New Motherhood

The first 40 days after the birth of a child offer an essential and fleeting period of rest and recovery for the new mother. Based on author Heng Ou's own postpartum experience with zuo yuezi, a set period of “confinement”, in which a woman remains at home focusing on healing and bonding with her baby, The First Forty Days revives the lost art of caring for the mother after birth.

Becoming a mother is a joyful rite of passage, but it can also be overwhelming - physically and emotionally. How can you calm the worries, quiet the guilt, and be present with yourself and your kids? Psychologist and mom Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco specializes in the myriad issues that women with young children struggle with. In this compassionate guide, she shares science-based strategies to help you cope with common challenges and make peace with your transformed identity.

In refreshingly honest, hilarious, and raw conversation, Amanda takes you through her clumsy journey into motherhood and shares how she learned to embrace her new self—stretch marks, rolls, and all. With journal prompts, exercises, and “Tice Advice,” Amanda helps you understand what really takes place postpartum—mentally and physically.

Six months after the birth of her son, Emma Jane Unsworth finds herself in the eye of a storm. Nothing - from pregnancy to birth and beyond - has gone as she expected. A birth plan? It might as well have been a rough draft! Furious and exhausted, her life is the complete opposite of what it used to be. She's swapped all night benders for a grazed labia and Whac-a-Moling haemorrhoids. How did she end up here? In this brave and hilarious account of postnatal depression, Emma tells her story of despair and recovery.

If you are struggling to cope with the anxieties of being a new mother, this is the book you need!

As someone who used to put themselves last - doing everything she thought was "right" for her children and family, but not really listening to what her body and her spirit was begging for - Amy understands firsthand the overwhelm and complex range of emotions that mothers face. Amy’s background as a journalist set her on the path to uncover all that she could about the latest research on matrescence, the transition a woman undergoes when she becomes a mother. She now shares what she’s learned in the hope that it will help you navigate this stage of your life.

You’re excited to be a new mom…but you have no idea what to expect. You know it’s going to be a magical experience, but you’re feeling both exhilarated and scared. You’ve been looking forward to this moment for as long as you can remember, but now that it's drawing nearer, you’re getting nervous. Maybe you’ve looked through countless websites on motherhood but your research is becoming more overwhelming than helpful. Don’t worry: You are not alone!

Many parents are not aware that sleeping, and especially sleeping through the night, is not an innate but a learned behavior. That is why it is essential to teach your infant how to sleep on his/her own at nap time and during the night. The result? You are not only better able to be the great parent you wish to be, but you will have time and energy to heal your mind and body from the stresses of pregnancy and childbirth.

This book shows us the results of focusing on our children's strengths rather than always trying to correct their weaknesses. Most parents struggle with this shift because they suffer from a negativity bias, thanks to evolutionary development, giving them "strengths blindness". By showing us how to throw the "strengths switch", Lea Waters demonstrates how not only can we help our children build resilience, optimism, and achievement but we can also help inoculate them against today's pandemic of depression and anxiety.

Chrissie is eight and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her belly fizz like soda pop. Her playmates are tearful and their mothers are terrified, keeping them locked indoors. But Chrissie rules the roost - she's the best at wall-walking, she knows how to get free candy, and now she has a feeling of power that she never gets at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Rachael Elmore has been there and knows on a personal and professional level how hard the early days and months of motherhood can be. In A Mom Is Born she takes her expertise as a licensed and clinical counselor and pairs it with her deeply personal story of overcoming postpartum depression after the birth of her first son. She comes alongside listeners with practical tools—such as the New Mom Wellness Plan and a postpartum progress checklist—to help find the balance between taking care of their new baby and taking care of themselves.

Mindful Mamma is a reassuring and practical guide to help you to navigate the life-changing first year of motherhood. You’ll learn quick and easy mindfulness and hypnosis techniques to create moments of calm wherever you need it - even at four a.m. with a restless baby! As well as this, you’ll discover how to use these powerful tools to help with specific challenges along the way, such as fatigue, anxiety around breastfeeding, relationships and the end of maternity leave.

Martha and Becky Blackwater are more than sisters - they're each other's lifelines. When Martha finds herself struggling to balance early motherhood and her growing business, Becky steps in to babysit her niece, Layla, without a second thought, bringing the two women closer than ever. But then the unthinkable happens, and Becky is charged with murder. Nine months later, Becky is on trial and maintains her innocence - and so does Martha. Martha sets out to uncover exactly what happened that night and how things could have gone so wrong.

When Catherine Cho and her husband set off from London to introduce their newborn son to family scattered across the United States, she could not have imagined what lay in store. Before the trip’s end, she develops psychosis, a complete break from reality, which causes her to lose all sense of time and place, including what is real and not real. In desperation, her husband admits her to a nearby psychiatric hospital, where she begins the hard work of rebuilding her identity. In this unwaveringly honest, insightful, and often shocking memoir, Catherine reconstructs her sense of self.

With pregnancy comes a flood of emotions as you anticipate the birth of your little one. Your mind wonders immensely about the various stages, what to expect, and how to do all the right things to have a safe and healthy pregnancy. The goal of this book is to help you stay healthy, find support, locate excellent prenatal care, learn about your nutritional options, understand the importance of maternal care, and give you advice that reflects your preferences and helps you prioritize your baby.

Your new baby is here! Your world has turned upside down! And with all your focus on your precious little one, it's easy to forget to look after yourself properly. But natural, holistic self-care has never been more important than it is now. As you move through your first year as a new mother, Mindful New Mom gives you the curated wellness practices you need to care for yourself with the same compassion and commitment that you give to your growing baby.

Stand-up comic, broadcaster and actress Ellie Taylor is relatable, clever and interested in how women can have it all. Her honest, hilarious and moving account of the whys and hows of having a baby makes perfect listening for expectant mothers and fathers everywhere, as well as those who've been there, done that, and wonder how on earth they did.

Motherhood is demanding (to say the least), but when all of your mental and physical energy is directed towards a tiny human, you are neglecting yourself. And when you are neglected, you don’t have the energy or strength to take care of your completely dependent newborn. But you’re probably thinking how can I possibly put my needs above those of my baby? The truth of the matter is, your baby needs you to be at your best, and this is achieved through self-care. Self-care has many misconceptions, and due to the prefix, it’s all too often associated with selfishness.

Discover simple and powerful self-care techniques that will help new moms conquer postpartum - find joy and fulfillment in motherhood without feeling guilty!

The Little Book of Calm for New Mums will share advice and support on issues that new mothers face, from A for Anger, to I for Insomnia, providing an empowering pep talk for those days when new mothers need it most. Psychotherapist and mother of three Anna Mathur will support listeners through the roller coaster of feelings that come with being a new mum and provide expert advice based on her own professional and personal experiences.