BOOKS
This reading resource list is intended to support learning across the perinatal journey, but it’s important to name that not all of these books use inclusive or affirming language. Some center white, cisgender, heterosexual, partnered, and/or able-bodied and neurotypical experiences more than others. I do not endorse all language choices within these texts, and I encourage you to engage with them critically, taking what is useful while holding awareness of their limitations. I’m always open to feedback and recommendations for more inclusive resources. I also encourage accessing these books through your local public library or an independent bookstore whenever possible, as a way to increase accessibility and support community-based resources.
Trying to Conceive
Queer Conception by Liam Kali
Baby Making for Everybody by Ray Rachlin & Marea Goodman
Getting to Baby by Angela Thyer MD & Judy Sumon RDN
Mayo Clinic Guide to Fertility and Conception
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
Getting Pregnant with PCOS by Clare Goodwin
It Starts with the Egg by Rebecca Fett
What to Expect Before You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Why Did No One Tell Me This?: The Doulas’ Honest Guide for Expectant Parents by Natalia Hailes, Ash Spivak, and Louise Reimer
The Birth Partner (6th Edition) by Penny Simkin
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide
The Labor Progress Handbook (4th Edition) by Penny Simkin
Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth by Julia Oparah and Alicia Bonaparte
Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood and Trusting Yourself and Your Body by Erica Chidi Cohen
Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds (2nd Edition) by Cynthia Gabriel
Birthing Liberation by Sabia Wade
Transformed by Birth by Britta Bushnell
Birth Without Fear by January Harshe
Revolutionary Mothering by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Reproductive Justice: An Introduction by Loretta Ross & Rickie Solinger
Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel Reed
A Doula’s Guide to Empowering Your Birth by Lindsay Bliss
When Survivors Give Birth by Penny Simkin and Phyllis H. Klaus
Postpartum & Infant Care
The Fourth Trimester Companion: How to Take Care of Your Body, Mind, and Family as You Welcome Your New Baby by Cynthia Gabriel
The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality by Kimberly Ann Johnson
This Isn’t What I Expected by Karen Kleiman and Valerie Raskin
Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Mothers by Karen Kleiman
The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother by Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, and Marisa Belger
Where’s the Mother: Stories from a Transgender Dad by Trevor MacDonald
And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents, and our Unexpected Families by Susan Goldberg and Chloe Brushwood Rose
Lactation & Infant Feeding
Feed the Baby: An Inclusive Guide to Nursing, Bottle-feeding, and Everything In Between by Victoria Facelli IBCLC
Queer Nursing by Liesel Burdich
Lactation for the Rest of Us by Jacob Engelsman
Breastfeeding Without Birthing by Alyssa Schnell
Relactation by Lucy Ruddle
Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws of Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett PhD IBCLC
Miscarriage & Infant Loss
Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby by Deborah L Davis
The Miscarriage Map by Dr. Sunita Osborn
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
I Had a Miscarriage by Jessica Zucker
Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss by Dr. Lora Shahine
It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine
Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss by Ann Douglas
A Guide for Fathers: When a Baby Dies by Tim Nelson
WEBSITES
www.spinningbabies.com
www.badassmotherbirther.com
www.community.pregnanttogether.com
www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/dads-and-partners
www.postpartum.net/get-help/queer-parents
What to Expect When He's Expecting | A Complete Guide to Transmasculine Reproduction
Breastfeeding, chest feeding and human milk feeding: Supporting LGBTQIA+ Families
PODCASTS
The Queer Family Podcast
The Birth Hour
Birth Stories in Color