Why Postnatal Recovery Matters Book
Resources page
Why Postnatal Recovery Matters Book resource page
Welcome to my book page!
Here you can buy a signed copy (or several) of my book, Why Postnatal Recovery Matters, and also find the list of clickable links from the book chapters (scroll down).
Scroll to the bottom of the page to read reviews for the book.
What are the advantages of buying the book directly from me, the author, rather than from the publisher or from online sites like Amazon?
Well for starters, both the publisher and I get more money this way. If you buy the book from me, I get about £3 profit per book. If you buy direct from Pinter and Martin, they get about £4.5 per book and I get 10% of that. If you buy from Amazon, the publisher only gets about £1.5 per book and they have to wait 3 months to receive the money.
So you know that your money goes towards supporting an amazing independent publisher rather than a large corporation, and to support me, the author as well.
So what do you get that’s different if you buy it from me?
I want to make receiving the book special for you.
I will sign the book for you (you can even tell me who it’s for in your order form).
I will also wrap it in tissue paper, and include a little herbal teabag and a printed letter with your book.
This way when you receive it, you can read the letter, then make yourself a lovely cup of tea to drink whilst you read the book.
You can also buy a bundle of 10 copies of my book, including UK postage for £70.
Alternatively, you can buy 20 copies at 35% off, or 40 copies at 40% off directly from the publisher, Pinter and Martin.
Here is the links section for the book
I have listed all the websites and online articles I refer to in the book below so you can access them easily by simply clicking on the link
Chapter 1 Traditional postpartum practises
Chapter 2 What we are missing
Chapter 3 Rest
Chapter 4 Food
- The tradition of the groaning cheese
- My groaning cake recipes
- Chicken and red dates soup
- The hydrant drinking system
- Recipes for postpartum dishes and freezer meals
• lilynicholsrdn.com/real-food-postpartum-recovery-meals
• traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/nourishing-postpartum-freezer-meals
• takethemameal.com - Frozen delivery meals
• www.thefooddoula.co.uk
• www.cookfood.net - Ready to cook dishes
• www.hellofresh.co.uk
• www.gousto.co.uk - https://www.mealtrain.com/
Chapter 5 Social support
- How to help a grieving friend animation
- Organisations that can support you
• Doula UK
• Independent midwives: imuk.org.uk and private midwives, and the village midwives
• The Positive Birth Movement
• Babywearing drop in and support groups
• Homestart
• The NCT
• The Motherside
• Calmfamily
• The Daisy Foundation
• Netmums
• Gingerbread
Support for mental health/birth trauma
- Traumatic Birth Recovery
Make Birth Better
Mind mental health charity
Mia Scotland
The Pandas foundation
SHaRON
Breastfeeding support
- • National Breastfeeding Helpline
• The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers
• The Breastfeeding Network (includes
the Drugs in Breastmilk Information Service)
• La Leche League
• NCT
• Baby Cafe
• Lactation Consultants of Great Britain
Chapter 6 Bodywork
- Recovering from a marathon
- 4th trimester body project
- The honest body project
- Cambridge osteopath Teddy Brookes
- Belly bands
- Serola Belt
- Mindful mama
- Jo Farren
- Haramakis from Nukunuku
Postnatal bodywork specific links
Online postpartum diastasis/core restore rehab programmes recommended by physiotherapists:
- https://laurenohayon.com/offerings/restore-your-core/
- https://onestrongmama.com/
- https://www.holisticcorerestore.com/.
Chapter 7 Hiring help
- Doula UK Find a doula
- Evidence for doulas by Evidence Based Birth
- Doula UK Access Fund and doula charity projects
- Doula UK gift vouchers
Chapter 8 How to write a postnatal recovery plan
- RECOVER acronym to help you write a postnatal recovery plan
- An example of a mother blessing
Chapter 9 Special Circumstances
- Gingerbread Charity
- Tommy charity
- Bliss charity
- Today I was healed, a closing the bones story of baby loss
- Postpartum recovery after baby loss
- Miscarriage Association
- Sands
- How to recover from a miscarriage by Maisie Hill
Read some reviews of Why Postnatal recovery matters below. Alternatively you can also read the reviews on Amazon.
I simply could not stop reading this passionate, well-informed, urgent plea for changing our damaging culture of postpartum care. Sophie Messager’s genuine voice compels readers’ compassion not only as a scientist turned Doula but also as an inspiring storyteller.
After reading this book, no one will turn up to visit a new family with a cuddly toy and expect tea to be served. Rather, they will bring a nutritious cake or casserole and perhaps offer a postnatal massage for the new mother.
Françoise Barbira Freedman, Medical Anthropologist, University of Cambridge. Founder of Birthlight.
As an anthropologist, I found this book fascinating. As a pregnant woman, I found it essential. It completely changed how I thought about and approached the end of my pregnancy and planning for the oft-neglected time after birth. Sophie draws on cross-cultural wisdom and experience, as well as the scientific literature, to articulate how the exhausted, neglected, overwhelmed stereotype of new motherhood we have in our society isn’t an unavoidable universal but a relatively recent cultural choice. And, crucially, a choice we can be empowered to un-make with some care, planning, and support.
Eleanor Fleming, Postgraduate Researcher, Department of Anthropology, Durham University
Sophie Messager writes with such empathy for new mothers that I found her words hit me in a very raw place. She has put her finger on a particular type of pain that (in my experience) has gone unrecognised. Her simple validation that for weeks after giving birth, a mother needs and deserves rest, attentive care, reverence, good food, emotional and physical holding and nurturing by others and by society, is profoundly moving and not rocket science. (Perhaps if it was, our culture would pay more attention!) It’s a basic need that many families are now living without.
I am so grateful for someone finally voicing how I felt as a new mother, but couldn’t put into words myself. We are living in very different times from when (even) our parents gave birth, and the recommendations of this book could not be more relevant to new families now – and especially those struggling with loneliness and isolation due to COVID related restrictions.
Em Cooper, mother
I’m absolutely loving reading this book and I haven’t put it down since I have received in the post. Highly recommend it to anyone interested in the postnatal period: postnatal doulas or parents to be all new parents. Such a simple layout and clear writing which makes it such an easy read And easy to pick up again whenever you have time. Love all the different personal stories portraying different views from all around the world. It’s a must have!
Annabel Gray, Doula
I love this book. I have facilitated postnatal groups for many years, so I am acutely aware of the huge hole in support and information for those starting their lives as mothers. This book goes a long way towards filling that hole.
Sophie is a scientist turned doula, so is beautifully qualified to offer practical, evidence-based information with compassion and empathy. She gives us pointers to things we should all know, but have somehow lost in our rushed and internet-obsessed world. Based on her four pillars of postnatal recovery – rest, nutrition, social support and bodywork – she gently guides us through practical steps to support an optimal postnatal recovery.
Packed with common sense and wisdom, with enjoyable personal stories and references and resources second to none, this book has something for everyone who is pregnant or has just had a baby. I not only recommend it, I would go so far as to say I think it is essential reading.
Becky Reed, Midwife and Postnatal Group Facilitator
This book is bursting with common sense. It addresses an area of childbirth that has been desperately neglected. Sadly the postnatal period has been the brunt of modern cost cutting, leaving new mothers with very little in the way of support. Sophie captures the need for reestablishing some of the old traditions and customs. She introduces customs from around the world, emphasising the importance societies everywhere put on this special time.
Sophie uses her “four pillars of postnatal recovery” to illustrate how vital postnatal recovery is to mother, baby and family. In a world where families are often living miles apart and new mothers do not have a close support network, where mothers are expected to bounce back to pre pregnancy “normal” and the pace of life is fast and constantly interrupted by technology, there is an enormous need for a book like this. Sophie offers sensible, realistic advice in an easy to read amusing book. I recommend it highly!
Siobhan Taylor, Midwife and community postnatal supporter
I am six months postnatal and having had a baby on the cusp of an international lockdown the points Sophie has made in this book has touched me at so many levels.
This is a great collection of resources and empowering inspiration for not only new mothers and her care givers but for our society at large.
This is a practical book that will help new mothers have a conversation around their postnatal needs. The chapter on how to write a postnatal recovery plan is gold. It has simple yet amazing tips on how to request for support and to plan for this rather than leave it to chance or simply expect that others may notice the help we need.
Rehana Jawadwala, yoga teacher and mother
Sophie’s book is a powerful call to action and essential reading not just for those who are pregnant or have had children but for all of us. At some point in our lives we will come into contact with a loved one who is expecting or has recently had a child and Sophie s book reminds us of an age-old universal wisdom about caring for the mother. The book is a wonderful resource including poignant personal stories.
My hope is that the book will have a ripple effect. Caring for mothers during this precious period after birth is an avenue not just to look after two individuals (baby and mother) but a step towards creating better societies.
Dr Johanna Riha, Consultant Epidemiologist
Sophie’s book is a powerful call to action and essential reading not just for those who are pregnant or have had children but for all of us. At some point in our lives we will come into contact with a loved one who is expecting or has recently had a child and Sophie s book reminds us of an age-old universal wisdom about caring for the mother. The book is a wonderful resource including poignant personal stories.
My hope is that the book will have a ripple effect. Caring for mothers during this precious period after birth is an avenue not just to look after two individuals (baby and mother) but a step towards creating better societies.
Dr Johanna Riha, Consultant Epidemiologist
This is such an important book! Postnatal recovery is a routinely overlooked aspect of mothering. Sophie has written the perfect evidence-based and holistic practical resource. This book honours the often challenging transformation that takes place in the early parenting phase. I hope this book finds its way into the hands of anyone expecting a baby and anyone who supports them.
Dr Rachel Reed, Midwife, Midwifethinking.com
I wasn’t expecting much from a book priced at 5 EUR, but this absolutely over-delivered. It is packed with information, stories, research and helpful tips and I would have happily paid 4 or 5 times the price for it. It helped me see what I could have done differently after my first child was born and made me feel so much more confident in preparing for number two. I had never even considered some of the ideas she presents for post-natal recovery, but after reading about them I realized that they sound like just what I need. This book is such a valuable resource!
Kristal, expectant mother