In particular, I found the fourth one (reflective) useful, and was moved by the questions he suggests. In a 2016 study, a small group of Israeli women in their second and third trimesters received a half-hour training in this type of mindfulness. Born in Ireland, Tracy has lived and worked on three continents and currently lives in Silicon Valley, California with her husband and two boys. It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. It didn't put me off that this was written by a man, however, I don't think a lot of readers will appreciate the anecdotes of his wife Lucinda breezing through pregnancy - hardly gaining any weight and tying herself in knots doing yoga.

Ann is an experienced mental health professional who has been teaching mindfulness both privately and within NHS for many years.

In fact, recent studies suggest there are great health benefits to practicing yoga during pregnancy, including reducing anxiety and stress in mothers, as well as a reduction in the pain of labour.

Now founder of Headspace, Andy Puddicombe, teaches you how to remain mindful during pregnancy, childbirth and the early days of parenthood.If you’re stressed and tense going into labour, your contractions may feel more painful and become less effective. The only thing that is a bit disappointing for me is the lack of knowledge the author has about plant-based nutrition during pregnancy. But the fact that any links were found at all suggests the interesting possibility that the benefits of mindfulness don’t end with the mother, or with the birth, but extend into childhood and perhaps even beyond. Nor does it tell parents what to expect in the hospital right after the baby is born if that is where they are birthing.

It’s normal for women to worry during pregnancy, but being unduly anxious can spoil this precious time. I listened to this as an audiobook which I found very helpful for the parts with instructions such as stretches or meditations. Mindfulness, perhaps, gave them the tools to navigate complex emotions that wouldn’t budge, even in the face of the most reassuring reading material.

To recommend lotus births and not mention how they can be risky (and was known to have caused the death of a baby in Australia) is irresponsible. There was a weird reference to a tuna sandwich, which as a pregnant women we have to watch our mercury content, so the reference was a bit weird there. At 10 months, according to mindful mothers’ reports, babies were less likely to have difficulties settling down and adjusting to new environments (“self-regulation”) or controlling their attention and behavior (“effortful control”). This books gave me a lot of peace not only with the idea of “labor”, it gave me hope for the parenting journey I’m about to begin AND it also gave me some sort of peace with my own human mortality.

In “Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong—and What You Really Need to Know”, author Emily Oster explains the difference between a chemical pregnancy and a miscarriage and also explains the risks by age and week of pregnancy in a handy chart. We are facing large challenges in the world now; the compassion, self-care, and model of mindfulness that Donegan’s book exhibits could have a positive impact in the classroom. In that way, it’s a bit like parenting: something you work on day by day, even on the bad days when it seems like nothing is going right. I definitely am aware of trying to be in the moment and that each moment, good or bad, will pass,” said one participant. If you have any experience with mindfulness yoga or meditation, you may find this too basic for you.A lot of this was interesting but I was looking for something more specific to mental health in pregnancy (and I'd already dabbled with the Headspace app) so, sadly, I did not find what I was looking for in this book.