It is always a good idea to further your own education. Personally, I love to read. Some of you may not really like it at all. But, even if you don’t like to sit down and just read, I’m going to give you a few ideas for some extra-good resources to keep on hand. You will (eventually) be glad you have it.
In the childbirth education class I help teach, we really want you guys to do some outside learning along with coming to class for your practices and discussion. We prefer that you at least read “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” and one other childbirth book of your choosing.
Here’s another little hint with these books that may seem like too much to take in all at once: At least get a good feel for the subject matter covered by reading throught the table of contents, so you know what all is inside. Maybe even go ahead and flip through the book and skim a little here and there. Even if you still don’t know anything about that stuff, at this point, now you know where you can lay hold on it when you do find yourself wondering what to do for your heartburn or hemorrhoids, or why your baby’s poop looks so weird with all the seedy-looking stuff in it, or when the cord is supposed to come off, or what to do to help stop the crying, or ….. whatever.
Trust me, even when we think we know almost everything, we don’t. You will have questions. And, while it is always ok to call your obstetrician or pediatrician’s offices to ask these questions, you may be able to save yourself some time and aggravation by knowing some things ahead of time. You might even prevent some problems, or be able to recognize some potential problems quickly enough to take care of them before it becomes a real problem.
Anyways, all this is to say, I’ve put together a list on Amazon.com if you’d like to pick a book or two to buy online. Under my “Blogroll”, click on Amazon, it will take you to my list of recommendations. I strongly encourage you to consider adding at least a few of them to your personal library.
