Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive, but doesn't cover everything
Review: While I found this book very useful and very helpful, it didn't have information about the biggest problem I had during my pregnancy--severe morning sickness. I lost 20 pounds in the first six months because I was constantly nauseaous and had almost a total aversion to food. This book prides itself on being very comprehensive, but didn't cover this problem. The information about prenatal tests was helpful, though, and we used it to help us make some important decisions. I also felt the tone was good--not patronizing, demeaning, or too advanced. Overall, a good book, but there are some gaps.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this for your best friend...
Review: An overly-hyped book with lots of detail about problemns and complications of Pregnancy, which might help allay the fears of first-time mothers or hypochondriacs, but in general can provoke more worries than it soothes. The chapter for fathers is most appalling, giving tips on how men "should" approach their pregnant partners to tell them that they are disturbed by their weight gain, etc. Give us a break. The average ordinary woman has enough stress in our lives, pregnant or not, and we don't need a doomsday book or a book that prompts out partners to bring up issues that might be upsetting during this already emotional time. Look at a lot of pregnancy books for comparison before you buy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Way over-rated, written by the pregnancy police
Review: My biggest objection to the book is focus on food. Even when you try to look up a complaint (such as diarrea, migraines, etc), they give a one sentence, not very helpful answer, then 3 sentences on how eating the best-odds diet could prevent this (Hint: it can't).They were so fixated on the food/diet aspect that after reading it, and referring to it, I am left with the feeling that a Snickers Bar is the moral equivilant of beer, a slice of Chocolate cake with frosting is a pack of cigarettes, and by eating a Big Mac, Large Fries and Coke, I might as well be shooting heroin. What's lacking in the month-by-month description good information as to what is developing during that period in the baby. What organs are happening? What are the KEY NUTRIENTS that are necessary for that time horizon? A much better book is the weekly calender that really talks about what's happening to you and the fetus, including real pictures, not pencil sketches.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank God This Book Was Given To Me.....
Review: ....Or I would've been upset at wasting my money! There are MANY good reference books out there, but I didn't think this was one of them (and I bought a bunch of them to compare). I almost put down the book for good when I read page 81, in the "Best Odds Diet" chapter. This ridiculous, preachy chapter actually counseled me to stop and and ask myself before I take any bite of food, "Is it good for the baby?" If not, well, spit it out and eat some cauliflower. Ha! I was so darned sick the first three months of my pregnancy that I was thrilled to eat ANYTHING that tasted mildly pleasant. If my body said meat, mashed potatoes and gravy (which I rarely ate prior to pregnancy), then that's what it got. And guess what? Your body knows best (unless you're a hopeless junk food junkie). I had low iron, so I really craved meat. Later, I didn't want meat but craved veggies. In any case, the "Best Odds Diet" left me stone cold and tainted the rest of my view of this book. I think I'm pretty "open-minded" and intelligent, but I've got enough to think about in a first pregnancy without the added worry this book generates. If you get it, get some others so you will have a broader perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Scared me more than helped me
Review: I am just under 2 months pregnant and after eagerly reading this book, I was calling my OB night and day for reassurance that I wasn't miscarrying. WTE does have some good basic answers to common questions, but in general, is too alarmist in tone. Several doctors have told me that they don't recommend the book (someone gave it to me as a gift and I don't plan to pass it along to other friends -- I will pass along 'Girlfriend's Guide' -- lots of fun and honest too!
Rating:
Summary: Use as a reference, not a bible
Review: Many reviewers here have pointed out the flaws of this book--unrealistic advice about diet and a condescending tone being the most annoying--but of the handful of pregnancy books I've got I've reached for this the most often (along with Your Pregnancy Week to Week, which shows fetal development). When I first bought it I thought, boy, this is really negative, pointing out all the problems you could have. But then all those weird hormonal things started happening to me--shortness of breath, itchy palms, nosebleeds--and rather than bother my doctor between visits I could look it up and sure enough, there was a reassuring passage that it was, once again, my body doing normal if wacky things. For me, it's been worth it just for the amount of territory it covers, which other books slight (e.g, the Kitzinger doesn't even tell you how much calcium you should have per day--pretty big oversight!). As for the tone, well, I've yet to find a pregnancy book that isn't either paternalistic and pro-doctor/anti-midwife, or vehemently anti-medical establishment, so I just ignore the tone of these books altogether.
Rating:
Summary: This book is not that great.
Review: This book was recommended to me by many people. It was not at all what I expected. It has a tendancy to focus on what could be negative in your pregnancy. If you are looking for a book to read I would try "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy"
Rating:
Summary: Try Colonero's "With You and Your Baby All the Way" instead
Review: This book is condescending and alarmist. Instead of having to buy this book as well as "What to Expect the First Year", try Colonero's "With You and Your Baby All the Way". Colonero's book covers pregnancy, delivery, recovery AND baby care, including a great section on breasfeeding. And it's tone is straightforward and intelligent.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent reference for open-minded moms-to-be (really!!!)
Review: WTEWYE is an excellent reference tool if you have an OPEN MIND. Read the other reviews...this is key! Here's why.... As a first time mom, this book answered every conceivable question I had. I never really sensed a condescending tone by the authors....what I do remember, however, is reading certain items and thinking, yeah, right, ok , whatever! and going on. The authors can be a bit preachy, but I think the intent was good, if not always very REALISTIC. In particular: feel free to read and then dismiss the Best Odds Diet Chapter. I am one of the moms who abstained from caffeine, alcohol, nutrasweet, etc....because it was easy and I wanted my baby to have the best chance possible. However, I certainly never avoided sugars and the like. Don't we all have the common sense to know to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet of fruits, veggies, whole grains and the like? And if we do that MOST of the time, how can an occasional (ok, everyday for those in the last trimester) treat like ice cream or chocolate hurt? In fact, I would be willing to prove it's HELPFUL. We're pregnant, after all, not stupid. The rest of the book was well worthwhile. Dietary advice here is well-meant but overdue as it was written for a woman pregnant during the 1950's. Educate yourself, and use this book as a reference tool...and please don't make it your onlly book! Visit Parent Soup's website for supportive chat groups and discussion boards on every imaginable topic, and listen to what your own body tells you is right. Bottome line is, use this book while thinking for yourself, and you will be thoroughly entertained and educated at the same time. As for the condescending tones, I didn't see it. Think of it this way: how long has it been since these women gave birth (have they ever?); could they do anything less as responsible authors than advocate what is OPTIMAL (yet maybe sometimes unrealistic) and present it as a GUIDE for moms-to-be? AT only $11, add it to your pregnancy library. And by all means don't forget your practitioner! They are probably your best overall source, if not as convenient asa the book when it's 3am and you're worried about the sushi you just ate in your first trimester (I did this, and Maddie is a happy, very healthy and smart 15-month old!). One thing I should add: I can see where single moms and those moms who are not in the main-stream or "the norm" would feel left out some times. If you are one of them, don't take it to heart: you are the most important person to your baby and that's that....no book can tell you anything about loving and doing "what's right" for your baby that you don't already know, or have an inkling about. Enough already. Too many moms were too tough on this book....it has to be read with an open mind. It is up to us to educate ourselves, and anyone who takes a single book for its meaning VERBATIM is selling themselves very short. Supplement your reading, mommies! And happy pregnancies....you'll never have a more special time in your life (and get rid of the matronly looking puffymama on the cover.....dollbaby-fashion maternity is out! Borrow your husband's clothes, invest in some cheap Target maternity leggings and tops, and get with the style! WOuldn't it be more realistic to have an obviously-pregnant momma on the cover taking a walk...anything but reclining in an uncomfortable-looking antique rocker .......ha! : )
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful prenatal info ... very poor breastfeeding info.
Review: I loved the book What to Expect When You're Expecting ... reading it cover to cover through BOTH of my pregnancies ... referring to it often ... recommending it to friends. I truly enjoyed following the month by month outline of 'what to expect'. And I found answers to many small questions that I never seemed to remember to ask when at the doctors office. BUT!!!!! The more I've learned about breastfeeding ... and the longer that I've breastfed ... the less and less I like the "What to Expect" series information on nursing. To me it seems VERY inaccurate and even misleading at times. I find it hard to beleive that an author who is so knowledgeable about prenatal health and general nutrition can be so ill informed about breastfeeding. I would think that much of the information would be discouraging to new moms and to mothers who encounter difficulties. Rather than encouraging us to find alternatives or solutions to problems the books seem to say ... "Oh well, it may not work for you." So while I do feel that this book and it's follow-up books are valuable prenatal and childcare resources, the amount of incorrect information they contain concerning breastfeeding prevents me from buying the book for friends who are expecting, or even from recommending the book to them. I hope that the author will consider providing more factual breastfeeding information to her readers in future editions of the book ... or at least leaving out the negative misinformation.
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