Rating: 
Summary: Your Right To Question
Review: Although I'm not currently an expectant mother, I'm newly married and I thought now was the best time to examine all the issues surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. I agree with others in the sense that Ms Wolfe has tackled quite a few issues in this book, however, all of material covered is intrinsically relevant to women and their experience of motherhood.Personally, this book has shifted my entire perspective on the subject. Whereas before I would have been far more likely to acquiesce to the 'authority' of the medical profession and what I perceive as their unquestionable knowledge of the birthing process, Naomi's insights have made me realise how very foolish that would have been. I may not be an expert but I'm not stupid. This is my body, my baby, they are there to assist me in the process, I'm will not surrender myself, my child or my pregnancy to what is merely convenient for others. Simply because we believe things have 'always been done this way' is not a good enough reason to maintain the status quo. I'm ashamed to see that not one woman has stepped forward to support Naomi's right to question the validity of how things are currently done. You needn't agree with Naomi's opinion, no one can teach you what to think. If she succeeds in making you think and question at all, then this book is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Perspective
Review: Hopefully like many women who are pregnant or hope to have children, you are reading many different books with varying perspectives. I was intrigued by this book for its subject matter, but mainly because it was written by Naomi Wolf. If one is familiar with her ideas about feminism, her slant toward this subject wouldn't be a surprise. If, however, you are not familiar with Wolf at all, you may find yourself thinking, "does she think she's the first woman to ever give birth?" -- I did not think this but remember her being slammed by listeners who felt this way during an NPR radio interview she was doing to promote this book when it first debuted. You will enjoy and appreciate this book more for what it is if you keep in mind that this is just one, intelligent and caring woman's experience and that she was writing it from the perspective of wanting to help and inform women. I think every woman who is pregnant or planning to be, owes it to themself to read this book. You may dispute some or many of her findings and facts, but there is a wealth of other information packed into the pages of this book. I am so glad I read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye opener
Review: This book is so true. . . very scary to admit some of the things but so true. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
Rating: 
Summary: The only "misconceptions" here are Naomi Wolf's
Review: If you are intellectually curious, get this book. But don't believe it. It's full of factual errors and illogical reasoning. For instance, the section on infertility claims that if a woman thinks positively and believes she will conceive, she will. Wolf's evidence: One woman who became pregnant after she stopped going to an insensitive doctor and threw away her drugs. That's a nice coincidence, nothing more. The third chapter of "The Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It" by Susan Maushart and "Babycatcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife" by Peggy Vincent provide a much more accurate and empowering description of what childbirth is really like. I did appreciate Wolf's comment that our culture infantalizes laboring women and mystifies what happens to them, but I don't think I could have appreciated what that really means if I hadn't read these other books first. If you want to know more about how motherhood changes women's role and social status, the rest of "The Mask of Motherhood" and Maushart's third book, "Wifework: What Marriage Really Means for Women," are much more clear and analytical, though I did find Wolf's personal perspective informative.
Rating: 
Summary: A thought provoker even with the negative angle
Review: While I don't find my pregnancy experience (I am now 6months pregnant)so far to be anything remotely like Naomi's own experience and I disagree with some of her views I would say this book has been helpful. I found myself wanting to argue certain points with her but overall the book was thought provoking.
The book wasn't what I was expecting after hearing about it on Oprah. I expected it to focus more on uncovering what women go through after childbirth, the struggles / issues / obstacles they faced etc. ... Instead it seemed to focus on very negative, albeit legitimate issues.
It did bring up some questions for me to ask my doctor and discuss with my husband but it also made me even more grateful for the experience I am having this far (a VERY positive one).
I would warn anyone who is newly pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant to realize that this is just one woman's view and experience. Not all pregnancies are horrible, not all doctors are horrible and not all birthing experiences are horrible. Take her experience and advice with a grain of salt and use it to further your own experience (which is really what I think she intended to do).
Overall, okay book, great at bringing up questions to explore and further conversation about pregnancy, birth and motherhood!
Rating:
Summary: I only gave it one star because there was no option for zero
Review: I cant tell you how excited I was to get this book. I had heard about it on Oprah and was very excited, since I am in the process of starting a family, to get what I understood to be "the truth" finally! So, I read it rather quickly (although not because it was gripping, but because it was so awful!). Unless you are a bleeding heart liberal and an obnoxious wining feminist... this is not the book for you. I have to say, she hated EVERY experience of having a child; from being pregnant to giving birth to loving her child! It utterly amazed me when at the end of the bood she said she had another baby!! Those poor children! This woman is so completely self absorbed I cant imagine her having the energy to think about her children after all the time she spends thinking of her self and wining about how abused she is! I was truly appauled and wanted to shout from the roof tops that NOONE should read this book! All those women out there that agree with her, and feel so abused about this ability we have to bear children, should NOT bear children. Spare us all the pain of listining to you complain!! I truly cannot say enough bad things about this book....so I'll just stop now. Oh...one final thing, I am SO thankful that I got it from the library and didnt spend my money to buy it!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Misconceptions
Review: This book is about the journey through pregnancy, labor & motherhood. I am a new mother, so I thought it would be an interesting read. This is a very well-written book with extremely intellectual points. I did not necessarily agree with Wolf on many points and I did find her attitude to be quite negative. However, there were definitely some things that I did agree with. I suppose each women experiences different emotions throughout this journey. While I recommend this read to new mothers I would warn expectant moms to remember that there are a lot of negative spins on pregnancy & labor in this book that not all women experience.
Rating:
Summary: Wolf never takes personal responsibility
Review: She does her research and then doesn't act on it.
She blames everyone but herself for her unhappiness.
She whines.
She doesn't seem to learn much from experience.
Don't bother with this book. Much better ones are on the market.
Try A Good Birth, A Safe Birth; it has stood the test of time.
Also, don't miss Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife for the real scoop and a rollicking good read.
At the end of Misconceptions, you'll feel depressed.
At the end of A Good Birth, A Safe birth, you'll feel informed.
At the end of Baby Catcher, you'll feel empowered and uplifted.
You choose.
Rating:
Summary: A totally different perspective
Review: In this book Naomi Wolf gives us her perspective on birth. This was the first pregnancy book I've read where I found myself nodding along in agreement. After reading the book, I switched my care from an OB/GYN (who had answered my questions with assurances that everything was done only if it was medically necessary) to a midwife, who had numbers to back up her information. Although I plan to go into childbirth better prepared than Naomi Wolf did, I found her book to be very eye-opening and as useful as others I'm reading.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD INTRO TO PREPARING FOR BIRTH AND MATERNAL EMOTIONS
Review: This is a very personal book about the author's first pregnancy experiences. It aims to prepare a woman to ask the really important questions about the kind of care her provider routinely dispenses. She informs about various risks of prenantal and delivery procedures. What stays with me the most about this book was the way Naomi honestly tells about the emotions you feel when you are pregnant. I am barely going on my second trimester and I already feel the protectiveness of not only my fetus but all children, animals and their issues in general. The topics in the book extend beyond advice and memoir regarding pregnancy to issues of infertility, women's health in general and comparative anthroplogy. It all leans toward a philosophy towards political activism which I beleive all citizens concerned with the welfare of children will embrace. I very much related to and enjoyed parts of this book but it is quite heavy and geared toward pointing out the bad things about bearing a child and rasing it in our current society. Therefore it is hard to read all the way through when you are pregnant since you want to avoid feeling doomed or feeling that your child will be doomed in our society if things don't change FAST.
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