Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth

Deepak Chopra has an outlook on pregnancy and childbirth that assures you of the natural process and joy of bringing a new life into the world. Many books are so medical that they leave out the emotional components of this process. I found this book informative as well as very soothing.

Always looking for practical solutions, I found that the Ayurvedic principles to deal with the misery of Morning Sickness were particularly useful. And loved the yoga positions too!

This book is exactly what I have been looking for. It has empowered and inspired me in so many ways. There are wonderful visualizations and exercises throughout the book which have helped me to connect deeply with my unborn baby and body. Because of this book I have become much more aware of how my daily stresses affect my unborn baby and have used the suggested exercises to create a more peaceful space inside me. Nothing could make me happier. I recommend this book to every pregnant woman. The information throughout will help you become more integrated in your mind and body and much more in-tune with your unborn baby.

This book wonderfully supports the couples' journey into parenthood. The book magically brings the pregnancy to life with great visualizations, relaxations, and concrete activities for the pregnant mom and father. The book empowers the mom to have the birth she would like and provides great tools through the process of birth. It brought us closer as a couple and began the bonding process to our child inutero. The book allowed us to experience the true wonderment of pregnancy and birth in strength and love.

Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives is a deeply nourishing and inspiring book for expectant mothers, their partners and attendants. Drawing on the centuries-old philosophies of Ayurveda and yoga, Deepak Chopra and his Chopra center colleagues David Simon MD and Vicki Abrams (who runs the Magical Beginnings birth education programme) have created a rich blend of mind-body medicine for pregnancy and childbirth that recognises childbearing as a spiritual, as well as a physical, process. Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives is both beautifully written and practical, offering excellent information on nutrition (from an Ayurvedic perspective), alternative remedies for pregnancy complaints and a simple pregnancy yoga routine. Chopra and co also emphasize the many benefits of meditation during pregnancy. Throughout, there is a gentle emphasis on slowing down, being mindful and paying attention to our internal signals. As a family physician, writer on pregnancy birth and mothering, and mother of four (with a large collection of pregnancy and birth books!) I particularly welcomed the chapter for fathers and the advice on changing relationships, which are not often covered. Chopra et al advocate Dr Marshall Rosenberg's nonviolent communication (NVC) techniques which are wonderful tools to enhance conscious communications. I also relished the philosophy, woven all through this enlightening book, of respect for mother and baby and for the amazing changes that happen over the months of pregnancy and birth. New insights in mind-body medicine are confirming the traditional wisdom that a mother's mental and emotional state in pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the well-being of her child. Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives provides the tools and insights to help us all to nourish our babies and ourselves at this important time. As the authors conclude, `The souls of our children are the potential for tomorrow's world.'