregnancy. ?Explore basic biological truths and decode sensations. ?Understand the natural flow of labor, variations of normal, and red flags to look out for.The information found in Brave New Birth can be applied to any natural birth - at home, in the hospital, or during an emergency - with or without a caregiver.MULTIMEDIA EDITION: Includes access to our private doula-run support group, private how-to video library, printables library, and the forthcoming audiobook version, so you can learn on the go.

Shy Miwa has always dreamed of finding love, but living in small-town Japan made finding the right match difficult—especially since she likes girls! Even going away to college didn’t seem to help, until one day her outgoing classmate Saeko suggests they might as well start dating each other since it’s not like either of them has other options. At first it seems like things won't work out as their personalities clash and misunderstandings abound. But when their casual friendship starts to become something more, Miwa begins to wonder—can a pragmatic proposal lead to true love? -- VIZ Media

"What a gift to new and expecting moms. You have no idea the mountain and rollercoaster you're about to embark on, but Nurture somehow gives you a peek in and gives you essential information to help ground you." –Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious and One Potato A comprehensive and judgement-free pregnancy companion: Nurture is the only all-in-one pregnancy and birthing book for modern mothers-to-be and their partners who want a more integrative approach. Author Erica Chidi Cohen has assisted countless births and helped hundreds of families ease into their new roles through her work as a doula. Nurture covers everything from the beginning months of pregnancy to the baby's first weeks. This empowering book includes: • Supportive self-care and mindfulness exercises, trimester-specific holistic remedies, nourishing foods and recipes for every month of pregnancy, and expert tips for every birth environment. • More than 40 charming and helpful illustrations, charts, and lists can be found throughout. • Dozens of important topics that every modern mom needs to know including fetal development, making choices for a hospital, home or birth center birth, the basics of breastfeeding, tips on what to expect postpartum, and more. Nurture is an all-inclusive pregnancy and birthing guide book that gives soon-to-be mothers and their partners the information they need to make decisions, feel confident, and enjoy the beauty of creating new life. Nurture is a thoughtful and helpful gift for expecting mothers and their partners. Erica Chidi is co-founder and CEO of Loom in Los Angeles, CA. She began her work in San Francisco, volunteering as a doula within the prison system, working with pregnant inmates. She went on to build a successful doula and health education practice in Los Angeles and has been featured in Women's Health, Vogue, Goop, The Cut and Marie Claire.

Work out what kind of birth you really want, and learn how to maximise your chances of getting it, in this refreshing, warm and witty guide to pregnancy, birth and the early weeks. Packed with vital and cutting-edge information on everything from building the ultimate birth plan, to your choices and rights in the birth room; from optimal cord clamping, to seeding the microbiome; from the inside track on breastfeeding, to woman-centred caesarean, The Positive Birth Book shows you how to have the best possible birth, regardless of whether you plan to have your baby in hospital, in the birth centre, at home or by elective caesarean. Find out how the environment you give birth in, your mindset and your expectations can influence the kind of birth you have, and be inspired by the voices of real women, who tell you the truth about what giving birth really feels like. Challenging negativity and fear of childbirth, and brimming with everything you need to know about labour, birth, and the early days of parenting, The Positive Birth Book is the must-have birth book for women of the 21st century.

Discover your roadmap to a positive birth! A positive birth comes in many forms - for some it's an early effective epidural for another it's a serene water birth or a calm planned cesarean. What we know for sure is that a positive birth is defined by YOU - not your best friend, Mom or even your OB or Midwife. The award winning GentleBirth program combines brain science, birth science and technology so you can feel inspired, excited and uplifted every day of your pregnancy - and beyond! Every woman wants a safe, positive gentle birth - for themselves and for their baby. Midwife, GentleBirth Founder and positive birth expert Tracy Donegan shows you how as she guides you step by step including the following: Practical tools to prepare you and your partner for a positive birth - as defined by YOU! Use brain science to reduce pain and fear in labor. Discover the ultimate stress reduction toolkit of techniques of simple meditation, hypnosis and sport psychology. Train your brain for confidence and resilience - long after your baby arrives Learn breathing techniques that work. Navigate your options with confidence for a GentleBirth for you and your baby.

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK * INDIE NEXT SELECTION * LIBRARY READS SELECTION * AMAZON EDITORS' CHOICE * WASHINGTON POST BEST OF THE YEAR The "terrifying, wise, tender, and thrilling" (R.O. Kwon) adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West. In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all. Featuring an irresistibly no-nonsense, courageous, and determined heroine, Outlawed dusts off the myth of the old West and reignites the glimmering promise of the frontier with an entirely new set of feminist stakes. Anna North has crafted a pulse-racing, page-turning saga about the search for hope in the wake of death, and for truth in a climate of small-mindedness and fear.

In Belabored, Lyz Lenz will "make you cry in one paragraph and snort-laugh in the next" (Chloe Angyal, contributing editor at MarieClaire.com). Written with a blend of wit, snark, and raw intimacy, Belabored is an impassioned and irreverent defense of the autonomy, rights, and dignity of pregnant people. Lenz shows how religious, historical, and cultural myths about pregnancy have warped the way we treat pregnant people: when our representatives enact laws criminalizing abortion and miscarriage, when doctors prioritize the health of the fetus over the life of the pregnant patient in front of them, when baristas refuse to serve visibly pregnant women caffeine. She also reflects on her own experiences of carrying her two children and seeing how the sacrifices demanded during pregnancy carry over seamlessly into the cult of motherhood, where women are expected to play the narrowly defined roles of "wife" and "mother" rather than be themselves. Belabored is an urgent call for us to trust women and let them choose what happens to their own bodies, from a writer who "is on a roll" (Bitch Magazine).