The Fourth Trimester Companion - by Cynthia Gabriel (Paperback)

About the Book

The only book devoted to the full spectrum of the new mother's needs after the birth of a baby, covering medical, emotional, psychological, family, and marital issues and concerns.

Book Synopsis

A well-cared-for baby is a baby whose mother is taking care of herself. With this truth at its core, The Fourth Trimester Companion supports your transition to motherhood.

You have probably already read multiple books on pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care as you prepare to become a mother, but have you considered how you are going to care for yourself after your baby is born? With so much focus on the birthing process and the new baby, your own birth as a mother is often overlooked. Doctors, nurses, midwives, and others involved in providing baby care agree that your own transition deserves equal attention, because taking good care of yourself in the first three months of your new baby's life--the fourth trimester--brings crucial benefits for you, for your baby, and for your partner and family.

With this important book, you (as well as your partner and other caregivers, whether lay or professional) now have the resources to have an ideal fourth trimester experience. Cynthia Gabriel, a doula and the author of the best-selling book Natural Hospital Birth, delivers all the information, guidance, and encouragement you need as a new mother to take care of your body, mind, and spirit during the vital months of the fourth trimester--so that you feel your best and so your baby has the best possible chance to thrive.

Find tips, strategies, and advice for:

• Coping with the physical and emotional challenges in the first days and weeks post-partum
• Sleep challenges and solutions for both you and baby
• Self-care, infant care, and infant feeding, including breastfeeding and going back to work
• Navigating your changing relationships with your immediate family, partner, children, parents, in-laws, and pets
• Finding your new, postpartum sex life
• Emotional well-being, including postpartum depression and PTSD

Appreciate the wondrous moments as a new mother and feel less alone with the challenging ones with The Fourth Trimester Companion.

Review Quotes

"The Fourth Trimester Companion is the ultimate guide for any new family. Cynthia Gabriel provides accurate and up-to-date information that will prepare you for what happens after you give birth and will leave you feeling inspired and empowered to start your family in health and joy. This book truly is a masterpiece for new families today."
--Ana Paula Markel, President, DONA International (formerly Doulas of North America), and founder of Bini Birth, Los Angeles

"How can such a delicate and tiny being as a newborn take so much space in the house and in your heart? This book will gently take you by the hand and walk beside you. Like a good friend it will not judge, but it will offer support with the questions you have and some you might not even know were coming. It is both practical and deep. It will help you feel and say, 'I can do this.'"--Kim John Payne, MEd, author of "Simplicity Parenting" and "The Soul of Discipline"

"This book is born from Cynthia Gabriel's incredible expertise. As a medical anthropologist, an educator, a doula, and a mother of three, Cynthia guides us through the early months of infancy and early parenting not only from a place of knowledge and experience, but also with exquisite sensitivity, compassion, and practicality."--Lesley Everest, doula and doula trainer, MotherWit, Montreal

About the Author

Cynthia Gabriel is a doula, a childbirth educator, a medical anthropologist with a PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a mother of three. She attends births and leads women's and parents' support groups in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area, where she lives with her family. She is the author of the best-selling book Natural Hospital Birth.