Helpful Hormones: a booklet for pregnant women.

If you are pregnant, know someone who is pregnant (or thinking about it) or provide care for pregnant women, then this is for you. Check out an incredible new resource: Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing: Evidence and Implications for Women, Babies, and Maternity Care, by Childbirth Connection, a program of the National Partnership for Women & Families. The report finds that a large body of evidence demonstrates that the hormonal physiology of childbearing has significant benefits for the health of mothers and babies and can optimize breastfeeding and maternal-infant attachment. But it concludes that common maternity care interventions may disturb hormonal processes, reduce their benefits, and create new challenges. Download the full report, executive summary, topline recommendations and more »

We also just released a new booklet for women and an infographic with tips on how women (and clinicians) can stay on the "pathway" that leads to a healthy birth.