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The Pagan Mother's
Guide to Pregnancy

Conscious Eating
During Pregnancy
Natural Childbirth and
Pregnancy Books
Links to Natural Childbirth and Pregnancy

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Conscious Eating During Pregnancy
| What you want: |
What you should have: |
For even stricter eating: |
| potato chips |
baked Goldfish crackers |
opt for organic cheese crackers |
| soda pop |
juice (make sure it's only 100%) or milk |
try some organic juices or drink herbal teas with honey
instead of sugar |
| fried chicken |
eat grilled or baked chicken |
use a fat griller or try steaming your bird |
| French fries |
slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick circles, top with
cheese and bake them in the oven or the toaster oven. |
use organic cheese and potatoes. Organic cheeses are
all-natural with no chemicals or colorants. |
| steak |
opt for smaller portions of meat and choose less fatty
cuts |
organic or all-natural meats will not contain harmful
hormones. |
| fast food |
instead of getting something greasy, go to a deli. The
food there is fresher and is sure to be free of trans-fatty acids. |
carry snacks with you when you go out so you know what you
are eating is good for you. |
| peanut butter |
actually, peanut butter is great for you! |
opt for all-natural peanut butter that contains less (or
no) sugar than popular brands |
| seafood |
fish is very healthy during pregnancy but can be full of
mercury. Smaller fish such as catfish and tilapia have very low levels of
mercury and should be eaten instead of larger fish like swordfish or tuna. |
Farm-raised fish has fewer vitamins and minerals, but at
least you know that it is mercury-free! Organically raised fish is even
better. |
| roasted and salted nuts |
roasted nuts often contain saturated fats which can be bad
for you. Opt instead for raw nuts and dried fruits. |
Go with organically grown raw fruits and nuts which are
grown without pesticides. |
| candy |
If you are craving sweets, try to curb your desire by
stuffing your face with fruit - the sweeter the better. Grapes are my
favorite. Pineapple is also good. Dried fruits are higher in sugar than
fresh fruits and may help even more to satisfy your sweet tooth. Use
all-natural sugars and honey instead of sugar when you can. |
Opt for organic fruits, honey and sugar if you can find
it. It tastes the same but is so much better for you and the environment. |
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Foods You Never Knew Were Good For You
| peanut butter |
While you may have heard that peanut butter is high in
fat, you are only hearing a half-truth. Almost all of the fat in
peanut butter is unsaturated fat which is good for you and can lower your
LDL (bad) cholesterol. Peanut butter is also an excellent source of
protein and folic acid which is necessary for proper fetal development and
prevents birth defects and brain abnormalities. Peanut butter is
cholesterol-free and can help fight breast cancer, high blood pressure,
and diabetes. Visit
www.peanutbutterlovers.com for more information. |
| avocados |
Avocados are another food you often hear about being high
in fat and therefore bad for you. On the contrary, avocados are an amazing
source of vitamins and minerals and are the highest fruit source of
vitamin E which is a strong antioxidant that slows the aging process,
prevents cancer, and heart disease. Avocados are high in good fats which
can help you loose weight, not gain it, and will help lower your LDL (bad)
cholesterol. Find out more at
www.avocado.org. |
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Chemical
Cuisine - which chemicals in the foods you eat are dangerous and which are
safe?

Natural Childbirth and Pregnancy Books:
My Personal Selections
This site is offered as a
service free of charge.
Please support this site by purchasing your books through us.
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Birthing From Within
    
by Pam England CNM, MA & Rob Horowitz PhD
309 pages/paperback b&w illus.This is an
amazing book that I am proud to own. Birthing from Within explores,
not only birth, but the feelings women experience about birth and turning
what you think you know about it into what you undoubtedly always knew.
Taking experience and examples from many mothers in many different
situations, readers learn how to deal with the fear and intimidation they
feel caused by lack of knowledge and doctors. Whether you decide to have
your baby with a midwife, doula, or all alone, this amazing publication
will help you on your way through empowerment and love. Included are
writing and drawing exercises, stories from mothers and midwives, and tips
and tricks for learning to stand up to your doctor. Learn to explore
yourself through creativity and get the scoop on how to make those
beautiful belly casts for yourself. Whether you are looking for tips on
relaxation during childbirth or to find the strength within yourself to do
it painlessly and effortlessly, this is the book for every woman planning
children.
-Amber
Editor of WitchCrafted |
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Everything Your Baby Would Ask...If Only He or
She Could Talk
by Kyra Karmiloff & Annette Karmiloff-Smith     
When I saw this book in the bookstore, I immediately snatched it up and
took it home. I didn't care that I wasn't pregnant. It is the best book I
have seen on the subject of babies and I knew I had to have it for my
first child. The questions and answers are surprisingly thorough and the
full-color photos and illustrations are absolutely breathtaking!
Everything Your Baby Would Ask... covers the development of infants both
within the womb and without. It discusses behavior, adaptation, and
recognizes and explains why babies think and do what they do. This compact
book offers what other bulky baby books offer at only 192 pages and is
very fun to read. I took it home and finished it in two days. I would
recommend this book to every mother who is expecting.
-Amber
Editor of WitchCrafted |
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Birth Without Violence
    
by Frederick Leboyer
Frederick Leboyer's Birth Without Violence is often
considered to be the most influential book ever written about childbirth.
Instead on focusing on the newborn from a doctor or parent's perspective, Leboyer hits home by focusing in on what the baby feels during birth. His
comments on the common images of cruelty practiced on babies let parents
stop and think about what is really happening in the delivery room and why
babies scream in terror and agony. Leboyer gives insight into the
reasons babies suffer during hospital births and he offers ideas and
exercises on how to bring your baby into the world peaceful, warm, loved,
and happy. His powerful photographs show the shocking treatment of babies
by doctors that we think is commonplace and so, disregard. As a delivery
room doctor with a lifetime of experience, Leboyer explains how babies can
be brought peacefully into the world without pain or tears. I highly
recommend this book for its ideas, photos, and absolute poetry.
-Amber
Editor of WitchCrafted |
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Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal
Birth After Cesarean
by Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J. Estner
    
Many mothers think that cesarean will not be an option when
their baby is due. In truth, cesarean births are very common and the
number of cesarean births performed in hospitals is on the rise. Many
mothers find that they have developed severe physical and psychological
destruction after having a cesarean forced on them by a doctor. Far from
being a safe practice, cesarean births can have a profound impact on the
newborn as well, causing severe respiratory infections and brain damage
from the anesthetics. Cohen and Estner provide Silent Knife as a way for
women to take back birth and ensure themselves a safe home or hospital
delivery, whether it is their first birth or they are planning a (much
advised-against by doctors, but perfectly safe) vaginal birth after
cesarean. This important book is not intended to frighten mothers, but
instruct them on the dangers of common hospital practice. I suggest every
parent read this book before deciding on their desires for a hospital
delivery.
-Amber
Editor of WitchCrafted |
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Links
Pagan
Mother's Guide to Childbirth
Compassionate
Souls - guide to conscious parenting.
Natural
Childbirth and Rearing - from a Pagan mother's perspective.
The
Dangers of Ultrasound
Pre-Birth
Communication - an interesting concept in communicating with infants before
birth through emotion and the mind.
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