Rating: 
Summary: My favorite book in my pregnancy library!!!!
Review: This is by far my favorite pregnancy book, it is comprehensive, fun and easy reading. The only thing I would like to see changed about this book is it goes month by month rather than week by week. It has great information from everything from pregnancy diet, what symptoms to expect and how to treat them and birth, also great sections on "When things go wrong" and postpartum - The issue I think most new moms are not educated enough on. Yes there Is a lot in the book on diet but It was very helpful, If you want just skip that chapter the rest of the book is a god send. This book is my pregnancy bible!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Encouraging and Helpful Resource
Review: I wasn't going to write this until I read all of the reviews calling this book scary. I didn't get that at all. I received the book as a gift and read it pretty quickly. It is organized by month and since all symptoms or problems don't happen at the same time for everyone, I find my self using the index and finding the information that way. The thing that dropped a star for me is the diet. I already quit smoking and cut down my caffeine. I am not following the diet. The only thing that is scary is the section for Serious Problems, etc. But it says on the first page of the section not to read it if you are not having problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for reference, bad for worriers
Review: The first book I went for when I found out I was pregnant was this one - mainly because it came so highly recommended. By the time I gave birth, my husband was ready to burn it. I really found it useful as a reference, but found some of the advice contained within the book to be condescending (the section on eating), while others confirmed my daily fears that there was something wrong with me or with my baby. The monthly sections on "what to expect" are great - but my suggestion is to remove the section entitled "When Something Goes Wrong" and put it in a safe place for use when/if you have symptoms that something might be wrong. This section contains information about medical conditions that occur during pregnancy - and if you are getting good prenatal care, most of this will be explained to you by your doctor anyway. I found this section, read it, and referred to it several times, each time absolutely sure that I (or my baby) had whatever condition I was reading about at that time. The book is a good reference, but beware - it is also a guidebook for hypochondriacs. If you just want to know, in layman's terms, what is happening, how it will feel, and what you can do with basic pregnancy issues - I highly recommend Vicki Iovine's "Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy." It's much less scary, a lot more fun, and your husband won't want to burn it after nine months!
Rating: 
Summary: what to worry about..
Review: I wish I didn't buy this book. It only made me think that there was something wrong. It also only had about 1 or 2 pages related to a twin pregnancy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Easy Reading Book With Down To Earth Advice
Review: My title says it all. This is an easy reading book with excellent advice and information. My doctor, one of the top doctors in Manhattan recommended it so it can't be bad! Get the other books if you have no life and want to read and research all day. Most of us don't have that luxury.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read with discern
Review: There is some information in this book that is useful- especially if you're new to the whole pregnancy & birth thing. My advice is to read "Husband-Coached Childbirth", "Natural Childbirth The Bradley Way", "The Baby Book", & "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" THEN read this book. You'll find you'll mentally discard 95% of it. Content that will either make you laugh, or genuinlly make you angry. But either way you'll feel great concern for those women who consider this book the end all be all of pregnancy advice.
Rating:
Summary: Corny title, great book
Review: This is the most useful book for new moms available. Before and after the birth, almost every conceivable question is addressed. You could buy ten other pregnancy books and still not cover everything in this one.
Rating:
Summary: negative, disorganized, one-sided
Review: I'm in my late 30s, pregnant with my first child, and like many reviewers, have had this book pushed on me by several people, and received it as a gift. I hate it. The question-answer format is really frustrating because the organization makes little sense, and my own questions often have a somewhat different flavor from those posed in the book, so that the answers don't really address my concerns. I feel like the book talks down to me. My biggest complaint: Pregnancy is a time of ambivalence as well as excitement, and this book downplays and dismisses the incredibly mixed feelings I'm experiencing. I've felt guilty about these feelings and this book made them worse. Come to find out, from talking to others, that I'm normal and most women have ambivalence! That's too important a piece to leave out. Having said all the negative, I have learned some useful things from this book and will incorporate the information into the way I get throught my pregnancy
Rating:
Summary: What not to read when you're expecting...
Review: When I found out I was pregnant with my first I was so thirsty for information regarding pregnancy I bought this book at a book store due to the lack of selection they offered. I had skimmed through most of it, and found it a little disturbing. I then read through all of it and wanted to burn it. The advise that it gives is not what you need to read when you have so many unknowns. This book made me feel that if I did not subscribe to their philosophy of gestational living I was a bad person, and my baby would be less of a person because of it. When my sister in law became pregnant- single parent that she was- I told her specificlly not to get this book because of how horrible it would make her feel for not having a father right there with her throughout her pregnancy. The book did not give a large enough account of the "what if's" in pregnancy, rather it just gave you what you did wrong to make them happen. Having a my first born three months premature was scary enough, and having this book make me feel like it was something I did, didn't make it any better. If you are looking for real, practical, sound advise that is through andreassuring I recommend "The Pregnancy Book" by Dr. William Sears. Actually all the books in his library have been invaluable to me in raising out children. Bottom line- this book does not offer enough of the "what to expect" advise it proclaims it does.
Rating:
Summary: Can't knock this good apple off the tree
Review: I am in such strong disagreement with the reviewers who found this book "bossy" and to be coming from a man's judgemental perspective that I was compelled to write this review. I used this book each and every day during pregnancy - to answer a silly question about clumsiness as well as to learn more about complex issues, like what to expect from the birthing process. The book is always medically correct (my husband is a dr) but uses everyday language to explain things clearly and logically. The diet and exercise sections, which have come under special attack by our reviewers, are definately stricter than would be convienient. But, you know best your habits and what will work for your lifestyle. Like all important decisions, educate yourself about the options, and do what works best for you. However, given Americans' horrible diet and exercise habits, maybe we should all pay a little more heed to their advice both during pregnancy and after. Don't be scared off by the negative reviews as I was at first. I choose to buy another book based on these reviews, then was given this book as a gift. Thank goodness, since it is the best resource I have. This book has been a standard for decades for good reason - it's great.
| 
