"Breathwork for Pregnancy" acknowledges that pregnancy is a physically and emotionally intense experience that can unfold in a myriad of ways unique to each person. Ultimately, this book is a guide that aims to teach you how to begin to mindfully notice your body's breathing patterns and stay in the here-and-now to benefit both pregnancy and birth. I was interested in this book especially because I have done a lot of research and reading into Hypnobirthing and hoped that this guide would add some tools to my Hypnobirthing toolkit; I definitely found that I was able to compile much of Carolyn's knowledge into the concepts of Hypnobirthing. I really appreciated Carolyn's focus of the mind-body connection: how we think has such an important influence on how we feel, and vice versa! Many people are unaware that we can have more control over this mind-body connection, which is where guides such as this one come into play to teach the concepts of stretching and breathwork to give more personal control into one's own relaxation and state of calm and peaceful self-assurance.

Not only does Carolyn's guide include breathwork, but it also includes an entire section on stretches (which are then later associated with the breathwork). I especially appreciated the clear and realistic drawings that are included that show exactly how each stretch should look! Sitting still and sitting in the quiet and practicing breathing techniques can feel odd to many people, and I appreciated the introduction to this practice that Carolyn provides as a guide to sitting down and committing to practicing breathing techniques, and ore specifically, the timeline of this practice as it relates to pregnancy! Once again, I love how this book includes clear drawings that show the breathing techniques! I don't think I've ever seen a guide that offered photos of breathing techniques, and it was actually really beneficial to understanding the written explanation. Finally, Carolyn concludes with an emphasis on the parent's ability to hold agency in pregnancy and in parenthood. I loved this ending, and that this wasn't "just" a guide for breathing techniques, but something a bit more personal.

Overall, I found this guide for breathwork in pregnancy to be very well written and easy to understand, compelling, and personable. I will definitely be referring back to the book and would especially recommend it for mothers who have historically dealt with high levels of stress or anxiety, or are hoping to go a natural route or are interested in techniques like Hypnobirthing or similar.

I'll quote from the book:

"This book is about finding calm in pregnancy through 'conscious breathing'..."

"My writing style is gentle, and each chapter opens with some reflections, written as if I were in the midst of a moment with you."

I disliked the way the chapters opened. I skipped them.

"The menstruating womb is the size of a small pear. The fully formed uterus holds over 24 pounds of child, placenta, fluid, and newly grown muscle. Yes, muscle--your uterus grows in your body to become an extremely powerful muscle, created over the 40 weeks, to facilitate a natural labor, particularly the phases of opening the cervix and pushing."

By the end of the pregnancy, "you will have up to 45% more blood in your body."
"Your lung capacity is reduced by between 10-20% at full term."
Both of these explain why you're breathless.

"Your heart turns on its side and moves into the center of your chest to allow your left lung, which is smaller, to have more breathing space."

Sleeping on your left side is best.

The best position for the baby is "head down with their spine to your left side" to help with labor.

The book several times advises mothers carrying twins.

Cowan is a London-based yoga and breathwork teacher and psychosexual and relationship therapist.

CONCLUSION: I struggled to enjoy this book because I am a man who is skeptical about the power of breathwork. Although I believe deep breathing is extremely healthy, I'm skeptical that the various ways of breathing are all useful or different. Perhaps simple deep breathing gives you 90% of the benefits, but there's that placebo effect....

If you're into breathwork and you're pregnant (or plan to be), then this is a 5-star book.
I gave it 4 stars because it delivers what it promised.
I would have given 5 stars if it made me into a believer.

Loved this! Used throughout my entire pregnancy and have since recommended it to a few of my friends that are currently expecting❤️

This was really helpful! I recently gave birth and used the techniques in this book. They really helped! I had a natural birth and this is exactly what I needed to push through the pain. I would recommend to all future moms.

After four kids in five years, I have said to SO many people, there needs to be more books about the FOUR trimesters, not three. No mom should leave the hospital unsure of what to do, and not get the same attention she did in the first three. This book was absolutely fantastic! Every mom needs to leave the hospital with this book and a Starbucks gift card. It was so good! I wish I had this book with my littles. It was so informative, but simply put. Not overwhelming and too deep. I loved it! Well done.

NetGalley app ARC review

Absolutely recommend for any teacher/instructor. Great for women during pregnancy, it was everything in one book, with an absolutely wonderful layout. This is great for yogi that specializes in prenatal yoga. So much more.

A beautiful, perfect guidebook for something like me who is dealing with anxiety in their first pregnancy. Cowan's writing is calming, in depth, and very helpful.