NEW MOTHER
Using a Doula, Midwife, Postpartum Doula, Maid, Cook, or Nanny to Support Healing, Bonding, and Growth
OWN YOUR BIRTH, OWN MOTHERHOOD
The message of NEW MOTHER is that when we understand our choices and carefully select our support team--when we own our experience--we can create our vision for childbirth and motherhood, and change the course of our lives forever.We do this for ourselves, our partners, our babies, and for posterity.
It is possible to have it all: a more natural birthing experience; fun, relaxing family time; time to care for yourself; time to take care of your home; and the ability to choose whatever vision you hold for your experience of childbirth and motherhood. That’s not what we’ve been told, taught, or empowered to do... until now.
There’s more to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum than what is usually discussed in literature and doctors’ offices: the next problem, pain, or procedure! New Mother offers a clear vision for reclaiming the beauty and sacred nature of pregnancy and parenthood.
This how-to is divided into three parts:
Part 1- Pregnancy & Labor and Delivery explains how with the help of a midwife and/or doula even a hospital birth can be—once again—the magical, loving, experience it already is naturally.
Part 2 – Postpartum discusses the importance of rest and nutrition for the first 30-40 days postpartum—the “sitting moon” of Traditional Chinese medicine, which is practiced in various ways by many cultures around the world. If offers detailed instruction for finding a postpartum doula, and an in-depth outline of the services one should expect.
Part 3- Raising an Infant addresses the continued need for help in a family with an infant. The first year of the baby’s life can be the most magical—and enervating. The energy loss can tax the family and compromise the joy, the healing, and the bonding that can be experienced otherwise.
In times and places of “villages” help for the new family came from extended family and neighbors. Most people in the States today will not be able to count on that kind of village, but they can create their own.
With even a little help but preferably a lot from a maid, cook, and/or nanny, parents can conserve their energy and use it to create the magical experiences that will guide their baby’s and their family’s life…forever. This section explains the role and duties of hired helpers and offers suggestions for how to find those that best support the needs of the family.
Throughout the work, vignettes of the author's and other mothers’ experiences are included that will resonate with parents, keep them laughing, and encourage them to rewrite the story of their lives.
"Filled with
great advice for expectant moms, New Mother makes the perfect
gift for any pregnant woman. The information author Allie Chee provides
allows for women to be in charge of their birth and postpartum time. Instead of
just letting things happen, Chee informs us on how to plan for a desirable
birth experience and the teaches the reader that this really is something that
you must be proactive about."
Midwifery Today, Winter 2012,
Issue 104
