Nine Golden Months

The Essential Art of Nurturing the Mother-to-Be

By: Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, Marisa Belger

Narrated by: Emily Durante

There is so much noise surrounding pregnancy and birth. There are countless books teeming with information—what test does what, the "rights" and "wrongs" of eating, and "safe" or "risky" lifestyle choices—but few that hold a woman through the experience, acting as an elder sister, a matriarch, or a circle of women might hold her—with compassion, nonjudgment, and, most of all, wisdom. To the authors of Nine Golden Months, this is exactly what's needed now, in an era of high-speed living, endless demands, and more than a little anxiety and fear.

A woman needs to feel connected to others, rooted in the knowledge that many have done this before her, and calmed and fortified by time-honored practices that nourish her body, soothe her mind, and hold up her spirit. The (still-growing) success of The First Forty Days showed that women are longing to experience the deeper aspects of becoming a mother. Nine Golden Months shares timeless guidance from the authors' extraordinary circle of practitioners, guides, and wisdom-keepers specializing in prenatal care; it draws from traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, and features rituals and self-sourced wisdom, so that it addresses all aspects of a woman's pregnancy experience: emotional, mental, physiological, and spiritual.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, and Marisa Belger (P)2022 Tantor

Holistic Wisdom

I believe this book contains so much wisdom about caring for yourself thrpugh pregnancy. It offers such nurturing advice

Good, But Disappointing

I think this is probably better than many other pregnancy books out there in some respects, and it has some good advice and recommendations which are helpful. I appreciate the focus on the deeper spiritual nature of pregnancy, not just the physical. But I personally found the book overall to be rather underwhelming, to be honest. I have read one other book in this series, “Awakening Fertility,” which I enjoyed much more. For me, in this book there was too much emphasis on new age practices and perspectives which I disagree with. I also found it profoundly disappointing that the authors emphasize their intention to be “inclusive” by not just using the word “woman” but also “birthing person.” This is a perfect example of how femininity is dishonored and disrespected in our modern culture. This practice is not inclusive — it is offensive to women, who by their very nature, are the only ones on the planet who can bear and birth children. I tried to ignore this, but it really made me cringe and detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

Good content, but terms are disappointing

The content was well-crafted and somewhat engaging. In comparison, "Awakening Fertility" offered even more valuable insights and practical guidance. It's disheartening that the narrative emphasizes the sanctity of pregnancy, yet employs the term "birthing people" rather than acknowledging that women give birth, and this linguistic shift detracts from the reverence of the feminine journey in our culture. Women are truly unique and deserving of utmost respect in this aspect of life.