January Birthworker Bookclub: Practical Must-Haves

Conferences are great. Online courses are great. This is where you can see knowledge applied, be in community or learn about something not-yet-published. Who all goes to National AWHONN? It's a major party! But I always advocate for nurses to get to the source, to learn not just what so-and-so presenter’s view is, but to have a familiarity with the texts and research where we draw from. Books are a cheap and readily available resource for nurses that want to be experts.  That want to be that nurse who is soooo goooood with all the situations.  That nurse who gets a cool nick-name, like The Vagician because of her mad skills. Practical, topic-specific books can help give perspective as well as tools, skills and knowledge.  For all the hospital training and mandatory education OB nurses get, it's rare such basic topics as physiologic birth, labor progress and trauma are covered.  And sometimes, what we need to learn and grow as a nurse, isn’t about our patient. Sometimes the work of professional development is really about personal development. It can be about looking at our own patterns and attachments, finding purpose, or learning the ‘soft-skills’ of communication and leadership. Books not included, but recommended on basic OB nurse topics like fetal monitoring and second-stage, can be found on the AWHONN website. The books in this list take you a step further.

Supporting a Physiologic Approach to Pregnancy and Birth by Mellisa D. Avery, PhD, CNM & The Labor Progress Handbook by Penny Simkin, Lisa Hanson & Ruth Ancheta

They are both a few years old, but the information is still reliable and pertinent, especially in our post-ARRIVE trial environment.  This is especially for my OB nurses who don’t know what physiologic (also known as NORMAL LABOR) is and don’t get a chance to see it often in the inpatient setting.  25% of all birthers and 45% of Black birthers will have their labors induced. And close to 50% of all patients in the hospital will receive oxytocin to initiate or augment their labor (more on that in another post).  That seems...odd...to put it mildly.  So brush up on your normal birth knowledge, because if you don’t know normal...how can you know abnormal?

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk & Traumatic Childbirth by Cheryl Tatano Beck, Jeanne Watson Beck & Sue Watson

The Body Keeps the Score is groundbreaking and is a primer for anyone wanting to understand how trauma affects us physically.  Traumatic Childbirth is very practical for any clinician, especially if you believe the reports that 35%+ of all new mothers report a traumatic childbirth experience. One of the best parts of this book is the clinical scenarios and patient stories.

The Power of Attachment by Diane Polle Heller, PhD

I’m a better nurse, mother and partner for having read this book.  To understand attachments is a super useful step if you want to have better (even easier?) relationships with others, most importantly with yourself.  Does it look a little woo? Sure, but it is based on solid science and experience.  And everyone I know who reads it, reads it at least two or three times...it's that good.

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, PhD

If you aren’t a Brene Brown fan are you even a person?!?!  Just kidding (kind of). Her most recent book on leadership came to me just as I was moving from charge nurse to clinical educator.  Both of those are leadership roles.  Charge nurses, what I call "the Nurse for the Nurses on the unit," would be well served by embracing the identity of Leader and this book can help that role not so scary/frustrating/soul-sucking and more grounding/purposeful/joyful.

There you have it, my book-loving birthworker! Six practical books to get you going! Once you dive into one of these titles, share your latest read on Instagram and use the hashtag #birthworkerbookclub to let us know.

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