Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood―and Trusting Yourself and Your Body

This book is absolutely wonderful for expecting mothers. It covers everything from pregnancy to birth and early motherhood in such a warm, informative, and empowering way. The writing feels like guidance from a trusted friend rather than a clinical textbook. I loved how it encourages trusting your own instincts and body throughout the journey. Highly recommend to any expecting mom!

For people pregnant or planning to be pregnant. This book covers pregnancy, birth and postpartum but is written in a way that you can read each section as you approach that chapter so it is not overwhelming at all. I loved how each trimester was broken down, explaining what to expect, methods to cope with each phase and made me feel supported. I loved the recipe suggestion to help navigate and maintain a healthy diet. I loved this book and will reread it with each pregnancy. Pros: checklists in the back (hospital bag, baby registry, birth preferences, etc.), recipes to optimize the vitamins and minerals needed in each trimester, mindful writing prompts

This book is like having a doula in your back pocket. A warm, compassionate, all-knowing friend who understands the struggles and the fear, and yet, expertly stirs you into a positive mindset. This book helps you find confidence in yourself and your decisions. It’s absolutely incredible! I’m currently 8 months pregnant and have been reading the What To Expect book since the day I got a positive test. Although that book is full of great information, it reads like a textbook or dictionary (which can be truly great at times) but it doesn’t address you, the person, throughout pregnancy. What it lacks is the life behind the person reading. The fears, the anxiety, the questions of practices, roles, birthing environments... that’s why I bought Nurture and it’s now why I recommend it to everyone I know. I loved the month-by-month chapters in this book that addressed different cravings and different nutritional needs (with recipes!), various (gentle) exercises for the symptoms of that month/trimester and, most importantly of all, your mental state. With exercises to help stimulate journaling or a self-discussion and awareness, plus mindfulness exercises to calm nerves and symptoms, it truly felt like having a SOLUTION. Like having a friend talking you through all those ugly moments, and sharing in every good one too. Tons of people will tell you you can do this and you’re made for this, but nothing really captures the essence of joyful, prepared, relaxed pregnancy and labor like this book. I’m sighing deeply of relief to have found it. Thank you, Erica!

Looking for an insightful, educational and practical book that can guide you through this novel journey? This book seals the deal. Read it for know-how on pregnancy, self-care during and after giving birth, tips to breastfeeding and more. It even contains massages for your baby and recipes for regaining perfect health during the post-partum journey. It will keep you grounded as you strive to maintain your sanity while coping with your new-born. Perfect to give as a gift husbands. Give it a read today!

I delivered at UCSF, one of the preeminent women’s hospitals in the country. The nurses, doctor, and midwife who helped with my delivery utilized MANY of the techniques described in this book. The fact that it is embraced and practiced by some of the best medical professionals in the country says a little something about the idea that the contents of this book are "woo" as a previous reviewer states. My mother-in-law is an LVN and recently she started working in labor and delivery. She borrowed this book, some of it she had already learned but she found a lot it incredibly helpful! This is the most approachable, easy to digest, least judgmental, and most comprehensive book out there. It's broken down into sections to help you understand what's happening with baby, your body, AND has recipes PLUS things you may want to check off your "to-do" list... I mean she covers it all. I made it to 6cm dilated before going to the hospital, in large part because I had the tools I needed. You won't use everything in this book, but you'll be glad to have a full toolbox. I had pages bookmarked for newborn care and breastfeeding that my husband and I referred back to several times in the early days. The glossary in the back makes it very easy to find what you're looking for. The images are so beautiful and very helpful, and who doesn't love a good chart?! The staff at UCSF was so grateful for my clear birth plan (thanks to this book) and I felt so EMPOWERED during my labor. I'm now expecting my second and am looking forward to revisiting this book.

Loving it so far! The pages have a nice smooth feel and the book is large. The writer’s tone is warm, loving, and wise. Full of great information and I love how the sections are divided.

Nurture is the perfect word for this book. That is how I describe Erica's writing to people–because I talk about this book all of the time! No other pregnancy book has made me feel so understood and empowered. I love the way the author/doula takes care of the reader, and somehow touches on every part of the pregnancy process. She takes into consideration how your emotional past may be affecting your experience and shows you how to work with these feelings. Throughout the book the author empowers you to take control with five self-care practices: Mindfulness with meditation prompts, Journaling with writing prompts, Movement with stretching/exercise suggestions for each month, Natural Remedies for all the things we pregnant ladies need to cope with, Nourishment info about what your body & baby needs plus healthy recipes along the way. This reads like a modern book for pregnant women, and I like that about it. She touches on the reality most of us new moms face with totally changing our lives to become mothers. For instance, there is a little section written for freelancers, such as myself, and how to prepare for changes ahead with our unique business situations. I love that it's brought to attention that many of us do not get maternity leave and need to get creative with ways to work with the first few months of motherhood. This article below is what turned me on to Erica's book and message. It's powerful to read even if you don't decide to get this book–though I can’t recommend it enough!

I’m about halfway through this book (and currently 25 weeks pregnant) and am not sure I will finish it, because every time I pick it up and start reading I find myself frustrated or annoyed by something that it said and I put it down again. I bought it on the glowing recommendation of my OB/GYN and had high hopes for it, expecting it to be a fusion of qualitative information about pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood with science/medicine-based information. It is by far more of the former and less of the latter. It also comes across as presumptuous, judgmental and dismissive at times when it clearly intends to do the opposite. It subtly scorns medicines known to be helpful and safe during pregnancy in favor of homeopathic treatments (some of which are unsubstantiated), or overly-involved alternatives (some of which are expensive). It goes into excessive detail about some things and not enough about others. The way it talks about nutrition and food often feels infantilizing and unsympathetic. Like “hey, that ice cream you’re craving, how about you eat some broccoli instead? Or if you’re craving sweets, how about some horseradish?” Oh, wow, thanks! What a helpful suggestion, to simply substitute something I don’t at all feel like eating in the moment! I’ve been struggling a lot with anxiety about weight gain during pregnancy and this book has absolutely made that anxiety worse. I had a tearful meltdown about it on the way to my most recent prenatal appointment and my husband was shocked and sad that I was fixating so terribly on something that, to an extent, is an inevitable part of pregnancy. During that appointment, my doctor confirmed my weight gain was well within the normal range, much to my surprise. This book has been playing a big role in my growing sense that the way I’m managing my diet/weight is inadequate, even though it actually isn’t. Feelings of frustration and inadequacy are not something I want from a pregnancy book. I assume my doctor recommended it because it’s meant to be encouraging, relaxing, and appeals to “wellness”-focused people, but I really just wanted factual information laid out in an orderly and easily digestible way. There’s too much stuff about writing in my diary (really not my thing) and overall the book feels like it’s appealing to a different kind of person than who I am. That’s fine, it just means it’s not for everyone and I wanted to post this review for other folks out there who fall more in my end of the spectrum.

The book is just useless. And if that’s not bad enough, it’s filled with “facts “ that are not scientifically backed. Just save your money.

Good book

Great book! Complete with everything we need to know pre-natal, labor day, post partum and lactation. And much more. 100% recommended

When i found out im pregnant i decided that i will only purchase one book about pregnancy to avoid information overload that will stress me out further. Im reading each chapter with each month of pregnancy and i love it, it is not stressing me out and making me look forward to each month. It is very well written with a personal tone and the book design is just beautiful and minimal. As is the Typography easy to read and not jammed together.

A great book. Definitely a must have, although it is not structured like other pregnancy books, but has really useful stuff in manageable chunks. Found it different and non repetitive. A keeper.