Rating: 
Summary: A great book for intelligent pregnant women
Review: Any woman who finds this book frightening or condescending to women doesn't want information; she wants to be comforted. This book is extremely thorough and useful for anyone who wants real medical facts and straight talk. I have read a number of fact-based books about pregnancy and found this to be a good no-nonsense guide including some information which can't be found in any of the other common resources.When a woman embarks upon a pregnancy, it's important to know all of the facts rather than cling to a sugar-coated view of how an "ideal" pregnancy should shape up. Armed with information, a rational, informed woman can intelligently manage her pregnancy and know how to recognize true problems if they arise. If you are such a woman, this book is for you. If not, may I recommend "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" -- it's suitably giggly and comfortingly devoid of medical fact.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for intelligent pregnant women
Review: Any woman who finds this book frightening or condescending to women doesn't want information; she wants to be comforted. This book is extremely thorough and useful for anyone who wants real medical facts and straight talk. I have read a number of fact-based books about pregnancy and found this to be a good no-nonsense guide including some information which can't be found in any of the other common resources. When a woman embarks upon a pregnancy, it's important to know all of the facts rather than cling to a sugar-coated view of how an "ideal" pregnancy should shape up. Armed with information, a rational, informed woman can intelligently manage her pregnancy and know how to recognize true problems if they arise. If you are such a woman, this book is for you. If not, may I recommend "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" -- it's suitably giggly and comfortingly devoid of medical fact.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful and Informative
Review: Having read a number of pregnancy books, this is one of my two favourites (the other being What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Eisenberg Hathaway). I did not read the book all in one go, but halfway through one month I would read the chapter as to what to expect the next month, and I did this for both my pregnancies. There was a lot of information about what could go wrong, but pregnancy, though natural, is fraught with dangers and I thought that it was good to include some of those situations. I did not think these parts detracted from the book, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written with a condescending tone
Review: I have bought several pregnancy books, and this one is the most useless. The writing is choppy and a little awkward, and the tone is condescending toward women. This book is definitely not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly written with a condescending tone
Review: This book is a good reference book for pregnant women. My niece, Anslie Henderson, is the baby that the sonagram pictured on the second page of the "Tenth Lunar Month" shows, so I'm a little biased!
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book is a good reference book for pregnant women. My niece, Anslie Henderson, is the baby that the sonagram pictured on the second page of the "Tenth Lunar Month" shows, so I'm a little biased!
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this book
Review: This book, while "thorough" is so fear inducing that any pregnant woman with a low-risk pregnancy shoud steer clear at all costs. The author, month-by-month, lists typical discomforts alongside extremely rare complications thus alarming the pregnant woman that this could likely be her fate. He does not inform her that the likelihood of having one of these problems is very rare. I would have rather have seen a listing somewhere else in the book of such possibilities and the symptoms to watch for. Rather than have this book at all, I recommend Gentle Birth Choices, Birthing From Within or anything by Sheila Kitzinger. All were written by women with the approach that birth is a normal, natural physiologic state for the pregnant woman. While they discuss complications, they are not assumed to be lurking at every corner so the woman must be hyper vigilant for such problems.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this book
Review: This book, while "thorough" is so fear inducing that any pregnant woman with a low-risk pregnancy shoud steer clear at all costs. The author, month-by-month, lists typical discomforts alongside extremely rare complications thus alarming the pregnant woman that this could likely be her fate. He does not inform her that the likelihood of having one of these problems is very rare. I would have rather have seen a listing somewhere else in the book of such possibilities and the symptoms to watch for. Rather than have this book at all, I recommend Gentle Birth Choices, Birthing From Within or anything by Sheila Kitzinger. All were written by women with the approach that birth is a normal, natural physiologic state for the pregnant woman. While they discuss complications, they are not assumed to be lurking at every corner so the woman must be hyper vigilant for such problems.
Rating:
Summary: If you walk the straight and narrow, this one's for you!
Review: Unless, of course, you are married, straight, "responsible," financially-okay, hospital-birth-advocating and you don't mind being patronised by a doctor who will NEVER be able to give birth himself, I'd suggest that you avoid this book like the plague. I don't really have issues with Dr. C telling readers about every slight problem that could happen, nor with the layout or anything else- but the patronising manner in which he speaks to women who are pregnant. The book only addresses issues which Dr. C deems "proper," and at the same time alienates women who may not have [male or existant] partners, financial security, or anything else people assume you're meant to have when you fall pregnant. He ignores issues which many women may want information about- such as homebirth and alternatives to pain relief, and advocates the "don't ask any questions, just obey doctor" line of dealing with patients which I've become all too used to. On a lighter side, the pictures are interesting and detailed, however they may send you into freak-out land if your ultrasound doesn't look like the ones in the book. If you don't mind doctors assuming you're stupid, or you are, this is all you'll need to read- how to ignore what your body may be telling you, how to give up your autonomy, and place your life, your baby's and your dignity right into the hands of a doctor. Do yourself a favour- get Sheila Kitzinger, the "What to Expect..." series, or Ariel Gore's "HipMama: A survival guide."
Rating:
Summary: If you walk the straight and narrow, this one's for you!
Review: Unless, of course, you are married, straight, "responsible," financially-okay, hospital-birth-advocating and you don't mind being patronised by a doctor who will NEVER be able to give birth himself, I'd suggest that you avoid this book like the plague. I don't really have issues with Dr. C telling readers about every slight problem that could happen, nor with the layout or anything else- but the patronising manner in which he speaks to women who are pregnant. The book only addresses issues which Dr. C deems "proper," and at the same time alienates women who may not have [male or existant] partners, financial security, or anything else people assume you're meant to have when you fall pregnant. He ignores issues which many women may want information about- such as homebirth and alternatives to pain relief, and advocates the "don't ask any questions, just obey doctor" line of dealing with patients which I've become all too used to. On a lighter side, the pictures are interesting and detailed, however they may send you into freak-out land if your ultrasound doesn't look like the ones in the book. If you don't mind doctors assuming you're stupid, or you are, this is all you'll need to read- how to ignore what your body may be telling you, how to give up your autonomy, and place your life, your baby's and your dignity right into the hands of a doctor. Do yourself a favour- get Sheila Kitzinger, the "What to Expect..." series, or Ariel Gore's "HipMama: A survival guide."
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