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Summary: How to make a pregnant woman even more neurotic...
Review: As a physician, I went into my first pregancy with a fair bit of "knowledge" - but nothing compares to "the real thing!" This book does have lots of information in it, and covers complications/ problems etc well. However, it could create a huge number of guilty/neurotic/paranoid moms to be with all of the restrictions on diet that it includes. "The pregnancy diet" sounds great, but how many servings of orange vs green vegetables do I really need to eat every day, let alone avoiding anything smoked/salted/processed... great if you are already a health nut and eat organic food, but for the rest of the planet, let's get a little more practical! The reality is that babies are the world's best parasites and will take what they need from their "host" - which is why malnourished heroin addicted moms can still give birth to 8lb babies!I say it is a good resource, but don't live by it alone or you will go mad!!!
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Summary: This book is a "Must Have" for all Parents
Review: I bought this book when I was expecting my first child (a daughter) and I read it regularly throughout the pregnancy. I felt so much more knowledgeable about pregnancy and more prepared for the actual birth of my child. When I was expecting my second child (a son) I thought I knew almost everything I needed to know about pregnancy, but of course I didn't, and I read the book again and learned so much more! I love how each step of the pregnancy is outlined month by month. The index is very comprehensive as well, so I could always look up whatever I wanted to know in a few seconds. The book is very easy to read and answered all my questions. I have also bought "What to Expect the First Year" and "What to Expect the Toddler Years" and I highly recommend all three books for all parents.
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: With doctors always rushing you at appointments, it's a lot easier to find answers to your questions in this book! Also, you don't have to be embarrassed. I absolutely loved it! It was very organized, and I'm shocked that there were some negative reviews at all. This book is a godsend, really. I found an answer to EVERY question I had, and I learned a LOT. I could probably write my own book now!!
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Summary: What to Expect When You're Expecting
Review: I just found out I was pregnant and bought this book by recommendation. While I found a lot of information therin, I do not love the format. I bought some other pregnancy books that were easier reads. I want to comment on those who are upset about this book because they got scared reading about potential complications of a pregnancy. People who get scared about facts need to work on themselves. Facts are just facts. This books is not a novel. It is not supposed to make you feel happy, sad, fearful or confident about your pregnancy. It is supposed to provide some information you do not already have. I believe What to Expect does what it's supposed to do.
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Summary: Perfect Shower Gift
Review: Not a replacement for your doctor, but the closest you'll get. By that I mean no book will replace your obstetrition, but this book answers more questions then I thought possible. I sure wish I had read this when I had my first daughter, but now it has a permanent place in my library and is the gift I give at every baby shower. Also might make a great mom's day gift for your expectant friends.
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Summary: What to Expect When You're Expecting
Review: This was my BIBLE for my pregnancy. Everytime I had a question about something I just used the book for reference. This book follows your pregnancy month by month, and answers common questions that go along with the big event. Well laid out and organized, I recommend this book to every woman expecting.
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Summary: Complete, nicely structured... 'nuf said! Get your copy!
Review: Since my wife and I found out we were expecting, we've been avid readers of our copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting". True that an important part of the content is devoted to the fears and "things that could go wrong" but the fact is that when you don't have information it is fear about the unknown precisely. I find the way the book is presented, in a kind of Question and Answer way, to be very easy to follow. If you zoom out a bit more, you find a predictable structure to every chapter each of which corresponds to a month of the pregnancy, so you can't get lost here. If you want more of an issue, there's normally at least two answers dealt with. If you only have limited time to read something, it's put together in such a way that you can skim through it without missing out on a lot. All in all, it takes you by the hand as you learn more about the mother's body and the changes she's undergoing, the baby's growth and what to expect when, as well as what the fathers feel and fear during these forty beautiful weeks. Get it and join the "secret" club of the pregnant couples who already have it: at least I felt that way when I got it. Before you're pregnant this is one of those books you will never hear about. Once the word is out, EVERY single person who's already a parent will recommend it.
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Summary: Complete + Professional + Non-Judgemental = All You Need
Review: When we decided to get pregnant, we read something like 25 books. One year and one baby later, I kind of feel like an expert in baby books. So let me say that this book is far and away the best pregnancy book and it is no surprise that it has been a bestseller for many years. This book is a complete, professional, non-judgemental reference. A lot of books try too hard to be funny or cute. WTE is not humorless, but it deals with subject matter in a refreshingly straightforward way. The advice and help given echoes what our doctors have said and answered most of our questions before we even saw our Obstetritian (no, it's not a substitute). This book covered EVERYTHING. It answered all our questions about diet, medication, flu shots, cat ownership, false labor, vitamin supplements, cramps, ultrasound, breastfeeding or how to judge your OB/GYN. All the answers were in here, along with tons of other stuff we didn't think about until we came across it here. Most importantly, this book isn't judgemental. There are a ton of controversial issues associated with pregnancy (medication, breast feeding, circumcision). Lots of books out make a lot of assumptions about religion, single parents, "modern times" or they just avoid some issues entirely. This book assumes you can make up your own mind once you're presented with all the information. This book wasn't a replacement for our doctors, but it gave us a lot of really useful information without taking a side. If the book has a flaw, it is the diet section. Do yourself a favor and skip that section. In all fairness, this is a flaw of a lot of the books we read (some of them reading like 1950s "Keep Young And Beautiful" rants). Our doctor gave us a 10 page handout that gave us all the information we needed. Like I say, we read a lot of pregnancy books. It's pretty shocking how many we found to be completly WORTHLESS! I don't want to name names, and I've already written a couple of negative reviews, but I'm thinking particularly of the ones full of Erma Bombeck-esque anecdotes about La Maz classes, the "staying chic while you're pregnant" fashion mag type, the old-fashioned preachy church-lady books, or--worst of all--the "nutrition" books that focused almost entirely on weight. Some of these books are written by people with no medical qualifications at all! A good rule of thumb: if the author has no medical qualifications, the book will be useless from a medical standpoint. Would you allow a fashion magazine editor to make up your mind about having an epidural? Just about every pregnancy book uses the "What Nobody Will Tell You" tagline. Once you've read this book, there will be very few surprises left. There isn't a topic that isn't touched on and just about everything you need is covered in depth. That's not to say this is the only book you need, but it goes a long, long way. I'm only harping on this because I was pretty shocked to read some of the negative reviews that complained about WTE containing a lot of information on rare pregnancy situations, saying that such information was "scary" and "unnecessary". WTE gives plenty of information on what is serious as opposed to what is a false alarm. Nobody PLANS on having a troubled pregnancy! Aren't you better off knowing what's involved and how to detect and prevent such things? I suppose for some people ignorance is bliss, but we were MUCH happier being prepared. When we went into labor 5 weeks early, we felt at least somewhat prepared for it because it was extensively covered in the book! If you're looking for entertainment, pick up something else or rent a movie. But if you're looking for a complete, professional, and useful reference book, What To Expect While You're Expecting is THE BEST and it will be the standard for years to come.
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Summary: bad advice
Review: My guess is that the impressive size of this book (aproximatley 600 pages) is what draws people to buy it. Well size isn't everything, especially not in this case.
It is important to keep a healthy diet during pregnancy, but the diet this book suggests is insane. No one could follow it. Half a bagel as a treat? Vegetarian sushi is only okay as long as you opt for low sodium soy sauce? If I had miscarried, and my only source of information was this book, I would have assumed my miscarrige was caused by some trivial dietary mistake, and never have forgiven myself.
The diet isn't the only thing about this book that is ridiculous, for one, the book suggests that if you are in active labor you should pass the time by cooking casseroles for your mate. Suuure....I'll get right on that..maybe I should carry a mop into the kitchen with me so I can mop my amniotic fluid off the floor while I'm cooking.
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Summary: Somebody has to stick up for this book!
Review: Okay, so it's not as entertaining as the "Girlfriend's Guide" and it doesn't have the weekly illustrations of "Your Pregnancy, Week by Week." However, there's a reason that this book has been a leader in pregnancy preparedness since it was first published. The book is logically organized by trimester and includes separate chapters for the dad and for special issues. Some people are turned off by the somewhat authoritative tone of the book, but I think this is because the authors convey the information in a Q and A form. There are sample questions from mothers which the authors answer instead of just having textbook-like headings followed by dry, technical details. Often I found myself having exactly the same questions as the ones asked. Other times I was glad they anticipated questions that I would have never thought to ask. Inevitably, the authors have their biases (e.g., all caffeine is forbidden during pregnancy), but that doesn't change the fact that this is a very informative and complete guide. Before you allow yourself to be turned off by the authors' style and tone, at least take a look at this book and consider adding it as a reference guide to your pregnancy book library.
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