Sunday 25 March 2018

Review: Trust Your Body Trust Your Baby

I was asked to review this book recently, and it's been a lovely read: Trust Your Body Trust Your Baby, by Rosie Newman. This book contains a broad span of parenting, including pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, safe sleep, toileting, and attachment. Because it is a small book, and the range of topics is large, there is plenty of opportunity to follow up Rosie's copious references and look deeper into any particular topic. I would say that the subject is similar to Mayim Bialik's Beyond the Sling, but perhaps more accessible to those who find that work too "hippy." Trust your body is a holistic discussion, encouraging parents to listen to their instincts and to their baby, and to follow these two to find their own parenting style. In this respect it offers a healthy alternative to the artificially regimented baby books that have become so popular in the mainstream, written by people who have never had children of their own, and seem to have no knowledge at all of the beautiful dance that takes place between a parent and their baby.


This book is very well researched, and most of it is reinforced with reference to scientific evidence supporting a more instinctive parenting style. Because of this the reader is easily able to look up the author's references and cover a subject in more detail. For me, however, this was a bit off-putting: in many cases the author simply includes large passages of direct quotation from other books which I have already read, such as Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth, and Ruth Kamnitzer's account of raising her son in Mongolia. Because of this I would not recommend this book for people who have already read around this area, but as a good gentle introduction to those new to the subjects. The tone is kind and informative, and contains such beautiful insights into the author's own parenting journey. Definitely a good read for expectant parents looking for something to help them form their own ideas about how they would like to shape their journey in parenthood.