Rating: 
Summary: not comprehensive enough
Review: I bought this book before I was pregnant. While it helped me understand the basics of pregnancy, I didn't get the answers I was looking for after my conception. This book is good in informing you about what you should do or not do, but it doesn't explain the causes of why it happens.
Rating: 
Summary: Very helpful book
Review: I enjoyed referring to this book when I was pregant. Very Informative. A must for pregnant women. I also greatly enjoyed "Women's Health: Your Guide to a Healthier and Happier Life" by Drs. David Newman and Holly Stevens for my other questions about women's issues. How to get ready for pregnancy? What happens after pregancy? Contraception and relationship issues. Also great book for menopause. I really enjoyed the true stories from women included in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing about the magic!
Review: There is no wonder in this book. More bang for my book buck was 10 Principles For Spiritual Parenting. It helped me decide how I wanted to "be" when my baby was born 4 months ago.....it's been such a great guide since. This book seemed to make me fearful rather than radiant.
Rating: 
Summary: A good title, but a bad book
Review: I believe many people pick up and buy this book because it happens to have the best title. I also suspect those who gave it 5 stars have not read many other books about pregnancy. Unfortunately, I too bought this book and "What to Expect the First Year" because of the clever titles and nice cover designs.I would instead suggest books like The Pregnancy Book, The Birth Book, and the Baby Book by William Sears. Or Natural Birth the Bradley Way. Also, Spiritual Midwifery, which is the best to build confidence for a natural birth. "What to Expect" implies that "your doctor will tell you if you need drugs during delivery", and that you have very little control and few choices. Books like the Searses, Natural Birth the Bradley Way, or A Good Birth, A Safe Birth, on the other hand, try to inform you of your choices and the downsides of certain procedures. For example, there are several advantages to not using an IV or being strapped to a EFM for the entire labor. Also, a doula (birth assistant) can be a great help to women, and I don't think WTEWYE covers this. There is little or no coverage of birth plans, birth centers, midwives, or lactation consultants. If you want to know how to better your chances of giving birth without an epiosiotomy or drugs, or of breastfeeding successfully, WTEWYE is not the book to buy. I felt the authors' opinions on co-sleeping with your baby and breastfeeding for more than a year were misinformed and outdated. Because of this book's incredible popularity with new mothers, I feel it is a real impediment to progress in educating mothers about their choices and about breastfeeding. From reading this book alone, expectant moms wouldn't know that they have the option to: write a birth plan, hire a doula, not allow their baby to be taken to the nursery (unless an emergency), not allow the baby to be given sugar water, sleep with their baby in the hospital with a note from their pediatrician, not wear an IV or EFM continually in labor (unless risk factors warrant it), drink water or juice during labor (and eat during early labor), labor or deliver out of bed if desired (in normal births), etc.. I recommend books by authors who love and find beauty and joy in the cycle of birth, motherhood, nursing, etc.. because they focus on the positive and get one very psyched up, even for labor. In contrast, WTEWYE is cold, clinical, and devoid of joy. It describes birth as a medical procedure rather than a natural process that most (but not all) women can handle on their own, if they have enough support during labor.
Rating:
Summary: A scary and unhelpful read
Review: I'm actually throwing this book away. I'm not even pregnant yet, just trying, and I already feel like I've screwed up my pregnancy. I have been advocating a more natural birth for myself, without doctors and IVs and the typical interventions, and this book has made me feel that unless I consent to invasive procedures, receiving pain medications, allowing my labor to be measured by everyone else's standards, or being cut wide open, that I will have somehow "let down the team", or will bring on the horrible situations outlined in the book that can go wrong as a result. I'm going to try Dr. Sears' book; it has been highly recommended for women like me who want to try for a natural birth if it's possible. I don't want to feel guilty or worried to death about my choice, and that's exactly how this book made me feel!
Rating:
Summary: Full of Info, Facts and Figures
Review: What to Expect When You're Expecting is full of information, facts and figures. If you want to know about a pregnancy-related topic, you can probably find it in this book. It is a great reference book but don't let it scare you. Every pregnancy is different and while some times things go wrong, most of the time, everything goes right. I read many other books along with What to Expect and tried to keep everything in perspective. A Child is Born is an excellent companion book because of its vivid pictures of the developing baby and We're Pregnant! moves you away from the medical jargon by giving a true-to-life, parents-to-be perspective on the entire pregnancy and delivery process. Read them all. You'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: The sky is falling and this book will hit you in the head!
Review: This book turned the first part of my wife's pregnancy into a nightmare of worry. You can't imagine how negative the tone of this book is. I bought William Sears Pregnancy Book. Sears' book is more informative, more even toned, and successfully set my wife at ease. Buy this book instead.
Rating:
Summary: Most frightening book on the market for older moms
Review: If you are over 35, and already own this book, I suggest that you leave it under your sofa until after your baby is born. This book highlights every possible thing that can go wrong with a pregnancy (as if you're not worried already), and makes you feel like a failure if you can't keep up with the suggested diet and excercise regimen. There are many books which offer a more positive, and more readable version of the pregnancy experience.
Rating:
Summary: Good Information, But Also A Bit Scary
Review: I found this book to have some good information, but it was so negative that when I dared to read ahead, my husband came home and found me in tears. The best odds diet is the biggest joke I have ever read in my life (who wants to put wheat germ on everything they eat?) and it makes you feel horrible if you even think about eating anything sweet. It also needs to be updated badly. Imagine my suprise when I went into labor in my 25th week and ran to my what to expect bible only to read that the baby may survive after the 7th month, and I was only in my 6th. (baby is 3 years old and fine by the way) That was a very rude awakening and the beginning of my hatred of this so called "wonderful book". Basically, it's a good book if you don't buy into the scare tactics of the authors. The follow-ups for the first year and the toddler years are better, but still have the best odds diet, which is almost more insane than the one in this book. All in all, find a different book as your basic source for information and use this one as a companion.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not the best
Review: Wow! People either love or hate this book. I am in the middle. It has pretty comprehensive coverage, but I agree the nutrition section is impossible. It was the best ten years ago, but now there are other great books out there. Best to get information from many different sources. I agree that The Pregnancy Book by the Sears is good for day to day concerns. If you want an interesting perspective of what is really going on in there, the best is How Life Begins--The Science of Life in the Womb by Chris Vaughan. This is particularly good for fathers who have trouble connecting to the day-to-day diet and exercise stuff.
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