The best 14 Family Planning books

1
Becoming Attached

Becoming Attached

Robert Karen
First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love
4.0 (65 ratings)

What's Becoming Attached about?

This book is about the importance of children’s first relationships, especially with their primary caregiver, typically the mother. It offers insights into the ways that attachment can positively or negatively affect children’s development, and offers a great deal of scientific research on important findings concerning attachment.

Who should read Becoming Attached?

  • Anyone interested in psychology
  • Anyone interested in child care
  • Parents or anyone about to become a parent

2
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)

The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)

Philippa Perry
Sound parenting advice based on psychology
4.5 (549 ratings)

What's The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) about?

The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) (2019) is exactly what it sounds like: a book on raising children and a trove of practical knowledge that you can’t help thinking your childhood would have benefited from. Spotlighting mental health and emotional development, this book takes an alternative approach to parenting that’s apt for our modern world.

Who should read The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)?

  • Parents who want to improve their kid’s childhood
  • Parents-to-be wishing to reduce the learning curve
  • Your inner child

3
Why Love Matters

Why Love Matters

Sue Gerhardt
How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain
4.5 (100 ratings)

What's Why Love Matters about?

Why Love Matters (2004) is a study of how our early years shape who we become later in life. But this isn’t about rehashing the old nature-versus-nurture debate. As we’ll see in these blinks, the weight of scientific evidence points to a much more fascinating conclusion: that we’re “co-produced” by genetics and social experience during babyhood. This means that many of the social and psychological problems that affect us as adults can be traced back to these formative years.

Who should read Why Love Matters?

  • Mental health professionals
  • Parents with babies or toddlers
  • Would-be mothers and fathers

4
The Fifth Trimester

The Fifth Trimester

Lauren Smith Brody
The Working Mom’s Guide To Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby
3.1 (35 ratings)

What's The Fifth Trimester about?

The Fifth Trimester (2017) is packed with advice and tips for new mothers on how to successfully return to work after their maternity leave. Covering important details like what clothes to wear, how to pick the best day care and how to feed your baby even when you’re not with it, the book draws on the author’s own experiences as well as interviews with other new moms. This is a practical and inspirational self-help guide for new mothers who may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of returning to their job.

Who should read The Fifth Trimester?

  • Pregnant women or new moms returning to work
  • Employers and managers who want to create a family-friendly working environment
  • New fathers who want to support their partners

5
Cribsheet

Cribsheet

Emily Oster
A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
3.5 (99 ratings)

What's Cribsheet about?

Cribsheet (2019) provides a unique and insightful perspective on early-childhood parenting – that of an economist. Given its focus on decision-making, cost and benefit analysis, risk assessment, and data interpretation, the academic discipline of economics provides a surprisingly useful framework for thinking about the difficult decisions that new parents have to make when raising their babies.

Who should read Cribsheet?

  • Soon-to-be parents trying to think ahead about parenting decisions
  • Current parents already wrestling with those decisions  
  • Would-be parents wondering if they want to deal with those decisions in the first place

6
Bringing Up Bébé

Bringing Up Bébé

Pamela Druckerman
One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
4.4 (99 ratings)

What's Bringing Up Bébé about?

It might sound too good to be true, but in France, babies and children sleep through the night, eat their vegetables and do what their parents tell them. In Bringing Up Bébé (2011), Pamela Druckerman, an American mother living in Paris, reveals the French parenting secrets she uncovered in her time abroad.

Who should read Bringing Up Bébé?

  • Parents and parents-to-be
  • Francophiles
  • Anyone who works with preschool age children

7
Common Sense Pregnancy

Common Sense Pregnancy

Jeanne Faulkner
Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy & Birth for Mother and Baby
3.4 (51 ratings)

What's Common Sense Pregnancy about?

Common Sense Pregnancy (2015) reveals all you need to know about the surprises that await you during the magical experience of pregnancy and childbirth. There are many things to consider, including what to eat, who to call for help and what kind of childbirth you want to have. So empower yourself with knowledge and get a good idea of what to expect.

Who should read Common Sense Pregnancy?

  • Pregnant women
  • Health care providers
  • Readers curious about pregnancy and childbirth

8
HypnoBirthing

HypnoBirthing

Marie F. Mongan
The breakthrough approach to safer, easier, more comfortable birthing
4.2 (90 ratings)

What's HypnoBirthing about?

HypnoBirthing (1992) explores how expectant mothers can enjoy a more comfortable, joyful childbirth. These blinks provide simple hypnotherapy techniques that pregnant women can practice at home. They also uncover the guiding philosophy of HypnoBirthing and reveal how it can help women to have a natural, less painful birthing experience.

Who should read HypnoBirthing?

  • Expectant mothers
  • Partners or birth coaches of pregnant women 
  • Health care professionals looking for a fresh perspective

9
We're Pregnant!

We're Pregnant!

Adrian Kulp
The First-time Dad's Pregnancy Handbook

What's We're Pregnant! about?

We’re Pregnant! (2018) answers all those questions first-time dads scratch their heads over. It shows you how to tackle daily, weekly, and monthly tasks to provide strategic support to your partner throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

Who should read We're Pregnant!?

  • First-time dads seeking practical advice on how to support their partners during pregnancy and childbirth
  • Dads keen on acing the next pregnancy
  • Anyone trying to understand the challenges women experience during pregnancy

10
It Starts with the Egg

It Starts with the Egg

Rebecca Fett
How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF
4.5 (24 ratings)

What's It Starts with the Egg about?

It Starts with the Egg (2014) demystifies the science behind egg quality and how it impacts outcomes for fertility and pregnancy. In bringing together a range of reputable studies, it offers evidence-based advice on how to make simple lifestyle changes that will improve egg quality and optimize fertility.

Who should read It Starts with the Egg?

  • Prospective parents thinking about trying for a baby
  • Couples who’ve been trying for months without a positive pregnancy test
  • Anyone facing fertility challenges

11
Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!

Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!

John Pfeiffer
How to Get (Both of You) Through the Next 9 Months
4.3 (47 ratings)

What's Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad! about?

Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad! (2011) is the perfect guide for any anxious dad-to-be. Written by a man for men, these blinks tell you exactly what to think about, discuss and expect when you’re going to become a dad, from conceiving to recovering after birth.

Who should read Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!?

  • Nervous dads-to-be
  • Couples considering starting a family
  • Male readers curious about pregnancy and fatherhood

12
Weird Parenting Wins

Weird Parenting Wins

Hillary Frank
Bathtub Dining, Family Screams, and Other Hacks from the Parenting Trenches
3.5 (56 ratings)

What's Weird Parenting Wins about?

Weird Parenting Wins (2019) shows you how not to lose it while bringing up your kids – all you need is a little craziness. That means being creative and playful. Children approach life ready to deploy their imagination at every turn, and this book in blinks shows how you can be just as imaginative. You’ll find ways to make life easier for the whole family and even have fun in the process.

Who should read Weird Parenting Wins?

  • Overwhelmed parents
  • Anyone who is planning a family and wants to be prepared
  • Caregivers and guardians

13
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh

She Has Her Mother’s Laugh

Carl Zimmer
The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
4.5 (44 ratings)

What's She Has Her Mother’s Laugh about?

She Has Her Mother’s Laugh (2018) probes the contemporary understanding of genetics and heredity, and provides an accessible history of the subject from the time of the Ancient Greeks onwards. Author Carl Zimmer also looks to the future, forecasting genetic developments on the horizon and unpacking what they might mean for humanity.

Who should read She Has Her Mother’s Laugh?

  • Science enthusiasts who want to round out their understanding of genetics and DNA
  • History buffs who enjoy reading about science and medicine
  • Amateur genealogists with an interest in getting to the roots of their family trees

14
Just Babies

Just Babies

Paul Bloom
The Origins of Good and Evil
4.3 (12 ratings)

What's Just Babies about?

Just Babies is about the development of morality in humans. It explores the emotions that help us to be moral, the influence family and kinship have on our moral judgements, and how society as a whole fosters morality. The book also shows what happens when we lack the emotions crucial to acting morally.

Who should read Just Babies?

  • Anyone interested in the building blocks of morality
  • Anyone who wants to learn how morality is invoked

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