Holistic pregnancy and childbirth. Your month-by-month guide to the latest therapies, techniques, and natural approaches. For the most rewarding path to a comfortable pregnancy, a shorter labor, and the joyful delivery of a healthy baby, turn to this wise and warm compendium of proven holistic advice. Approved by an advisory board of leaders in obstetrics and holistic medicine, this comprehensive book helps you make the birthing experience the most fulfilling and beautiful of your life. Let the journey begin. Monitor your physical changes and your baby s. Decide where you want to have your baby. Choose a holistic caregiver and prepare a birth plan. Design your optimum diet and personal exercise program. Discover today s holistic techniques for bonding, postpartum recovery, breast-feeding, and much more, including: * Acupuncture and acupressure aromatherapy Ayurvedic medicine * Bach flower remedies breathing techniques botanical medicine * Chiropractic diet and nutrition exercise homeopathy * Hydrotherapy hypnosis intimacy exercises massage * Meditation osteopathy qigong traditional Chinese medicine * Vitamin and mineral therapies yoga Written by Heather Burton, a certified childbirth instructor and founder of the Midwifery Alliance, and James Marti, executive director of the Holistic Medical Research Foundation, Holistic Pregnancy and Childbirth is a refreshing collection of tips to make every month of pregnancy more comfortable. The authors first explain various holistic therapies, from acupuncture and acupressure to massage, meditation, homeopathy, and yoga, then detail their various roles in each month of pregnancy and in the various stages of childbirth and postbirth bonding. For example, moxibustion, an acupuncture technique that involves burning incense-like cones of herbs, has been shown to be almost 75 percent effective in helping babies move out of breech birth position, thereby preventing cesarean sections. Many other facts in the book are also quite revealing, such as that pregnant women who are having marital problems or are feeling a lack of social support are more likely to give birth to colicky babies. Women and their partners who are looking for an empowering resource for a healthier pregnancy will find this book to be a solid reference. It explains the difference between doulas, midwives, and obstetricians; the pros and cons of home births, hospital births, birth centers, and water births; and how to determine which of these options is best for your situation. The herbal and other natural techniques for relieving common pregnancy-related problems, such as sciatic pain and insomnia, are bound to come in handy, as are the "Especially for Fathers" sections throughout the book, with tips on ways to keep the mom-to-be comfortable and happy. Month-by-month checkup forms, a guide for further reading, and lists of dozens of natural-health organizations are also included. --Erica Jorgensen Holistic pregnancy and childbirth. Your month-by-month guide to the latest therapies, techniques, and natural approaches. For the most rewarding path to a comfortable pregnancy, a shorter labor, and the joyful delivery of a healthy baby, turn to this wise and warm compendium of proven holistic advice. Approved by an advisory board of leaders in obstetrics and holistic medicine, this comprehensive book helps you make the birthing experience the most fulfilling and beautiful of your life. Let the journey begin. Monitor your physical changes and your baby?s. Decide where you want to have your baby. Choose a holistic caregiver and prepare a birth plan. Design your optimum diet and personal exercise program. Discover today?s holistic techniques for bonding, postpartum recovery, breast-feeding, and much more, including: Acupuncture and acupressure ? aromatherapy ? Ayurvedic medicine - Bach flower remedies ? breathing techniques ? botanical medicine - Chiropractic ? diet and nutrition ? exercise ? homeopathy - Hydrotherapy ? hypnosis ? intimacy exercises ? massage - Meditation ? osteopathy ? qigong ? traditional Chinese medicine - Vitamin and mineral therapies ? yoga JAMES MARTI is executive director of the Holistic Medical Research Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that investigates a wide variety of holistic and alternative therapies. He is also the author of The Alternative Health and Medicine Encyclopedia. HEATHER BURTON is founder of the Midwifery Alliance and a certified childbirth instructor.