During pregnancy I dived into reading as many holistic pregnancy books as I could get my hands on. I gravitated more towards holistic pregnancy book styles because I felt they did a great job of taking into account the whole person and were very positive portrayals of the pregnancy experience. I really value books that are well researched, do a great job of analyzing the research, take a natural approach when possible, and view female health through a positive lens.
When it comes to pregnancy, there is so much fear mongering and misinformation out there. It can make preparing for birth really scary and I just didn’t want that approach. I wanted to surround myself with as much positive content as possible.
Most of us have only ever heard birth be talked about in a scary way. It’s rampant in media and in the war stories others share. But what if we could look at it as a positive, beautiful, empowering experience?
My favorite holistic pregnancy books are ones that helped me feel super knowledgeable and positive about birth.
My “birth plan” was mainly to feel empowered and present. I knew I would feel empowered if I felt super educated on all things related to the birth process and also if I felt like I could advocate for myself. I felt I could be present in the experience if I viewed it as a positive one and went into viewing it as a magical experience rather than the typical fear mongering you hear.
I really feel these holistic pregnancy books helped me prep to feel empowered and present. You can read my birth story here.
I did not have an easy pregnancy and did not enjoy pregnancy (don’t let these photos fool you!), but the holistic pregnancy books made me realize what a spiritual and transformative journey I was going through. They really helped me make the most out of the process even though I didn’t necessarily enjoy it.
Before I share the list with you, I want to state, although many of these holistic pregnancy books tend towards the intervention free side of things, I also feel they are very balanced. Whatever decisions you make for your birth are the right choices for you. Feel confident in knowing that and tune all the other noise out.
You can read all the books, take all the classes, and talk to all the people but this journey is yours and yours alone.
Do your homework and then put the books away and listen deep within for what’s true for you. I hope these holistic pregnancy books help you have your best pregnancy and birth experience, whatever that looks like for you!
12 Best Holistic Pregnancy Books For A Better Birth Experience
This post contains affiliate links for holistic pregnancy books
Best Holistic Pregnancy Books:
1 // Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols
Written by a prenatal and postpartum nutritionist, this is THE book to read for learning about pregnancy nutrition needs.
There is unfortunately so much misinformation out there and Lily Nichols really digests the research to bring you the most up to date information so you know exactly what baby needs you to eat for optimal development.
She also includes wonderful meal plans and recipes to help get you going. If you happen to develop gestational diabetes, she also has a book on that.
I even recommend reading this book prior to trying to conceive so that you start pregnancy with great nutrient stores for baby. I shared about our TTC process and my struggles in first trimester in this post.
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2 // Nurture by, Erica Chidi
I truly appreciated the tone of this holistic pregnancy book. It’s a beautiful blend of research backed information, age old wisdom, and mother’s intuition. It has a very gentle tone and is truly holistic in the sense that it covers mind, body, and spirit.
The book covers is broken down monthly and provides recipes, exercises, and information tailored for that month. It’s applicable for everyone no matter where you decide to give birth or what interventions you decide to have.
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3 // The Mama Natural Pregnancy and Childbirth by, Genevieve Howland
This is a week by week guide to pregnancy is perfect for those who prefer a more natural approach. Each week does a deep dive into a focus area such as building a non toxic nursery, optimizing your diet, setting up your baby registry, etc. There are recipes and exercises each week to help support where you’re at in your pregnancy journey.
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4 // Transformed By Birth by, Britta Bushnell
This is exactly the type of holistic pregnancy book I was personally looking for. It took a very spiritual and abstract approach, while not being over the top. The author (a childbirth educator and PHD in Greek mythology) views birth as a metamorphic experience, a rite of passage to the next version of yourself and your relationship. It’s not just about having a baby, it’s meeting who you are becoming.
Bassam and I listened to this book together and did all the exercises. We really wanted to take Britta’s birthing course but it was fully sold out throughout my pregnancy. The book was the next best thing. I really feel the author’s way of storytelling and blending in Greek mythology helped both of us prep our mindsets for birth.
The labyrinth analogy and the exercise of letting go of the things you think you need really stayed with me. I’ve heard many others say the ice challenge helped them the most. Bassam really liked that one but I didn’t resonate with it as much. Definitely do the exercises when reading the book!
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5 // The Positive Birth Book by, Milli Hill
I learned SO much from this book and it really helped me cement what I want and don’t want. It also helped alleviate a lot of fears and learn how to advocate for myself. The book is UK based, but I still found it helpful even though I live in the states. I ended it feeling super empowered and optimistic.
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6 // Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives by, Deepak Chopra
This holistic pregnancy book is not necessarily a must read compared to the others, but I had to include it because I really enjoyed it. I had a really difficult time enjoying my pregnancy with how sick I was and the book just inspired me to slow down and try to create positive experiences for my baby and I. It also reminded me how much the baby can sense within the womb and the importance of taking care of mom during this special time.
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7 // Natural Hospital Birth by, Cynthia Gabriel
This was one of my favorite books. It covered all the basics and more. I learned so incredibly much and felt so confident that I would be able to advocate for myself and know what to do. It was also a positive portrayal of hospital births which I really needed.
I loved so many of the ideas in this book, especially their vision of how to create a birth plan which was different than any others. It was more of a birth experience and vibe. I highly recommend this one.
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8 // Expecting Better by, Emily Oster
This book really should be the What To Expect When You’re Expecting book of our generation. It covers all the basic FAQ in a factual, positive manner. The author is an economist who was frustrated by the lack of accurate research findings when she was pregnant. She decided to dive into the research herself and share the takeaways.
You may be surprised what she found and how she debunks common pregnancy myths. This book helped me feel calmer and make empowered choices throughout my pregnancy.
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9 // It Didn’t Start With You by, Mark Wolynn
While this is not a pregnancy book, I feel it fits in a list of holistic pregnancy books. The author uncovers how many of our traumas are ancestral and not something that originated within us. The research on this topic is preliminary, but very interesting.
PS. If you’re finding yourself having a very stressful pregnancy and this book makes you too anxious, put it down.
Know that you are the perfect parent for your baby and they are getting exactly what they need from you. That being said, even though I had a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy and this book worried me about that, I did find it really useful to understand how that anxiety could potentially impact my baby. It motivated me to prioritize working on it.
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10 // Brain Health From Birth by, Rebecca Fett
This is a fantastic book to understand how to support your baby’s brain through pregnancy and the first year of life. I learned a lot from it and felt empowered that I knew how to take good care of my baby while in utero and beyond.
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11 // Mindful Hypnobirthing by, Sophie Fletcher
The number one recommendation I received when I shared I wanted to try for an unmedicated birth was to try hypnobirthing. While hypnobirthing was not a technique that really resonated with me, I did really enjoy this book.
I listened to it on audio and used the meditations prior to going to sleep or when receiving acupuncture. Even though hypnobirthing wasn’t for me, I could appreciate its benefits and felt calm and relaxed by the read. I do think the book was one of the many that helped me go deeply inward during my birth experience even though I didn’t “hypnobirth”.
12 // Fab Four Pregnancy by, Kelly Leveque
This one isn’t a book, it’s a course, but I just had to include it. I love all of Kelly’s work, but her courses have been absolutely incredible.
Her pregnancy nutrition course is chock full of research and amazing information. I felt so knowledgeable and felt empowered that I’m taking the absolute best care I can of my growing baby (within the extent that I could, considering how sick I was).
My Top Holistic Pregnancy Book Picks:
I know these are a lot of recommendations and it may feel overwhelming to try to read them all. I hope that in looking over the list you will find a few holistic pregnancy books that seem like they will resonate best for you. It was really hard to narrow down the list because I really love them all, but here are a few of the holistic pregnancy books I suggest prioritizing:
1 // Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols {shop here} OR Kelly Leveque’s Pregnancy Course
While I really love both and highly recommend both, even if you only pick one you will learn everything you need to know about optimal pregnancy nutrition.
2 // Nurture by, Erica Chidi {shop here} OR The Mama Natural Pregnancy and Childbirth by, Genevieve Howland {shop here}
These holistic pregnancy books are a perfect companion throughout your whole pregnancy. Nurture takes you month by month and Mama Natural takes you week by week. They both are chock full of wonderful tips.
3 // Transformed By Birth by, Britta Bushnell {shop here}
This isn’t the only holistic pregnancy book to read because it’s light on logistics and prep, but it’s hands down my favorite. It truly helps you get into a great mindset. I really loved the transformative, positive, and empowering style of this holistic pregnancy book.
4 // Natural Hospital Birth by, Cynthia Gabriel (especially if you’re planning an unmedicated hospital birth!) {shop here}
This is the book to read for logistics and prep if you’re planning to give birth in a hospital (even if you’re not planning on going on unmedicated). Although I did other birthing courses, I learned so much from this book and really loved the mindset it helped me get into.
5 // Expecting Better by, Emily Oster {shop here}
So much great research here! Even if you don’t read the book cover to cover it’s super helpful as a quick reference for FAQ.
Holistic Pregnancy Books I Did Not Enjoy:
Not all holistic pregnancy books are created equal. While some I read were just eh okay, there were three books that particularly stuck out to me as ones I didn’t like. In case you tend to gravitate towards a similar style as me, here are the holistic pregnancy books I didn’t enjoy and why.
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
This is probably the most loved holistic pregnancy book of all time so I feel a bit nervous to share that I didn’t like it! Here’s the thing, I was planning on having an unmedicated hospital birth and I had major hospital anxiety. I found that this book exacerbated my anxiety.
I loved that there were so many birth stories and planned to read a few each night, but all the hospital birth stories were a disaster. I personally felt the book sent the message that it’s not possible to have an intervention free or positive birth experience in a hospital. I know Ina May has done amazing things for the field of midwifery, but I just didn’t get much out of this book and felt other books covered the topic is a more empowering manner.
Kind Mama
A positive portrayal of pregnancy, but I found this book to be a bit intense and judgey. It’s wonderful that Alicia Silverstone was able to meet all her goals during her pregnancy, but I found the presentation to be on the judgey rather than inspirational side.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting
This isn’t really a holistic pregnancy book but I had to include it because it’s one of the most popular pregnancy books of all time. I was extremely disappointed by this book. I found it to be full of misinformation and fearmongering. Pregnant women already experience so much fear mongering and I felt What to Expect When You’re Expecting to be a perpetuator. I wish that such an extremely popular book would be more up to date, include better research, and be more empowering.
Holistic Pregnancy Books on My TBR For My Next Pregnancy
I love diving deep into a topic when I’m in that life phase. Even though I did SO much reading during this pregnancy, I know I’ll want to read another pile of books before my next one. While I can’t recommend these books as I haven’t read them yet, here’s what’s on my list of holistic pregnancy books to read next.
Wise Woman Herbal For the Child Bearing Years by, Susan Weed
The Natural Pregnancy Book by, Aviva Romm
Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful by, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by, Sarah Buckley
Ayurveda Mama by, Dhyana Masla
Birth Without Fear by, January Harshe
Birth With Confidence by, Rhea Dempsey
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I hope you found this list of best holistic pregnancy books helpful as you prepare for your journey! Pregnancy is not easy at all, but it’s also the most wonderful gift. Please let me know if you have any favorite pregnancy posts we missed!
Photo credit: Jillian Rose Photo
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