Cohen - Nurture: a modern guide to pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood - and trusting yourself and your body

To the mothers who have welcomed me
on their profound journey, you will forever be
my greatest teachers.

Text copyright 2017 by Erica Chidi Cohen.
Illustrations copyright 2017 by Chronicle Books LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781452152790 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cohen, Erica Chidi, author.
Title: Nurture : a modern guide to pregnancy, birth, early motherhoodand trusting yourself and your body / Erica Chidi Cohen, Doula, Ceo + Co-Founder of Loom ; illustrations by Jillian Ditner.
Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048766 | ISBN 9781452152639 (pb : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: PregnancyPopular works. | ChildbirthPopular works. | MotherhoodPopular works.
Classification: LCC RG551 .C64 2017 | DDC 618.2dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016048766

Designed by Jennifer Tolo Pierce.
Illustrations by Jillian Ditner.

The information in this book should not be used as a substitute for medical advice and is not suggested as treatment for any condition that might require medical attention. Consult your doctor or a licensed health-care professional regarding your specific health-care needs before making any changes to your diet, lifestyle, or medical treatment regimen. Use of the information in this book is at the readers own discretion and risk. The author and Chronicle Books hereby disclaim any and all liability resulting from injuries or damage caused by any recommendations contained in this book.

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

While writing this book, I thought a lot about you and what you might want out of a book about pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood. I considered the excitement, nervousness, exuberance, feara mix of potent emotions that can make you feel knocked out one minute and utterly elated the nextpregnancy brings with it. I wanted this book to help bolster you through that emotional roller coaster, providing a modern and customizable and, most importantly, judgment-free approach to this new stage of your life.

Whether youre currently pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, the constant negotiation of new feelings and experiences can be overwhelming, as can the flood of information and anecdotes coming from friends, family, and even strangers.

Rest assured, you are far from alone in these feelings. Many women feel this way in the same circumstancesand now youve got me by your side to help you. As a professional doulawhich comes from the Greek term for womens helperIve spent the last decade helping scores of moms-to-be through pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood, offering physical and emotional support, friendship, and answers to their many, many questions. I help women feel more connected to their pregnancy, and to the idea and reality of becoming a mother. In doing so, I consider the whole womannot just her medical record. I consider how she sees herself in the world, how she takes care of herself (including rest, diet, sleep, and emotional nourishment), and whats happening to her body and the baby growing within. I provide her with unconditional support and help her translate the influx of information barreling toward her at every turn. I also encourage her to turn inward, away from the noise, and tune in to herself, to trust her intuition and focus less on the small stuffsuch as the color of the nursery or which bottles to useand focus more on being in the present moment. I introduce her to the powerful physical and emotional boosts that food can offer, and I guide her through recipes to nourish her mind, her body, and her growing baby. I also educate her on her many birthing options, and then gently help her plot out the most supportive path to her babys arrivalwhile also giving her tools to use if things dont go as she anticipated.

And throughout this book, I share with you the same information, tips, and techniques that I offer clients through my doula practice. I will help you confidently navigate the coming year, while bringing you the comfort and inspiration necessary not just to forge through but also to embrace this unique time in your life.

So, why should you invite me along on your journey to motherhood? I am a caregiver by nature, and I was born into a family of caregivers. My father is a doctor, my mother is a nurse, and my paternal grandmother, someone Ive always felt a connection with, was a midwife. When I was growing up, my father often told me I had an uncanny likeness to his mother, from our personality traits to our appearance. Although we never met (she passed away long before I was born), I like to think I grew up drawing from her nurturing qualities. When I was a little girl, my parents called me Nne, which means mother or grandmother in their native Nigerian language of Igbo. My parents trained me early on in the art of caring for others, and I was driven to pursue caregiving as my own profession. Early in my career, after exploring a few different fields including the culinary arts, I moved to San Francisco, where I started volunteering at a womens health clinic. At first I was an intake assistant, welcoming women of all ages, answering their health-related questions, and connecting them with the best provider for their needs. Spanning topics from periods to menopause, I quickly gained a broad knowledge of the womens health world, including midwifery, the profession that serves a woman through pregnancy, birth, and the weeks and months following the birth. When I came upon the term doula and learned about the doulas role, I instantly felt my calling. It seemed to me that doulas were the missing link in the birthing experiencean adjunct to the medical model that could fill in the gaps by educating and guiding new mothers through all aspects of their transition to motherhood. Inspired by the impact I could have on others, I made the commitment to become a doula myself.

After I completed my doula training, I began my work as a solo practitioner in San Francisco, focusing on birth and postpartum client care, and incorporating my love for cooking by providing trimester-appropriate meal preparation for my clients in their homes. Clients were drawn to my unique holistic approach, and I quickly found myself with a busy practice. Years later, I moved with my husband to Los Angeles, where I started holding monthly educational workshops in our bungalow and serving nurturing meals for expectant and new mothers. These gatherings, which grew and grew, became the genesis of LOOM, a company creating education, services, and community for expecting and new parents. I cofounded it with the intention of offering a more dynamic and holistic approach to the experience.

This book is an extension of my practice. I offer it to you to help make your experience of pregnancy and motherhood feel entirely connected to the rest of your life instead of feeling like a departure from everything you have come to know. Reading these pages, you will discover simple ways to nurture yourself as you and your baby grow through the months, along with how to approach the first few weeks postpartum. Youll also learn what to expect at every stage of your pregnancy, and a flexible and blended approach to birthing options, labor, breastfeeding and nourishing your baby, plus baby care. Ill share nourishing foods and recipes for each trimester and the postpartum shift, and self-care strategiesincluding mindfulness techniques and self-reflection exercisesto help boost your intuition, reduce stress, and cultivate balance throughout your pregnancy and into early motherhood. I hope to teach you how to support yourself, to empower yourself to make informed decisions that spring directly out of your own personal beliefs, and to ask yourself a few tough questions. For this reason, Ive intentionally designed this as a hands-on workbook. Try to interact with this book as much as you canmake it a tool in your toolbox, helping you work through the challenges and victories youll experience on your journey. Ive always found this process is best when its a conversation, not a lecture. The moment you become a mother is one of the most significant events of your life. With this book as your guide, youll be present for every moment, in both mind and body, not swept up by fear. Youll discover there is no right way to be pregnant, give birth, or mothertheres only your way. Youll learn to trust and be gentle with yourself. Youll come to know what I know to be true: Youve got this.