Best Books for New Parents
Parenting books.
They have a strange reputation.
I heard this from many:
“Don’t read the books.”
“Ignore what the books tell you.”
“Books don’t capture the reality.”
I ignored their advice.
I’ve read over 30 parenting books.
So far I found these the best books for new parents.
I want more of your recommendations in the comments.
You can find a link to each of the Best Books for New Parents below. You'll also find many of these summarised in this collection of book summaries.
I'd love to hear your suggestions on LinkedIn too.
Should We Do This?
by Kate Lawler
Description:
This book is not a parenting manual. It won't tell you what to pack in your hospital bag, or how to get your baby to sleep. It may not help you with feeding or dealing with tantrums. But it will show you that you're not alone - and that it's perfectly possible, and maybe even normal, to love your child with all of your heart while also feeling lost, alone and resentful.
by Giovanna Fletcher
A positive and uplifting book about what it is to be a mother and all things mum and baby by Celebrity Mum of the Year and phenomenally popular vlogger, author, TV presenter and actress Giovanna Fletcher.
Being a mum is an incredible journey, a remarkable experience that changes how we look, how we feel, who we are. As mothers we are strong, protective, proud. We feel a love like no other.
by Philippa Perry
In this Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips in these pages. Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.
by Zoe Clark-Coates
Written by one of the world's leading baby loss support experts, The Baby Loss Guide is designed to help you navigate this complex issue. Whether you have personally encountered loss, or are supporting people through this harrowing time, this book provides practical and compassionate advice.
How do we prepare for Birth?
by Heidi Murkoff
With 18.5 million copies in print, What to Expect When You’re Expecting is read by 93 per cent of women who read a pregnancy book and was named one of the ‘Most Influential Books of the Last 25 Years’ by USA Today.
This cover-to-cover new edition is filled with must-have information, advice, insight, and tips for a new generation of parents.
by Hollie De Cruz
In-demand hypnobirthing coach Hollie de Cruz provides you with the skills and tools to make any birth feel safe, calm, connected and empowering. Drawing on her experience working with new mums, including Fearne Cotton and Giovanna Fletcher, Hollie de Cruz helps you prepare for a positive (not 'perfect') birth experience and approach motherhood with confidence in yourself and your instincts.
by Milli Hill
Challenging negativity and fear of childbirth, and brimming with everything you need to know about labour, birth and the early weeks of parenting, The Positive Birth Book is the must-have guide for pregnant women. A widely acclaimed bestseller since it was first published, it has empowered hundreds of thousands of women worldwide to make informed, positive choices about their births.
by Neil Sinclair
Attention! In your hand is an indispensable training manual for new recruits to fatherhood. Written by ex-Commando and dad of three Neil Sinclair, this manual will teach you, in no-nonsense terms, all the practical skills you need to be a top-ranking parent.
Packed with easy-to-follow advice and Commando Dad Top Tips, this book will teach you how to be the ultimate protector of your newest recruit. As any Commando Dad knows, with the right preparation and planning, anyone can parent with military precision.
by Emily Oster
Pregnant women are often treated as if they were children, given long lists of items to avoid - alcohol, caffeine, sushi - without any real explanation from their doctors about why. They hear frightening and contradictory myths about everything from weight gain to sleeping on your back to bed rest from friends and pregnancy books. In EXPECTING BETTER, Oster shows that the information given to pregnant women is sometimes wrong and almost always oversimplified.
Help! Now What?
by Simone Cave, Dr Caroline Fertleman
The first six months with a new baby is a special and exciting time full of milestones and new experiences. This updated edition of Your Baby Week by Week explains the changes that your baby will go through in their first six months. Each chapter covers a week of their development so you’ll know when your baby will start to recognize you, when they’ll smile and laugh for the first time and even when they’ll be old enough to prefer some people to others!
by Alison Scott-Wright
Packed with tips, hints and reminders, case studies, at-a-glance charts and a daily journal to help you keep track of your baby's progress, The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan is a step-by-step, must-have manual to ensure sleep for you and your baby. For over twenty-five years, recognised sleep guru Alison Scott-Wright has been working 'hands-on' with families, sharing her knowledge with her clients and, most importantly, bringing sleep to thousands of homes. Now she is sharing her expertise with you...
by Amy Brown
When you're expecting a new baby, suddenly everyone around you becomes an expert – particularly when it comes to how to feed them. It is easy to become overwhelmed by conflicting advice, myths and exaggerated stories. The Positive Breastfeeding Book cuts through the anecdotes, giving you clear, no-judgement, non-preachy, evidence-based information to help you make the right decisions for you and your baby.
by Tanya Shadrick
Just days into motherhood, a woman begins dying. Fast and without warning. On return from near-death, Tanya Shadrick vows to stop sleepwalking through life. To take more risks, like the characters in the fairy tales she loved as a small girl, before loss and fear had her retreat into routine and daydreams.
Around the care of young children, she starts to play with the shape and scale of her days: to stray from the path, get lost in the woods, make bargains with strangers. As she moves beyond her respectable roles as worker, wife and mother in a small town, Tanya learns what it takes - and costs - to break the spell of longing for love, approval, safety, rescue.
by Dr. Laura Markham
Most parenting books focus on changing a child's behaviour, but the truth is that children only change when their relationship with their parents changes. In Calm Parents, Happy Kids, Dr Laura Markham introduces an approach to parenting that eliminates threats, power struggles and manipulation, in favour of setting limits with empathy and communication. Bringing together the latest research in brain development with a focus on emotional awareness (for both parents and children), it will appeal to all parents who don’t want to force their children into compliance and lose their temper, but want to keep calm and help their children want to behave.