What to Expect When You're Expecting, Third Edition

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Summary: THE book for the brave and curious!
Review: I read alot of the reviews about this book, and I'm glad I didn't listen to them. This is a great book! I read it every day. True, it has a lot of information that you may never need about complications, but I'm just curious, and not easily spooked, so I enjoyed learning. It also breaks down pregnancy into every stage which helps you prepare for what's next. So what if the author is a little biased towards health food? When you're pregnant, EVERYONE has an opinion, and feels they can just give it to you, so this is nothing different. I just ignored the opinions, and used the information that seemed helpful. A good resource!

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Summary: A Book That Will Answer ALL Your Questions
Review: When I first found out I was pregnant, I went out and bought about three or four books. Then a couple friends of mine reccomended me What To Expect When Expecting and I retired ALL the other books for the rest of my pregnancy. You'll find all the aswers to your questions on this easy to read book. My husband and I refer to it as our "pregnancy Bible" and we already bought "What to Expect For The First Year" a wonderful guide on how to take care of your new baby. If you don't want to spend money on tons of books and if you don't want to waste time searching for answers in different books, GET THIS ONE!

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Summary: Covers Everything In Question/Answer Format
Review: Almost every question you have will be asked and answered here. From what to expect while you're pregnant, what to eat, how to exercise, what to expect during labor and so on. This book has questions I never even thought of asking. Of course it's not going to fit everyone perfectly. That would be as impossible as having the perfect pregnancy and childbirth every woman desires. However this book covers alot and it's very easy to read because of it's format. My librarian who has three children recommended it to me and I have to pass along the recommendation.

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Summary: Too generalised and recklessly reassuring
Review: I was pregnant for the first time, about 4 weeks. My husband and I were thrilled. We went to the bookshop together and chose this book quickly as he was feeling a bit faint :) ... It had said 'over 10 million sold' so we figured it would be good. It was the only book I bought, and I'm sorry we chose it. I was having feelings of pressure in my abdomen and mild cramping, and when I checked the book all I got was blind reassurance that all was just fine. Furthermore, the symptoms for miscarriage or other complications were FAR too generalised to help most people out. I thought I was okay until I miscarried a few days later. According to the book, what happened fell closer into ectopic pregnancy, which it wasn't. The ER knew better and sent me home diagnosed as a spontaneous abortion in progress. This has been a very trying week and I suppose it would have been helpful to have had a slightly more enlightened, less patronising book at hand. Choose something, anything else.

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Summary: To preachy and scary for me
Review: Everyone says that this is the book to have when your pregnant. I personally am sorry that I bought it. Now I have fears and worries that I didnt have before. Not to mention I didnt appreciate being talked down to...I recommend instead "Ä Girl Friends Guide to pregnancy" and "babytales: A Pregnancy Companion" These books were enjoyable plus they helped guide me through my pregnancy. "Babytales...has become a favorite book of 2002.

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Summary: Good Reference, Answers Questions, BUT...
Review: I bought this book when I became pregnant with my first child. I read it almost everyday, figuring that b/c it was so highly recommended it would answer most of my questions. Which it did. However, the pictures are really lacking (see A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson for FANTASTIC pics). Also I highly recommend Conception, Pregnancy and Birth by Dr. Miriam Stoppard. The other issue that other readers have had is the condescending way the authors talk to the mommy-to-be. If you are not "perfect" before your pregnancy, which NONE of us are, you will wish you were when you read this book. The overweight, the work-aholic, the sendentary, etc. will feel like a worthless, horrible mom-to-be. I took that all with a grain of salt and only focused on the GOOD reference stuff, which there is a lot of. Baby Blessings!
i

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Summary: Great resource for me!
Review: Like the other reviewers I bought many child birth books when I found out I was pregnant. This was the only one I used throughout my pregnancy. It is very informational! For me, I appreciated the truth in knowing exactly what was happening, what could happen, and what will happen to me and my precious baby. I liked how it took me through each month and offered advice, facts, and suggestions for that particular month. I found myself reading ahead each month to see what me and baby were going to experience. I was given "3" of these books from family and friends when I found out I was going to have a baby! I'm on my way to purchase one for my sister right now.

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Summary: A good reference to have on hand
Review: This book isn't meant to be read from cover to cover. It's like a dictionary - have it around to look up the topics or questions you have. It is not 100% perfect on every issue, but I don't think any book is, so you should have other books as well to create balance. It is helpful when you have concerns about a particular issue and need some general advice. Another book to read NOW is The No Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep. The only thing that puts a dark cloud over life with a newborn is being woken up every hour and this book has a great section about getting a newborn to sleep better.

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Summary: Way TOO much lecturing.
Review: I bought several pregnancy books when I first found I was pregnant not including this one. My doctor highly recomended this book so I added it to my collection and I hate this book. Even though it does have a lot of good information it is very condescending. Whenever I looked up any topic I felt like I was being lectured. To me it seemed to be negative overall. I would highly recomend the book "The Mother of All Pregnancy Books" over this one.

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Summary: Throw it in the recycling bin!
Review: I read many books during my pregnancy and this one was my least favorite. I detest the question/answer format and their tone. Who are the writers anyway? Do they have a degree or anything?
many of the information given is inaccurate when compared to the scientific research out there...but the reader wouldn't know...they don't tell us where they get their facts from!
Get "The Pregnancy Book" by Dr Sears instead, and if you already have this one-throw it in the recycling bin!