Happy Summer!
The women of WCJC are excited for summer. We hope you are too! If you are mowing through your light summer reading and are ready to do some learning, pick up one of Dr. Mathiesen’s favorite medical books below!
Dr. Mathiesen’s Recommended Summer Reading
Pregnancy and the postpartum and newborn periods are exciting times filled with LOTS of new information and developing skill sets. Your physician (Ob/Gyn or Pediatrician) is the best resource for your questions, but they are not always available to you. There are thousands of books that can be entertaining and educational regarding these special moments.
Here are some of my recommendations for reading during pregnancy:
- The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy is a comprehensive and traditional pregnancy review. It includes information about fertility, prenatal care, nutrition and exercise in pregnancy, and childbirth.
- If you are looking for a more modern pregnancy book you should check out Bumpin’: The Modern Guide to Pregnancy: Navigating the Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Journey from Conception through Birth and Beyond. The author—a first time mom, aims to cover topics such as miscarriage, IVF, postpartum recovery and breastfeeding without judgement or confusion to the modern mother in a sometimes-humorous tone.
What about after birth? The journey doesn’t stop! Breastfeeding is a challenging and rewarding relationship to share with your child, and it often takes more work than most new moms realize.
My recommended books for after delivery:
- The Breastfeeding Blueprint: How to Get Started and Keep It Flowing for a Year is written by a Pediatrician and mom who initially wrote down all of the things she thought would help her daughter to successfully breastfeed her new baby.
- I found Your Baby’s First Year to be an extremely useful guide! As an ObGyn I am an expert on caring for babies INSIDE the womb—once they come out I am figuring it out the same as all of the other moms. I used this book all the time after the births of both of my sons—it probably saved my Pediatrician multiple phone calls…
Obviously pregnant women and new moms aren’t the only ones reading. Arming yourself with knowledge about your body throughout different stages of your life can be empowering!
My favorite women’s health books:
- Dr. Jen Gunter’s books The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina: Separating the Myth from the Medicine
- The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism are filled with humor, feminism and FACTS about women’s health. I found these books useful for medical and non-medical individuals.
Enjoy your summer reading!
Dr. Emily Mathiesen