Massage for a Peaceful Pregnancy: A Daily Book for New Mothers and Fathers

The photos are plentiful, which is appropriate for a how-to book like this, but the nudity is truly gratuitous -- it's not that they simply neglected to drape her, they are deliberately exhibitionist. Even when she is on her side with her back to the camera they put a mirror in front of her, apparently just so her nipples wouldn't be left out of the picture. The man giving the massage is naked too.

This book made a "night and day" difference to our second pregnancy. During the first pregnancy, I had no good way to help my wife relax. At the birth, I wasn't sure what to do to be helpful. For our second pregnancy, we enrolled in a ten week birthing class and discovered this wonderful book which was a recommended text. Over the next few weeks we all learned how to do a bit of massage at each session. From the first time I tried massage, I could see the difference. My wife seemed more relaxed, joyful and happy. Using the book as a guide, I went on to learn a few new strokes a day on my own as the pregnancy progressed. Happily, the techniques are specialized for each trimester. Instructions are easy to follow and well illustrated. The photography and art in this book are very beautiful. I had never realized pregnancy could be portrayed this way. The labor lasted for many hours. I used techniques in the book to massage my wife between contractions, thus relieving some of the stress and relaxing her a bit. All this involved me in the process and I'm grateful to have been of some help. Best of all, the massage techniques I learned during the pregnancy, carried over into our life together. Now we massage each other regularly (my wife learned too) and it has added a loving dimension to our relationship. I highly recommend this great book to any couple who are beginning a pregnancy. It's an essential guide.

I knew I was going to like this book as soon as I read the first page: "To the Expectant Father--This book is for you." Gordon Inkeles keeps his audience clearly in mind in every sentence, offering guidance to a new father on massage techniques and purposes, his partner's anatomy, and even her feelings in direct, no-nonsense language. His explanations of anatomy and physiology are detailed but always easy to understand. He's careful to explain and demystify medical information as soon as he introduces it. The consistently high quality of the photographs and illustrations enhance the book's credibility. And apt quotations from everyone from Samuel Coleridge to Eleanor Roosevelt give readers something to conjure with and to chuckle over. What a pleasurable find this book is for expectant couples! Dorothea Guthrie Editor, Consumer Health Books

From the first month of pregnancy through full recovery from child birth, massage provides a positive, hands-on role for the father and involves him in the birth of his child on a day-to-day basis. "Massage For A Peaceful Pregnancy" by massage expert Gordon Inkeles provides a thoroughly 'user friendly', step-by-step, profusely illustrated instruction manual for a program of massage that is ideal for use at home and at birthing centers. Each page of this superbly produced manual features photographic illustrations and anatomical illustrations of real massage during pregnancy, showing just how massage strokes work on the human body. "Massage For A Peaceful Pregnancy" features a basic massage for the whole body; addresses special ailments of pregnancy such as morning sickness, circulatory problems, lactation stimulation, etc.; presents a complete ten minute head massage and a complete back message for late pregnancy; and even offers a day-to-day recovery program after birth to minimize stretch marks and ease the mother back to normal. Enhanced with check lists, the 'do's and don'ts' of massage, and valuable health tips, "Massage For A Peaceful Pregnancy" is a strongly recommended for anyone who is expecting a child.