The following resource list is merely that: a recommended list of resources for pregnancy, breastfeeding, parenting and beyond for individuals or providers. These are the resources I tell my patients and colleagues about on a daily basis. This list has been a decade in the making and was created through many years of nursing school. I hope you find this list as useful as I do. My personal comments are in italics and handouts, PDFs and apps area highlight throughout the list.
Have a recommended resource, update or comment? Please send me a comment here!
A
Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
Acne and Pregnancy
Advanced Directives
- PDF: Advanced Directive Form
- PDF: A Conversation Guide (Alaska Native Medical Center)
AfterThird – A website aimed at support for new parents! Check out their blog too!
American Association of Birth Centers
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- 2005 SIDS Recommendations
- 2016 Recommendations for a Healthy Sleep Environment
- 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment
- Handout (PDF): Bright Futures (4th Ed.)
- Healthy Children (English, Spanish)
- Neonatal Resuscitation Program
- Are you a NRP instructor? Get newsletters with instructor updates here.
- PODCAST: Pediatrics On Call
- Vitamin D Recommendations for Infants
American Association of Women’s Health and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
- AWHONN Position Statements
- Handout (PDF): POST-BIRTH Warning Signs (in multiple languages here)
American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
- ACNM Affiliate Maps
- ACNM Benchmarking Project
- ACNM Caucuses
- PAC Efforts by ACNM
- Share with Women/Ask The Midwife Handouts (Patient education handouts on a variety of topics; I use these in my practice every day!)
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Committee Opinions
- Debrief tool (PDF): The Obstetric Team Debriefing Tool
- Infographic: 21 Reasons to See a Gynecologist Before You Are 21
- Infographic: The Well Woman Exam
- Patient handouts: Resources for You
- Position Statements
American Midwifery Certification Board (ACMB)
American Nurses Credentialing Center
- FREE brochure: How to Display your Credentials? – A must for nurse practitioner students and new practitioners!
American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology
- APP: ASCCP Mobile Consensus Guidelines on Management of Women with Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests and Cancer Precursors
- Highly recommended! I use this app in clinic every week. A must for nurse practitioner students.
American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) – FREE patient handouts…
- Constipation
- Pelvic floor muscle exercises
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Third and fourth degree vaginal tears
- Urinary Incontinence
- Vaginal estrogen therapy
- Vaginal pessaries
Anemia in Pregnancy
- Handout: Preventing Iron Deficiency Anemia During Pregnancy (ACNM)
- Iron Fact Sheet
- Infographics for foods high in iron: here and here (vegetarians)
Ask Me 3 Campaign – Ask Me 3® is an educational program that encourages patients and families to ask three specific questions of their providers to better understand their health conditions and what they need to do to stay healthy.
Aspirin and Pregnancy
- Handouts:
- 2020 March of Dimes: Low-Dose Aspirin To Prevent Pre-eclampsia and Premature Birth
- 2021 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Low-Dose Aspirin Use for the Prevention of Preeclampsia and Related Morbidity and Mortality
- 2022 CMQCC & March of Dimes: To Keep Baby And You Safe From Preeclampsia: Let’s Do Aspirin (English. andSpanish)
- ***Also consider adding a handout on How The Placenta Forms!
Asthma Action Plans
- PDF: English; Spanish; Chinese; Vietnamese
B
Baby Education
- Infant sleeping
- The Period of Purple Crying – *A MUST WATCH FOR ANY NEW MAMA!*
Back Pain in Pregnancy
- The Cleveland Clinic’s Pregnancy: Correct Posture & Body Mechanics
- Article: Pregnancy and Chiropractic: A Narrative Review of the Literature (2007)
- Brochure: TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) Unit Use in Pregnancy
- Handout: ACNM Back Pain in Pregnancy
Belly Casting – This is a great video by a labor and delivery nurse who is passionate (and creative!) at belly casting. Video tutorial here! Purchase her e-book here!
Birth Classes
- Parentcraft (FREE, by United Kingdom, multiple languages)
- 3 classes: Normal Birth, Delivery Suite and Higher Risk Care, Care of the Newborn/Postnatal
Breastfeeding (see “Formula Feeding” below for formula information)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (July 2022)
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM)
- Alaska Breastfeeding Coalition American Academy of NursingAsian & Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Task Force, @APIBTF (facebook)
- Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Position Statement on Breastfeeding
- Baby Care Centers at Disneyland
- Traveling to Disneyland with a baby or toddler? Need a quiet place stocked with changing tables, rocking chairs, toddler toilets and more? Check these centers out on your next vacation. They proved a lovely break from the bustle of Disney for our nursing baby during our last vacation.
- Breastfeeding clubs
- Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
- Black Breastfeeding Week
- Breastmilk Banking
- Human Milk Banking Association of North America
- Indiana’s Mother’s Milk Bank: https://www.themilkbank.org/
- Breast Pump Bags
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Coeffective
- About: “At Coffective (Community + Effective), we believe all communities have the power to succeed. Communities of mothers, nurses, providers, peer counselors, home visitors, leaders, hospitals… communities working together for change. We see our role as offering training, tools, and a platform for action that empowers everyone across the breastfeeding continuum to strengthen their communities and be more effective in their efforts.”
- Every Mother
- Every Mother, Inc. is a Mississippi-based nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to devoted to equipping and empowering health care professionals and other groups with improving breastfeeding support for new families.
- First Droplets
- Global Breastfeeding Collective (UNICEF and the World Health Organization)
- Indigy Milk Medicine Collective
- Kellymom.com
- La Leche League
- Medela’s Ask the Lactation Consultant Feature
- A 24/7 option to send a message to an IBCLC for FREE. A great resource to share with mamas or patients.
- Thrush (by Toronto Public Health Department)
- Tips on How to Pump Breastmilk (Healthy Children)
- UC San Diego – Human Milk Institute
- United States Breastfeeding Committee
- United States Lactation Consultant Association
- USPSTF Breastfeeding
- World Health Organization
- Ten steps to successful breastfeeding: “WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) to help motivate facilities providing maternity and newborn services worldwide to implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. The Ten Steps summarize a package of policies and procedures that facilities providing maternity and newborn services should implement to support breastfeeding. WHO has called upon all facilities providing maternity and newborn services worldwide to implement the Ten Steps.”
- Vaccines and Breastfeeding
Breech
- Also see “Spinning Babies”
- Flip a Breech
- If Your Baby is Breech: Frequently Asked Questions (ACOG)
C
California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC)
Car Seat Safety (www.safecar.gov/parents)
- Phone number: 1-866-SEATCHECK
Centering Healthcare Institute
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Birth Defects
- Coping With Stress
- Diabetes Education
- Group Beta Strep
- National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
- A program to help low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women gain access to breast and cervical cancer screening, diagnostic testing, and treatment services.
- Preconception
- Treating for Two Campaign
- Zika
Cerebral Palsy
Childcare resources
- NAP SACC
- thread Alaska: “providing child care resource and referral (CCR&R) services in in Alaska”
Childbirth Classes
- Evergreen Health (FREE classes on anesthesia, bathing your baby, soothing your baby, breastfeeding and postnatal pain
- Parentcraft (FREE, United Kingdom produced)
- Tinyhood (monthly subscription fee)
- Breastfeeding 101: From Prenatal Prep to Pumping
- A $100 class offered for FREE during the pandemic!
The Rights of Childbearing Women
Choosing Wisely Campaign (a website promoting conversation between patients and clinicians)
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Ten Things Patients and Physicians Should Question
- Scheduling early delivery of your baby [PDF available: here]
Cleveland Clinic
- A site dedicated to cloth diaper FAQs and all things cloth diapers
Coalition for Improving Maternity Services
- FREE documents and downloads here
Colorado Department of Public Health
Commonwealth Fund: Affordable, quality healthcare for everyone
Contraception
- FREE Webinar on contraception and breastfeeding (ACOG; 1 hour in length)
- Article: Providing Quality Family Planning Services: Recommendations of CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs
- An excellent publication by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on the components of comprehensive contraception counseling!
- Article: Phexxi – A Contraceptive Gel approved by FDA May 2020
- Contraception Tools:
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- COVID-19 Vaccines and Pregnancy: Key Recommendations and Messaging for Clinicians
- COVID-19 Resources for Maternal and Infant Health
- Johns Hopkins COVID Resource Center
- World Health Organization: Coronavirus Pandemic
- World Health Organization: COVID-19 Myth
- World Health Organization Q+A: COVID-19, Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Breastfeeding
- Count the Kicks is an evidence-based campaign that teaches expectant parents about the importance of tracking fetal movements.
- Download the app!
- Printable Kick Counting Charts
Co-Sleeping
- The Natural Child Project
- Article: Why babies should never sleep alone: A review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding
D
Decision aids
Diabetes in pregnancy
- ACOG’s Frequently Asked Questions: Gestational Diabetes
- CDC’s handout on Diabetes and Pregnancy
- RCOG’s Gestational Diabetes
- UCSF’s Dietary Recommendations for Gestational Diabetes
- UCSF’s Counting Carbs
- U.S. DHHS’s Managing Gestational Diabetes
Dietary Guidelines
Diversity
Doulas
- Doula Medicaid Project
- Find a doula at www.dona.org/
- Read the history of doulas and their role in maternity care here.
- Reading recommendations from a doula instagram: @doulalibrary
- Blog: Two Doulas and You
E
Eating Fish During Pregnancy (FDA, 2021)
- A free database to view clinical guidelines (you do have to make an account, but again… it’s FREE!)
Exercise
- PDF: Midwifery = High Value Maternity Care (2018)
- PDF: Maximizing Midwifery to Achieve High Value Maternity Care in New York (2018)
- PDF: Urgent Matters: Maternity Care in the United States (2018)
F
Family and Medical Leave
- Paid Leave for All campaign
Fetal Development
- Find food assistance, help paying bills and other free or reduced cost programs by your zip code (includes pandemic programs as well)
Fistula Resources
- National Organizations for Fistulas
- Fistula Foundation: https://fistulafoundation.org/
- Operation Hope Fistula: https://operationhopefistula.com/about/
- World Wide Fistula Fund: https://worldwidefistulafund.org/home.aspx
- Other Recommended Articles
- Idiopathic fistula-in-ano (2011, World Journal of Gastroenterology)
- A nice overview of fistulas
- Anorectal Infection: Abscess–Fistula (2011, Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery)
- A series of pictures explaining the different types of fistulas – see below!
- This article about wound healing in relation to colorectal surgery
- Practice Guidelines for Fistula Repair
- The Treatment of Anal Fistula: Second ACPGBI Position Statement (2018)
- Idiopathic fistula-in-ano (2011, World Journal of Gastroenterology)
- Webinars about Fistulas
- Anal Fistulas (*probably my favorite for education and why these fistulas are so hard to treat!)
- Fistula Webinar
- Rectovaginal Fistulas
- Seton Webinar
Formula feeding
- Tips for Preparing Imported Infant Formula (US FDA, 2022)
G
Gestational Diabetes
Global Health Media – FREE videos on labor, postpartum, and breastfeeding!
- VIDEO: Caring for yourself and baby after birth
- VIDEO: Breastfeeding in the first hours
- VIDEO: Positions for breastfeeding
- VIDEO: Attaching your baby at the breast
- VIDEO: Is your baby getting enough milk?
- VIDEO :Increasing your milk supply
- VIDEO: How to express breastmilk
- VIDEO: Positions for birth
- VIDEO: What to expect in labor
- VIDEO: What to expect in birth
- VIDEO: The vaginal exam
H
Healthy People 2030 Initiative
- PDF: How can I use Healthy People 2030 in my work?
- For practicing providers, this is a great PDF to print off and put on your desk as a reminder of the initiatives you can help with every day!
- YouTube video: Healthy People 2030 Launch
Human Milk Banking Association of North America
- Learn more about establishing a milk bank in your community here!
I
- Available at 1-806-352-2519 to help physicians, nurses, lactation consultants and mothers WORLDWIDE to evaluate the risk to infants from exposure to drugs and to keep mamas breastfeeding.
Infant Loss (see also miscarriage)
- Faith-45.com
- A not for profit here to help you in miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss.
Infographics
International Center for Traditional Childbearing
- A non-profit infant mortality prevention, breastfeeding support, and midwife training organization
International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA)
International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)
International Resources
- Action Without Borders
- Global Health Council
- Health Delivery Online – Hosts free, online, virtual, week-long events that bring together leading experts to share their knowledge and discuss key issues in the field
- Global Health Learning Center – Free online courses
- International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)Maya Midwifery International – Charity assisting Guatemalan midwives
- Omnimed – Promotes health volunteerism
- One Nurse at a Time – Promotes nursing opportunities to volunteer’
- Unite for Sight
- University of Massachusetts Medical School International Volunteer Opportunities
J
K
Kaiser Family – Great organization focusing on health policy research, analysis, polling, etc.
- Annual Health Benefits Reports
- 2016 Report or summary of findings here
- Explaining Health Care Reform
- Summary of the Affordable Care Act
- VIDEO: Health Insurance Explained
L
Lamaze International – Giving Birth with Confidence
- Resource to look up medications or substances that may effect breastfeeding women. The provider or the patient can look up individual medications or substances by using the search bar. I use this resource regularly in clinic to review the research available with women.
Lancet – British Medical Journal, FREE to subscribe!
Licensed Midwives
Loss (infant loss, miscarriage, bereavement)
- Trappist Caskets (free caskets for infants crafted by monks from New Melleray Abbey in Iowa)
Lotus Birth
Lower Extremity Nerve Injury (LENI)
- Article: Postpartum Peripheral Nerve Injuries – What is Anesthesia’s Role?
- Blog posts on LENI: Chelsea’s Birth Story (Part 1 and Part 2)
- Maternal Nerve Injury from Childbirth Awareness Month Facebook Group
- Nerve Damage from Childbirth (MICA)
- Unhindered Steps Facebook Group
M
- Advice for Before or Between Pregnancies
- August 2019: Position Statement Midwifery Care and Birth Outcomes in United States
Mental Health Resources
- APPs: Calm, CBT-I Coach, Mindshift, MoodTools, Stop-Breathe-Think, Nobu
Midwifery Business Consultation
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
- “Expert, confidential and no-cost information about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding by phone, text, email and chat.”
N
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
National Cancer Institute
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
- Herbs at a Glance – A series of brief fact sheets that provides basic information about specific herbs or botanicals
- Free APP: HerbList – more info here
National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
- Newborn Hearing Screening
- PDF: Scripts for Communicating with Parents
- Resources for Newborn Hearing Screening
National Council of State Boards of Nursing
National Institute for Health
The Human Placenta Project (2016)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Vulvodynia Association
Nerve Damage from Childbirth (see Lower Nerve Extremity Injury)
New England Journal of Medicine
Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and the APRN Compact
O
Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury (OASI) – also known as third or fourth-degree lacerations
- Patient education
P
Parenting
- Raising Girls and Boys
- Podcast recommendations:
- Risen Motherhood
Peanut allergy
Peanut Balls
- VIDEO: How to Have A Faster Labor
Pelvic Floor Therapy/Physical Therapy
- Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy
- Articles
- Carrie Pagliano Physical Therapy
- Dr. Mandi Murtaugh – Physical Therapy and Yoga
- MyPFM – online courses, great handouts (in multiple languages!)
- Handouts – these are amazing and in many languages.
- Recharge Therapy
- The Vagina Whisperer
- YouTube channel: ChoosePT
Periods (menstruation)
Pessaries
Podcast Recommendations
- Cochrane Library Podcasts – The latest evidence shared in audio format – great for to and from work, or while folding some laundry.
- Evidence Based Birth
- Journey to Midwifery
- Mother to Baby
- Pediatrics On Call
- What’s Up With Your Down There (new episodes stopped in 2020)
Poison Help – Phone: 1-800-222-1222
Postpartum
- C-Section Scar Care: DIY Guide
- DONA: The Postpartum Doula’s Role in Maternity Care
- Postpartum help…
- Returning to exercise…
- Postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety or PMADs
- ***IMMEDIATE SUPPORT AVILABLE HERE***
- NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE: 1-800-273-8255
- SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTINE: 1-800-SUICIDE
- NATIONAL POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION WARMLINE: 1-800-PPD-MOMS
- Beyond Blue
- Pink Newborn Services
- Postpartum Education for Parents
- Postpartum Progress
- Postpartum Support International
- Handout: Perinatal Mental Health Tool
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-943-5746 (24/7, 365 support, encouragement and resources for women)
- Support Groups
- Postpartum Support Virginia
- Handout: My Family Postpartum Plan
- Handout: Path To Wellness
- Handout: Anxiety and Depression Risk Factors
- Warmline (telephone number): (703) 829-7152
- The Blue Dot Project
- ***IMMEDIATE SUPPORT AVILABLE HERE***
- The 4th Trimester Project
Physiologic Birth Resources
- BirthTOOLS.org
- Evidence Based Birth
- Nursing Support of Laboring Women (AWHONN, 2011)
- Supporting Healthy and Normal Physiologic Childbirth: A Consensus Statement by ACNM, MANA, and MACPM (2012)
Preconception
- Pursuing Motherhood – A Guide before Pregnancy (from the state of Delaware)
- Show Your Love: Preconception Health
- Show your love is a national campaign designed to promote wellbeing and support young adults as they strive to achieve their goals and make healthy lifestyle choices today.
R
Reproductive Life Planning
Family planning templates
- Handout (PDF): Planning Your Family: Developing a Reproductive Life Plan (ACNM)
- Handout (PDF): Preconception Health and Health Care My Reproductive Life Plan (CDC)
- Handout (PDF): Women’s Health & Family Planning Center at Columbus Public Health
S
SAFE PASSAGES Protocol to Reduce Perineal Trauma
Safer Childbirth Cities – A community-based organization in cities across the United States to help improve maternal health outcomes that matter most in their cities.
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Austin, Texas
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Brooklyn, New York
- Camden, New Jersey
- Chicago, Illinois
- Columbus, Ohio
- Detroit, Michigan
- Jackson, Mississippi
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Newark, New Jersey
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
- San Francisco, California
- St. Louis, Missouri – here and here
- Tampa, Florida
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Washington, D.C.
Shared Decision Making
- Less is More Medicine – TONS of SDM handouts, websites and tools
- Mayo Clinic Shared Decision-Making Tools – multiple handouts
- Handout (PDF): Ottawa Personal Decision Making Guide
- A basic SDM handout that could be used for almost any decision making!
- Shared Decision Making Fact Sheet
- Shared Decision Making Implementation Roadmap
- Published by Minnesota Shared Decision-Making Collaborative, it’s a how to implement SDM into your practice.
- Handout (PDF): Shared Decision Making Made Easy – Great 1 page print out for you desk at work.
- Handout (PDF): Person Centered Decision Making (by Birth Place Lab)
Sleep Resources
Smoking Cessation Resources
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Association
- American Lung Association
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Provider counseling
- Smokefree.gov
- Phone resource: 1-800-QUIT NOW
Your Pregnancy Week by Week (love the affirmations at the end of each post!)
Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Suicide
T
Telemedicine
- Postpartum information on a variety of topics: healing, staying well, breasts, when to call for help, emotions, your bottom, sex…and more!
TOLAC/VBAC (trial of labor after cesarean/vaginal birth after cesarean)
- Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Delivery (ACOG, 2020)
V
Vaccinations
W
Water birth
Well Woman Care
- Handout (PDF): 2021 Recommendations for Well-Woman Care (from AAFP, ACOG, ACP and NPWH)
- Handout (PDF): Well Visit Check Up Numbers
- Handout (PDF): Your Mental Health Matters
- Handout (PDF): Know Your Cycle
Whooping Cough Vaccine and Pregnancy
Have a resource to share? Please let me know at amidwifenation@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!