The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth

by Sophie Walker, Jodi Wilson

The definitive contemporary category buster for a modern generation of mothers by the creator of the top-rating podcast and online hub, Australian Birth Stories.Australia's number 1 bestselling pregnancy book'Excellent and empowering . . . a must-read before conception.' Dr Lionel Steinberg, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist'A book full of the wisdom of birth stories. Accessible, conversational and wise . . . a celebration.' Hannah Dahlen AM, Professor of MidwiferyEverything you need as you journey through pregnancy and prepare for a positive birth experience.'I wish someone had told me!' It's a phrase uttered by countless women after they give birth for the first time. Here's the book that shares the wisdom of women and their birth stories, so that you can make informed and empowered decisions that are best for you.The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth draws on the expertise of dozens of doctors, midwives and other health specialists to offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date information about pregnancy, labour, birth and early postpartum in Australia. From making essential care decisions, asking questions of care providers and managing overwhelm to navigating physical changes and preparing for labour, this book is your trusted companion as you make the transition to motherhood. And among all the facts, stats and info is a lot of gentle and kind advice, including first-hand accounts of births, in all kinds of birth settings, from families of diverse backgrounds.On every page this book reminds you that your pregnancy matters, your labour matters, your birth matters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Health

644 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2023

Reviews

[Felicity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this the day I found out I was pregnant in a sea of information overwhelm, and have found it the most grounding, comforting and helpful resource. I’ll be recommending it to every first time mum. Thank you Sophie & Jodi.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful helpful helpful for a first time mumma. Lots of sticky notes tabbed in the book 😂

[Claire Syers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really was the complete guide... it covered everything you could possibly think of. It meant I skipped a few parts that weren't relevant, but the benefit is that it is a one-stop shop for any questions about pregnancy/childbirth! It felt very weighted towards the pregnancy rather than birth, but I guess that's 9 months to cover so kind of makes sense??

[Jess Bon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I started reading this before I became pregnant because it informed me of many things I was unaware of. This book gently and compassionately guides the reader through the good, the bad and the ugly of pregnancy and birth. It does not tip toe around difficult topics from things like an episiotomy to stillbirths, but calmly and intelligently explains all the hows and whys. It does so whilst providing many resources for emotional and physical support and education including personal stories and professional services. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wherever you are on your pre-conception or pregnancy journey.

[Indy Scarletti (paperindy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look, I had the baby so I’m giving myself a ‘complete’ on this one.

[Jazz Brewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for those who are pregnant and also support people. So informative and very specific to the Australian context which I really appreciated

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the approachable, concise but thorough nature of this book. As enter my 38th week of pregnancy I found reading this to really reinforce confidence in myself and ground myself in the fact that I'm not alone in my experiences throughout pregnancy and birth, no matter what they may be. As someone who lives in Australia the country specific information was really useful! I've finished reading with an excitement and peace around childbirth and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who'd like to learn more about pregnancy and birth in the Australian context, specifically women looking to feel supported and encouraged.

[Jade Scouller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book from pre-pregnancy to week 35 of my pregnancy and it was super informative, easy to read and I appreciated that it was based on the Australian healthcare system. I did feel there was an undertone of bias against obstetricians and birth interventions/inductions, but maybe that was just me!

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I bought this book sooner in my pregnancy. I'm 37 weeks tomorrow and this has been perfect for preparing for labour and early postpartum. It also goes into detail for each trimester and I love that it's specific to Australian practises.

[Tallulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times slightly verging on crunchy but overall a very helpful, empathetic book tailored to the Australian healthcare system.

[Ryan Bartok · Rating 2 out of 5]

My wife liked this one. I didn’t.

I found the book poorly structured, with information not presented in a way that clearly followed the development of pregnancy. What frustrated me most was the heavy reliance on individual anecdotes, which were often positioned as if one person’s experience must be common or universal. It frequently felt like personal stories being used as evidence rather than being clearly separated from broader medical guidance.

My wife loves the podcast, and that’s exactly what this book felt like: a podcast in print form, full of personal anecdotes masquerading as a scientific, evidence-based guide.

[Jojo Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likes:
👍didn’t refer to any of my reproductive organs as baby making machines
👍Australian references (hard when a lot of thorough books are US based where the health system is entiiiirely different, let alone the statistics)
👍I liked the emphasis on trying to be calm
👍could read along with the trimester I was in
👍really diverse birth stories
👍found it a really nice introduction to reading about pregnancy
👍it helped us understand different types of care (combined, private, group) etc which actually became really critical when we faced complications.

[steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first fell pregnant and started reading this book I knew it was exactly what I needed. The way that Walker & Wilson focus on the mind-body connection was honestly not something that had occurred to me right away (I feel stupid saying that now!) but resonated immediately.

This book feels like such a safe, gentle and guiding resource. Full of helpful information and real stories. I would highly recommend it to all first-time expecting mothers. It shares information openly and honestly, without judgement; providing all the facts you need to make the best decisions for you and your baby.

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic and would recommend as my No.1 pregnancy and birth book for those in Australia!!!

Writren by the makers of the Australian Birth Stories podcast. This is another powerful resource to empower people experiencing (or wanting to) pregnancy and birth.

This guide is extremely comprehensive and practical and would appeal to a broad range of people, regardless of their birth preferences (ie. home birth, physiological birth in hospital, high risk pregnancy etc). As well as explaining development and the stages of pregnancy, this resource also offers information about mental wellbeing, financial wellbeing and mindfulness practices. The book also contains short but powerful real pregnancy and birth stories throughout.

I personally listened to the audiobook version which I really enjoyed. It was also helpful to listen to the chapter on Labour and Birth together with my partner on a road trip so we could discuss as we went. I also then borrowed a physical copy from the library to go back and review particular sections again in more detail and refer to helpful resources contained within such as hospital bag packing lists and how to write a birth plan.

If you are looking for just one book to help you navigate pregnancy and birth, this should be it!

[Melissa Mandryk · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there’s one book you want to read about pregnancy and birth, it’s this one.

[Kimberly Wong · Rating 2 out of 5]

To qualify as a complete guide, there should be an education on stillbirth, that what, the why, stats, the unknowns, what does help look like etc.
Stillbirth is still a birth. And for the unfortunate few so goes through this, they need information. So many books like this just gloss over stillbirth just so they can say they have mentioned it. That is not good enough.
Almost all women who went through stillbirth report not having prior knowledge the what/how/why of stillbirths. They knew everything about pregnancy and normal birth, but nothing stillbirth. What options they have in the birthing process, what drugs are they allowed to have. What does the birthing process look like.

If we want to *really* educate ourselves, we should learn not just the how the grass gross, we should also stop glossing over the details. If we can have 350++ pages of normal pregnancy and birth details, we should then have details and perhaps WARNINGS to things such as high likelihood of developing trauma of seeing stillborn. Or how your milk might still come and what to do about it! Of all people, these women deserve to know as much as they could because having the milk come without the baby was another level of emotional rollercoaster.

And the finance part was TERRIBLE! Another gloss over. 😒

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the BEST pregnancy book I read. And I read like 4.

It's an overall guide to pregnancy and birth, and the tone is informed and comforting. There was lots of information on various topics, referrals to specific podcast episodes, and I finished this feeling way more informed than I had been before. And this was one of the last pregnancy books I read, so that's saying something.

Important to note that this book is the only one I read that really paid attention to the emotional and spiritual nature of pregnancy and becoming a parent. Sometimes it felt a bit woo, but I think it was a risk worth taking for the author - leaving these dimensions out would have been unfortunate.

I would put a caveat that in the "labour and birth" sections, the authors definitely have a slight anti-intervention philosophy/bias. The way they speak about things like epidurals and induction is more dramatic and "warning heavy" than the way they talk about physiological birth. They include explicit reassurances that any birth path is fine, but the bias seemed clear to me.

[Megan Dowd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, I read a few pregnancy books and this has been by far the most informative. It really prepared me for what to expect and then when things came up in my own pregnancy like nose bleeds etc I knew how to tackle them without thinking because I’d read this book. There was a lot of good concrete advice about preparing for birth as well. I loved the stories included throughout highlighting all different types of pregnancy and birth experiences. I listened to this book audibly on Spotify prior to reading it and let me just say the narrator is incredible, it’s like she is giving you a warm hug, it’s really well done. The book was so helpful I ended up buying it so I could flip through the pages over and over again as I needed to.

[Melissa Gould · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice book to begin with lovely first account stories and strong advocacy for the mother and her care and wellbeing, which I liked. That was until the finance section which left me a stressed out sobbing mess. Needless to say, this book was read no further after that. To have a section on finance specific to the Australian system needs to be handled more comprehensively and with care as it does not cover different contexts well and left me in a Centrelink spiral. Thankfully after looking it up myself, it turns out I was ok and covered for maternity leave payments but only after panicking as a result of this book and researching myself.

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a book that offers a positive yet realistic outlook on pregnancy and birth, this is the one. I started out absolutely terrified of labor and delivery, but this book completely shifted my perspective. It’s informative without being overwhelming, and surprisingly entertaining—I honestly couldn’t put it down.

What makes it so special is how it weaves real birth stories with reassurance, showing that even in the toughest scenarios, you will be okay.

If you’re expecting, I can’t recommend this enough. Even if it’s the only book you read during your pregnancy, it’s absolutely worth it.

[Paige Darby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just what I needed in my pregnancy, with up-to-date information on the Australian health care system (which is rare - so many US or UK centric sources out there). Very comprehensive and informative while also compassionate. The inclusion of personal birth stories throughout to complement the information made the content very accessible. I am now a religious listener of the Australian Birth Stories podcast and feel so informed about the birthing options out there and my own personal preferences. Will recommend to any expectant mums!

[Imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this after listening to tons of episodes of Australian birth stories. I have found it to be most reassuring, non-judgemental and informative pregnancy and birth book for the Australian context. A perfect mix of conventional and natural approaches to birth. I loved the additional yoga, breathing and self-care tips included throughout and will keep this as a handy and beautiful reference book - the pink cover is lovely! It will also be my go-to recommendation / gift to the new mums in my life! Thanks Sophie and Jodi 🥰

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in New Zealand and this was available at my local library, although catered to the Australian healthcare system and resources, there was plenty of information relevant to all. I found the explanation of intervention procedures sufficiently informative without going into too much medical jargon and although I wasn’t initially interested in the birth stories, actually found they were quite encouraging and helped to break up the chapters. Only dropped a star as some topics felt like they were out of order which interrupted the flow of the text.

[Alicia Grasby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how comprehensive this book was and how many topics were covered. Some topics were more of an overview but that allows you to further research areas of interest. However, some of the discussions were quite negative, particularly of pregnancy and birth choices the authors did not agree with. Finally, a small amount of language used in the book felt very anti abortion and aligned with wording used by anti-choice groups. I didn't think this was appropriate in a book about women's healthcare.

[lum琳]

omg this was insanely detailed WHICH makes sense bc hello complete pregnancy+ birth guide?1??

i <3 my mum!!!!!
props to all those that have gone or will be going through pregnancy+birth

they distilled v important, science-y jargon into very palatable sentences and were quite inclusive with their language which makes recommending this to my nb/trans/non-cis friends possible :)

this book also reaffirmed to me no babies until min 30.... (for me!!!)

[Jess Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive, inclusive and helpful guide for navigating pregnancy and birth in Australia. The book is structured through trimesters, giving plenty of detail of what to expect. It includes lots of specific advice and tips ranging from what questions to ask your care provider to breathing and yoga techniques and affirmations to use in preparation for birth and during labour, to anecdotes from medical professionals and individuals’ birth stories.

I really enjoyed the audiobook and the empathic,
gentle reminders which acknowledge the emotional and mental challenges as well as the practical and physiological aspects. I appreciated the segments targeted to support people as well.

It’s a lot to take in but a great reference guide to return to.

[Grayson Fenton-Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read to help prep myself for the birth of my first child. After reading this book, I had my first birthing education class and walked out feeling confident as the class had reaffirmed what I had read in the book. I also felt like the author wrote from a non-biased perspective as much as possible which I appreciated.

[Kate Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is the book that I wished I’d had when I was pregnant with my first. A thorough, non judgemental comprehensive guide to all things pregnancy, birth and a hint of post partum. The gift I will give to newly pregnant friends!

[Naomi Guglielmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book as a gift for my friend who will be starting her family soon. I read through it and added notes for her. It is a beautiful, inclusive book that values all women and takes all perspectives into account. I’d recommend this book to all current and future mums.

[Melea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly written and put together, very positive, affirming and just like I was sitting down with a friend and having a chat about all things pregnancy, birth and post partum. I feel more confident already knowing I have that knowledge there to refer back to when I need it.