Pregnancy books

The book most woman buy when they find out they are pregnant is "What to expect when you are expecting" by Heidi Murkoff. This is a helpful book which details week by week the mother and babies development. However I found that it was very American in focus and did not give sufficient local information on maternity options, care and procedures.

For a great book on the Irish maternity system "The better birth book" by Tracey Donegan is invaluable. Tracey is a Doula, trainee Midwife and hypno-birth practitioner and she provides really interesting information on traditional and non-traditional birthing methods.

For more alternative books,  Ina May Gaskin books "Guide to Childbirth" and "Spiritual Midwifery" offer a natural and holistic approach to pregnancy and childbirth. Her ideas and midwife practice revolutionised approaches to childbirth by de-medicalizing the process and giving control back to woman.

Another interesting author is Frederick Leboyer, like Ina May he focuses on natural, baby focused birth in "Birth without violence".

If you are interested in natural birthing, hypnobirthing might be for you. It uses meditation, chanting and breathing during the birth. Marie Mongans "Hypnobirthing" is a good starting point

Booker Prize Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2012 Booker Prize came out this week.

Here are the Titles:

Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists 
Deborah Levy, Swimming Home 
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies 
Alison Moore, The Lighthouse 
Will Self, Umbrella 
Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis