Rating: 
Summary: treats you like an imbecile
Review: This book, though recommended frequently, makes you feel guilty and unsure of everything you do. First, the nutrition guidelines are ridiculously rigid. The last straw for me was when they suggested that I bring my own wheat roll to business luncheons so I wouldn't eat the white ones. The other thing that bugs me is that they really insult my intelligence. Telling me that its ok to shave my legs! The phrase "consult your practitioner" must be in there about a thousand times. Also, knowing how common miscarriages are, I found it peculiar that they did not address m/cs in the first "What you may be concerned about" section. Everyone tells you to get this book, but I think it is highly overrated.
Rating: 
Summary: Saved me a lot of tears
Review: Every twinge, every ache seemed to have an explination here. . .saved me calls to the doctor, but when I *had* to call, it was right on target. As someone with a difficult pregnancy (I had gestational diabetes), it was helpful. I recommend it, and for those who stated things about diet, if I had followed the book instead of ignoring it, I bet I wouldnt have gotten the diabetes or gained 70 pounds! And it is true, you *do* take a chance every time you stick a pill in your mouth. Your doctor will agree, but it is a small risk. Better to be told. And as for brie mentioned above? Will check with my OB/GYN (I am having another), but I never heard that before. Still better than the other books out there, at least it treats you intelligently.
Rating: 
Summary: The Pregnant Woman's Bible
Review: I bought this book when I found out I was pregnant with my first child because I saw it in the movie "Nine Months". I never regretted the decision. My husband read some of it with me, particularly the part for fathers only. He thinks that my pregnancy was a textbook case, this book being the textbook. "What to Expect when You're Expecting" becamse my bible for the duration of my pregnancy until right after my birth because it answered all the questions I had, including those I forgot to ask my gynecologist and my mother. It included unheard-of symptoms some of which I got. I was so impressed with this that I got the others in the series when my daughter was born ("What to Expect the First Year") and recently purchased "What to Expect the Toddler Years" after my daughter had her first birthday.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING
Review: When i was pregnant with my twins. A co-worker recommended this book. I went ahead and bought it. I couldnot put it down. I slept with this book. I carried it everywhere i went. This book was accurate and to the point with my pregnancy. I learned alot from it. I highly recommend this book. Unfortunately i don't have it anymore, but this is why i'm in Amazon.com so i can order it again. For a good reason of cause, I'm pregnant again!!!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is essential to my peace of mind as a mother-to-be
Review: I love reading this book. Anytime I am concerned, curious, or have extra time, I pick it up and learn more. This is my first pregnancy and it has been very much like having an obgyn with me all the time. I love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Disapointed
Review: I really didn't like the book, it didn't give the tecnical medical info that I want to read. I felt like they were writing for a child and that being pregnet is an illness. I also didn't like how repitious it was,I only recomend this book for people that are wealthy and can afford to sit in the grany's rocking chair and make every one do every thing for you. (also if you don't want to know every thing that's going on in your body during theise long and exsiting 9 months)
Rating:
Summary: A good introductory book on pregnancy.
Review: Being pregnant for the first time, I've found the revised edition of WHAT TO EXPECT... to be a good basic book on pregnancy. I didn't feel that the book emphasized the negatives (perhaps it was different in the first edition?), nor do I feel that they condemn moms who just have to have that chocolate bar or pint of Ben & Jerry's (heck, they recommend cheating on your diet once a week!). My main gripe with the book is that the exercise section is a bit confusing; they name exercises but don't do a good job of showing how they're done. It's also sometimes not clear, when they talk about a certain number of weeks into the pregnancy, whether they mean weeks since conception or weeks since last menstrual period. Overall, though, I've found it to be a good introduction to pregnancy. It shouldn't be your only book, but no book should be your only book.
Rating:
Summary: It contains good, basic information that is easy to find.
Review: I live in Mexico and this is the first book I bought as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I like the book (as do many of my friends who have Spanish-language translations), but it is not what we would consider "the bible" of pregnancy. I have consulted it more than read it -- reading the chapters corresponding to the month of my pregnancy as well as the answers to specific questions as they come up. Unfortunately, there is some information missing and could give this book "a lift". The only mention as to how your body is physically changing and how the baby is developing is in the little illustrations at the start of each "monthly" chapter and a few illustrations on how women carry differently. It would be nice to have a little more information and even some reference on the development of the baby, such as "during week x the baby is developing its liver..." Also, some conditions described are not exactlly accurate, such as! the description for abruption placenta, which discussed this condition towards the end of the pregnancy while I, and severaly women I know, have had this problem during the first and second trimesters, with treatment consisting of bed rest and progesterone and after about a month or two, they resume normal activity -- a far cry from the description offered in the book.
Rating:
Summary: I found this book condescending and unhelpful!
Review: "What to Expect..." obsesses on diet, blames the expectant parent for what might go wrong, and expects sainthood on the part of expected moms. A few examples: When discussing over-the-counter and prescription drugs, they entitle the section "playing baby roulette" as though you are pointing a gun at the baby with a bullet in one chamber if you take a pill. In other places, too, they imply that NO drugs should be taken during pregnancy. They make a woman who takes a tylenol for a killer pregnancy headache feel like she is endangering her baby's life, which almost any doctor will tell you is ridiculous. There are quite a few drugs that are safe in pregnancy and we should not be made to feel guilty for taking them. On diet, naming it the "best odds" diet implies again that you are risking your baby's life if you dare to indulge in anything other than whole grains, raw vegies, etc. Under "cheating" they say: "once a week! give in to something that is not quite perfect but not totally terrible: a bagel,... " I should feel guilty for eating a bagel? Later, they state that frequent servings of white pasta, white rice, or white bread will diminish the odds in your Best-Odds Diet, again, as though you are putting your child at risk. At the same time, they omit warnings about unpasturized cheeses (brie and blue cheese, for example), that can pose a very real risk to the fetus. On backache (and a lot of other things), an often inevitable side-effect of pregnancy, they tend to blame the mother--for not being physically fit before pregnancy, for poor posture, and for (AGAIN) eating too much. On medical information, I found it weak, with little data on the baby's development over time, and little or hard-to-find information about things like relaxin, a hormone that loosens your joints (sometimes making them sore and causing "the pregnancy waddle") during pregnancy. Finally, the! re is some just nutty stuff, like the statement that a cert! ain form of sexual relations can cause an air embolism which might prove deadly to mother and baby. I cannot fathom why this book is so popular ...
Rating:
Summary: If you want to feel guilty during your pregnancy, read it.
Review: This book will put your mind to ease on the many changes you go through during pregnancy but beware the pregnancy police is present. The tone and content is condecending and will most likely make you feel very inadequate as a mother to be. There are lots of books out there that will tell you about your pregnant body and your baby that are better than this one.
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