Pregnancy and Postpartum Resources

Pregnancy and Birth Preparation

These resources offer thoughtful guidance on birth preparation, understanding your options, and supporting your body throughout pregnancy. They focus on helping birthing people and their partners approach birth feeling informed, confident and supported.

• Rachel Reed Phd. - former midwife, author, teacher and researcher. Her work focuses on childbirth physiology, care provider practice and women's rights (and rites). She is a wealth of knowledge and has articles on pretty much everything birth related on her blog.
  View website.‍ ‍View Instagram.

• Melanie the midwife - Dr Melanie Jackson loves to help midwives and women around the world better understand and apply the research relating to matrescence (the process of becoming a mother). She is host of The Great Birth Rebellion Podcast, supporting and mentoring midwives, as well as educating mothers.
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• The Birth Class (self-paced online) by Australian Birth Stories - ten modules featuring expert midwives, doulas, obstetricians, yoga teachers and women’s health physios.
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• Power Birth by midwife Beth Ryan. In-person in Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane or self-paced online.
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• Floor and Core Restore - free online birth classes created by Bernadette (B) Lack - midwife, mother, educator. She’s also core and pelvic floor PT with lots of classes and tips.
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I also recommend parents-to-be attend an in-person birth course in their area if possible.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Nutrition

You know good nutrition during pregnancy and postpartum recovery is important, but what does that actually look like? These practitioners and resources focus on nutrient-dense eating, replenishing the body after birth, and supporting mothers through the demanding early months of breastfeeding and recovery.

• Lily Nichols - Dietician and author of Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Fertility. My go-to resource for guidelines of what to eat during pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding. She regularly cites studies and continually updates her content. She takes a food first approach and see supplements as important back-ups (if you take the right ones - she has recommendations for that too)
  View Website.‍ ‍View Instagram.

• Dr. Oscar Serrallach MBChB FRACGP - Doctor of Functional Medicine with a special interest in Post-Natal Wellbeing, author of The Postnatal Depletion Cure. Many mothers are still suffering with brain-fog, fatigue, poor sleep and poor mood regulation years after having a baby. Dr Oscar Serrallach explains how reserves need to be repleted after pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding or a mother can be long-term chronically depleted.
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Newborn Care and Infant Development

There are many apps and voices telling you how to hack your baby’s sleep and behaviour, but your child isn’t a robot. Babies want to be close to you and need responsive care. Instead of obsessing over schedules and wake windows, these resources propose ways to follow your baby’s cues and bring them along with you in your daily activies. They also provide evidence-based guidance on newborn behaviour, sleep, feeding and early development so parents can better understand what is normal in the early months of life.

• Greer Kirshenbaum, Phd - Neuroscientist, Doula, Mother and author of The Nurture Revolution. Did you know that cuddling and responding to your baby is one of the best things you can do for their brain development? She presents evidence that keeping our babies as close as possible for the first three years of life sets them up to be healthy, resilent, intelligent teenagers and adults.
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• Dr Pamela Douglas - Australian GP and researcher with nearly four decades of experience working with families. She created the Possums approach to parenting and is the author of The Discontented Little Baby.
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Pelvic Floor and Women’s Health Physio Led Movement

Pregnancy and birth place enormous strain on the pelvic floor and core muscles. Visiting a pelvic floor physio before birth (they will teach you how to safely ‘push’ and give you pregnancy safe core exercises) and especially after at around 6 weeks postpartum is essential. These physiotherapy resources focus on staying fit and strong during pregnancy, rebuilding strength after birth and addressing common concerns such as pelvic pain, incontinence and prolapse.

• Empowered Motherhood Program app - created by Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, Lyz Evans and Perinatal exercise specialist Kimmy Smith.
  View website. (affiliate link that will give you 10% off) View Instagram.

• The Whole Mother by Anna Scrammell - Master's-trained Women's Health Physiotherapist based in Bondi, Sydney (she can do appointments at your home). The Pregnancy Academy and The Postpartum Academy are online programs that can be accessed from anywhere.
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• Mamaste Fit - online birth classes and pre-and post-natal fitness programs by Gina Conley (Masters of Science in Exercise Science, Birth Doula) and Roxanne Albert (Labor and Delivery Nurse, Midwife).
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Postpartum Recovery and The Fourth Trimester

Understanding the physical and emotional recovery after birth, and planning the right support to allow you to fully recover can make a profound difference to how mothers experience early motherhood and beyond. These resources explore postpartum depletion, healing after birth and the identity transition known as matrescence.

• First 40 Days by Heng Ou (book). One of the best known postpartum care books, reclaiming the traditional ways of caring and deeply nourishing new mothers from the Chinese perspective (Postpartum care practices can be found in most other traditional cultures too). She has also authored Awakening Fertility, and Nine Golden Months. and is the founder of Mother Bees.
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• The Fourth Trimester (book) by Kimberley Ann Johnson - somatic practitioner, birth doula and lead authority in postpartum health. Learn what to expect in the 12 weeks after birth and how to respect and honour this time
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• Matrescence by Lucy Jones (book). She dives into the transformations of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum from medical, philosophical, and historical angles, using her own experience as a mother of three as a guide. She questions why western countries don’t acknowledge this transition into motherhood when it “involves a whole spectrum of emotional and existential ruptures.”
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• The Nourished Mother (cookbook) by Lindsey Taylor, also known as The Food Doula - mum, health researcher, author, teacher, and nutrition expert. Lots of great, practical, one-handed, nutritious recipes.
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Maternal Mental Health

Conception, pregnancy and welcoming a new baby can be incredibly stressful, challenging times for many people for many different reasons. It’s okay not to feel thrilled all of the time, that’s normal. This is likely one of the biggest physical and emotional transitions of your life. You may be dealing with additional complications on top of that too. It’s important that you are able to express how you’re feeling without judgement. These organisations provide trusted information and professional support for mothers experiencing anxiety, depression or overwhelm during pregnancy and the first year after birth.

• PANDA - Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia – supports the mental health of parents and families during pregnancy and in their first year of parenthood. National Helpline (Monday to Saturday) 1300 726 306
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• COPE - Centre of Perinatal Excellence. Australia’s peak body in perinatal mental health. From pre-conception to postpartum, they have information, factsheets and support.
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• Gidget Foundation Australia - a not-for-profit organisation that exists to support the mental health of expectant, new and potential parents to ensure they receive accessible, timely and specialist care.
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Safe Sleep

These resources focus on evidence-based safe sleep practices so parents can better understand how to create a safe sleeping environment for their baby while navigating the realities of newborn sleep.

• Sids and Kids SA - Promotes a greater understanding of the safe sleep guidelines through education, information and advocacy with the aim of reducing the number of deaths from SIDS and sleep related accidents.
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• Red Nose - Find trusted, evidence-based advice to help reduce the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy.
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• Cosleepy - if you’re going to co-sleep (share a bed with an infant), intentionally or untinentionally, at any point of the day or night, you need to know how to create a safer set up. And sleeping on the couch with your baby is NOT a safe solution.
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Baby Sleep Support

It’s normal for a newborn to wake every two hours to feed for weeks or even months (sorry, but it’s true). But what if it continues and you are an absolute sleep-deprived zombie who is struggling to function, let alone mother? It might be time to call in some help. I can’t endorse sleep-training as the latest evidence is showing it’s not great for your baby’s develpment and long-term emotional resilience, but there are some things you can do. The resources below provide practical solutions to help you and your baby get more sleep.

• Kin Postpartum - gentle and responsive sleep support, empowering to trust their instincts. Supporting kids 0-5 years old to sleep as well as is developmentally appropriate for their age and stage.
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• The Breast Help - supporting families with evidence-based, responsive sleep support. Guided by science and grounded in biology. No sleep training and no strict routines. Just thoughtful, investigative support that looks at what’s really going on to work toward sustainable sleep rhythms and better rest for everyone.
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• Tresilian - Australia's largest not-for-profit early parenting service. They support new parents around breastfeeding, nutrition and settling baby, as well as mental health issues such as post-natal depression and anxiety. They offer free 2-hour consultations, free group education classes and free (medicare-funded) 4 night/5 day stays to understand address any concerns.
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• Karitane - A not-for-profit organisation, that provides parents and carers with knowledge and support around the topics of sleep & settling, establishing routines, feeding & nutrition, toddler behaviour, and pre and postnatal anxiety and depression. Their free services are evidence-based and delivered by a team of child and family health nurses, paediatricians, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. They also offer free (medicare-funded) stays.
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Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding is natural, but it is also a learned skill for both mother and baby. These resources offer evidence-based guidance and access to qualified lactation professionals who can support mothers through the challenges and questions that often arise in the early weeks. If you intend to breastfeed, I highly recommend you learn about it while pregnant.

• Australian Breastfeeding Association - Australia's peak body for breastfeeding information, education and support. They provide mother-to-mother peer support and up-to-date and evidence-based information. Breastfeeding Helpline: 1800 mum 2 mum | 1800 686 268
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• La Leche League International Breastfeeding Support - helping mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding.
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Ancient Feminine Wisdom

Motherhood is not only a practical transition but a deeply emotional, spiritual and identity-shaping one too. These writers and educators encourage you to dive into the wonder and beauty of growing a child, birthing and becoming amother. They remind us of the wisdom within our bodies, help us listen to the voice inside each of us and celebrate this rite of passage for the miracle that it is.

• Ten Moons, The Inner Journey of Pregnancy by Jane Hardwicke Collings - a Women's Mysteries Teacher, a Menstrual Educator, and a former Homebirth Midwife for 30 years.
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• Ayurveda Mama, Preparing for Pregnancy, Birth, and Your Postpartum Window by Dhyana Masla - certified Ayurveda health counselor and educator, specialized in guiding groups and individuals on transformative and healing journeys
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This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a collection of resources I regularly return to, update and recommend to the families I support.

For specific health practitioners in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs eg. lactation consultants, physios, naturopaths, birth doulas, psychologists, chiros, pilates, midwifes etc. please contact me. For personalised support in other areas of Australia, visit Not Another Onsie’spregnancy and motherhood directory.

If you’d like personalised support preparing for postpartum or navigating the early months with your baby, you’re welcome to explore my offerings hereor book a free discovery call. I would love to support you, either in-person if you’re in Sydney’s inner city or Eastern Suburbs, or online if you’re somewhere else.