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
- AfterThird
- A website aimed at support for new parents! Check out their blog too!
- American Association of Birth Centers
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Handout (PDF): Bright Futures (4th Ed.)
- Healthy Children (English, Spanish)
- Neonatal Resuscitation Program
- Are you a NRP instructor?
- American Association of Women’s Health and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
- AWHONN Position Statements
- Handout (PDF): POST-BIRTH Warning Signs
- American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
- ACNM Affiliate Maps
- ACNM Benchmarking Project
- ACNM Caucuses
- PAC Efforts by ACNM
- Share with Women 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
- Webinar (FREE!): Contraception and Breastfeeding (approx 1 hour)
- 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!
- FREE brochure: How to Display your Credentials?
- 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 ($9.99)
- Highly recommended! I use this app in clinic every week.
- A must for nurse practitioner students.
- App: ASCCP Mobile Consensus Guidelines on Management of Women with Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests and Cancer Precursors ($9.99)
- American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS)
- FREE patient handouts and fact sheets (PDF):
- Anemia in Pregnancy
- ACNM’s Preventing Iron Deficiency Anemia During Pregnancy
- Iron Fact Sheet
- Infographics for foods high in iron: here and here (vegetarians) – *these are great patient handouts*
- 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.
- Asthma Action Plans
- PDF: English; Spanish; Chinese; Vietnamese
B
- Baby education
- Infant sleeping
- Newborn screening by states
- The Period of Purple Crying – *A MUST WATCH FOR ANY NEW MAMA!*
- Back Pain in Pregnancy
- Belly Casting
- Birth Works International
- Birthing from Within
- Birthing the Future
- Breastfeeding
- 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
- 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.”
- Droplet
- Every Mother
- About: “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.”
- Global Breastfeeding Collective (UNICEF/World Health Organization)
- Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding
- Healthy Mom and Baby
- Kellymom.com
- Hands down my personal favorite and most recommended website for patients on all things breastfeeding.
- Recommended books on breastfeeding
- FREE handouts
- La Leche League
- Breastfeeding a Described by LLLI
- Breastfeeding Info A to Z
- An amazing list of every breastfeeding topic under the sun!
- Laws Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers Up To One Year after Birth
- Mother to Baby
- National Breastfeeding Center
- Determines report cards of insurance companies related to breastfeeding
- Examines types of services, types of providers, types of pumps and accessibility
- National Women’s Health and Breastfeeding Helpline
- Do you have a women’s health question or trouble with breastfeeding? Call us anytime between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, at 1-800-994-9662 to talk with a health information specialist in English or Spanish.
- Nursing pads
- Video tutorial by DIY Mommmy on how to make your own nursing pads
- Pacify (an app to get lactation consultant support right in your home!)
- Pregnant@Work
- From the site: “This online resource center provides tools and educational materials for pregnant and breastfeeding workers, the healthcare professionals who treat them, and the attorneys who represent them. It also has useful materials for companies, human resources professionals, and management attorneys that can assist in navigating the many legal and practical considerations around pregnancy and breastfeeding accommodations.”
- Proper Handling and Storage of Breastmilk
- Ready, Set, Baby!
- A self paced online program for parents to learn about breastfeeding (FREE!)
- ROSE (Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere)
- Surgeon General’s Call to Breastfeeding
- The Melanated Mammary Atlas
- A provider/student tool “to normalize how breast conditions manifest on patients of color. The more you see, the better you can support!”
- The Milk Bank
- Trash the Pump and Dump (APP and website options)
- The goal of the Trash the Pump and Dump App is to:
- 1. Explain the true situations when pump and dumping is recommended. (Note, there are very few!)
- 2. Bust myths regarding contraindications to breastfeeding/providing human milk.
- The goal of the Trash the Pump and Dump App is to:
- United States Breastfeeding Committee
- United States Lactation Consultant Association
- USPSTF Breastfeeding
- Workplace protection
- FLYER: Workplace Rights for Breastfeeding/Pump Breaks
- Vaccines and Breastfeeding
- Breech
- Also see “Spinning Babies”
- Flip a Breech
- If Your Baby is Breech: Frequently Asked Questions (ACOG)
- British Journal of Midwifery
C
- California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC)
- Car Seat Safety (www.safecar.gov/parents)
- Car seat and Booster Seats
- Phone number: 1-866-SEATCHECK
- Centering Healthcare Institute
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- National Infant Immunization Week
- 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.
- Handout (PDF): Increasing Population-based Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings: An Action Guide to Facilitate Evidence-based Strategies
- Preconception
- Treating for Two Campaign
- Vaccines
- Zika
- Cerebral Palsy
- Childcare resources
- NAP SACC
- By states:
- Alaska
- thread Alaska: “providing child care resource and referral (CCR&R) services in in Alaska”
- Alaska
- Childbirth Classes
- EvergreenHealth
- FREE videos on epidural/spinal anesthesia, bathing your baby, soothing your baby, breastfeeding and postnatal pain
- Parentcraft (United Kingdom produced)
- FREE videos to prepare for birth and childhood
- Tinyhood
- Breastfeeding 101: From Prenatal Prep to Pumping
- A $100 class offered for FREE during the pandemic!
- Breastfeeding 101: From Prenatal Prep to Pumping
- EvergreenHealth
- Childbirth Connection
- Choosing Wisely Campaign (a website promoting conversation between patients and clinicians)
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Ten Things Patients and Physicians Should Question
- Choosing Wisely Canada
- Downloadable resources to bring to your visit, put in your waiting room (if you’re a provider or work in a clinic) or to give out to patients during their visit!
- Scheduling early delivery of your baby [PDF available: here]
- Cleveland Clinic
- 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)
- ACNM: Responding to COVID-19
- ACOG:
- CDC
- KellyMom’s recommendations for COVID-19
- Informational resources about COVID-19:
- MotherToBaby
- Resources for those who may need assistance with mental health, food, PPE and housing:
- Resources for parents:
- The President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 15 Days to Slow the Spread
- The PRIORITY Study from University of California San Francisco.
- This study is looking specifically at pregnant women that were with COVID-19 of PUI (persons under investigation). The study currently has 180 women involved. If you or someone you know qualifies, please contact the researchers!
- World Health Organization: Coronavirus Pandemic
- World Health Organization: COVID-19 Myths
- World Health Organization Q+A: COVID-19, Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Breastfeeding
- Co-Sleeping
- Articles on Co-Sleeping
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
- Muslim Religion
- DONA International
- Doulas
- 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)
- ECRI Institute
- A free database to view clinical guidelines (you do have to make an account, but again… it’s FREE!)
- Equity in Midwifery Education
- Exercise
- Every Mother Counts
- Evidence Based Birth
F
- Family and Medical Leave
- Paid Leave for All campaign
- Fetal Development
- Findhelp.org (Aunt Bertha)
- Find food assistance, help paying bills and other free or reduced cost programs by your zip code (includes pandemic programs as well)
G
- Global Health Media – FREE videos on labor, postpartum, and breastfeeding!
- VIDEO: Positions for birth
- VIDEO: What to expect in labor
- VIDEO: What to expect in birth
- Greater Good Science Center
- Group B Strep Association
- Grow Midwives
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
- PDF: How can I use Healthy People 2030 in my work?
- Hear Her Campaign
- Home Birth Summit
- Human Milk Banking Association of North America
- Learn more about establishing a milk bank in your community here!
- Hypnobirthing
I
- Infant Risk Center
- 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.
- Faith-45.com
- 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
- Global 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
- News Articles about International Midwifery
- Omnimed
- Promotes health volunteerism
- One Nurse at a Time
- Promotes nursing opportunities to volunteer’
- TWU Center for Global Nursing Scholarship
- Unite for Sight
- University of Massachusetts Medical School International Volunteer Opportunities
- World Citizens Guide
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
- LactMed
- 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.
- Download the app here – an amazing FREE resource for women and providers!
- Lancet
- British Medical Journal, FREE to subscribe!
- Licensed Midwives
- Lisa’s Remedies
- Loss (infant loss, miscarriage, bereavement)
- Trappist Caskets (free caskets for infants crafted by monks from New Melleray Abbey in Iowa)
M
- March of Dimes
- Mayo Clinic
- MediHoney
- Medscape
- Men In Nursing!
- Mental Health Resources
- Apps: Calm, CBT-I Coach, Mindshift, MoodTools, Stop-Breathe-Think, Nobu
- Midwifery Business Consultation
- Midwifery Education Accreditation Council
- Midwifery Today
- Midwifery Wisdom Collective
- Midwifery Works
- Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
- MotherToBaby
- “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 Association of Postpartum Care Services
- 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
- Herbs at a Glance
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing
- National Institute for Health
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- National Partnership for Women and Families
- National Vulvodynia Association
- Nerve Damage from Childbirth
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
- National Association of Postpartum Care Services
- 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
- Herbs at a Glance
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing
- National Institute for Health
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- National Partnership for Women and Families
- National Vulvodynia Association
- Nerve Damage from Childbirth
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
- National Association of Postpartum Care Services
- 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
- Herbs at a Glance
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing
- National Institute for Health
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- National Partnership for Women and Families
- National Vulvodynia Association
- Nerve Damage from Childbirth
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
O
- Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury (OASI) – also known as third or fourth-degree lacerations
- Organ Donation
P
- Parenting
- Pelvic Floor Therapy/Physical Therapy
- APTA Pelvic Health
- Carrie Pagliano’s Physical Therapy
- MyPFM – My Pelvic Floor Muscle
- Article: Musculoskeletal Dysfunction During Pregnancy and After Childbirth
- Article: Pelvic Pain: Causes, Symptoms, Physical Therapy Treatment
- Article: Questions to ask your physical therapist
- Article: Tips for Improving Urge Incontinence and Bladder Health
- Article: Physical Pain with Sex
- Article: 10 Step Guide to Putting Your Pelvic Floor First
- YouTube channel: ChoosePT
- Pessaries
- Podcasts
- Cochrane podcasts
- The latest evidence shared in audio format – great for to and from work, or while folding some laundry.
- Evidence-Based Birth
- Mother to Baby
- This podcast offers some education on common pregnancy conditions – for example, pre-eclampsia and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy – but also offers information on if you can drink kombucha while you are pregnant! Consider subscribing to brush up on all the Q+As they offer. These would be great to listen to in the car on the way to and from OB appointments.
- Journey to Midwifery
- An excellent podcast about the journey to becoming a midwife – insightful, heartfelt, funny, and inspiring!
- Pediatrics On Call
- Cochrane podcasts
- 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/anxiety
- Immediate support available here:
- ***National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255***
- ***Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE***
- ***National Postpartum Depression Warmline: 1-800-PPD-MOMS***
- AfterThird
- A website aimed at support for new parents!
- Beyond Baby Blues: A Mother’s Guide to Postpartum Depression and Anxiety (free PDF by VCU)
- Beyond Blue
- Australian resources for anxiety, depression and suicide
- Partners to Parents
- FREE book for download: Supporting Your Partner When You Have a Baby.
- Pink Newborn Services
- Postpartum Education for Parents
- How Fathers, Family, Friends Can Help
- Suggested Reading List
- Warmline (phone line that offers women information and support to aid in the postpartum transition)… available to Santa Barbara, California residents:
- English: (805) 564-3888
- Spanish: (805) 852-1595
- Postpartum Progress
- Postpartum Support Center
- Postpartum Support International and the *National Maternal Mental Health Hotline* by Postpartum Support International: 1-833-943-5746 (24/7, 365, support, encouragement and resources for women)
- Handout: Perinatal Mental Health Discussion Tool
- A great tool for any mama or midwife looking to communicate better with their provider about their mood during the postpartum period. Resources are listed at the bottom for support groups and a free helpline.
- Weekly online meetings (FREE!) – details on the many amazing groups that meet throughout the week!
- Handout: List of Weekly Support Groups for Pregnancy, Postpartum, Loss Support, Dads, Military Moms, and Queer parents
- A great hand out for the end of pregnancy or for a postpartum visit.
- Handout: Perinatal Mental Health Discussion Tool
- Postpartum Support Virginia
- Print/share FREE materials here!
- Follow their blog here!
- Handout: Postpartum Plan
- Warmline (telephone number): (703) 829-7152
- The 4th Trimester Project
- The Blue Dot Project
- Immediate support available here:
- Physiologic Birth Resources
- AWHONN Position Statement on Nursing Support of Laboring Women
- AWHONN Women’s Health and Perinatal Nursing Care quality Draft Measures Specifications
- BirthTOOLs
- Consensus Statement of ACNM/MANA/NACPM
- Evidence Based Birth
- Science and Sensibility Blog
- A lamaze research blog about pregnancy, birth and beyond
- Transforming Maternity Care
- 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 in English/Spanish (PDF): Your Future and Your Children
- Handout (PDF): Women’s Health & Family Planning Center at Columbus Public Health
- Family planning templates
S
- 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.
- Current efforts:
- 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.
- Secrets of Baby Behavior
- Shared Decision Making
- Icon Array
- Create your own infographic based on our SDM goals!
- Less is More Medicine
- TONS of SDM handouts, websites and tools
- Mayo Clinic SDM tools:Cardiovascular Primary Prevention Choice
- Depression Medication Choice
- Diabetes Medication Choice
- Osteoporosis Choice
- PCI (Percutaneous coronary intervention) Choice
- Smoking Cessation Around the Time of Surgery
- 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.
- PDF: Shared Decision Making Made Easy
- Great 1 page print out for you desk at work.
- PDF: Person Centered Decision Making (by Birth Place Lab)
- Icon Array
- 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
- Spinning Babies
- Flip a Breech
- If Your Baby is Breech: Frequently Asked Questions (ACOG)
- 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
- The 4th Trimester Project
- 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 (VBAC) (Intermountain Healthcare, 2018) *this handout has a nice benefits versus risk table!*
- Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Delivery (ACOG, 2020)
- Brochure: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery (ACOG/Waterbury Hospital, 2022)
V
W
- Water birth
- Well Woman Care
- Whooping Cough Vaccine and Pregnancy
- World Health Organization
Have a resource to share? Please let me know at amidwifenation@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!