I am a bit of a research freak. I never want to go into anything blind and pregnancy was no different, so I sought out as many books on the topic as I could. What I discovered was that there is no easy answer to the “what pregnancy book should I read?” question. So, I read five different books and I thought I would share my thoughts on each one individually.
The Best:
The Pregnancy Bible by Joanne Stone, MD and Keith Eddleman, MD
This is the book I bought within two hours of peeing on a stick. I did a bunch of research on amazon.com and then headed to a local bookstore because I didn’t want to wait for mail delivery. This book sleeps beside my bed and I refer to it almost once a week. It has a great pregnancy week-by-week section with both quick and more detailed info on what your little bean is up to. It also contains a boatload of info on prenatal tests, diet, exercise, childbirth choices, and labour, as well as some simple advice on life after the baby is born including feeding, holding, and caring for both your baby and yourself after the birth. The nice thing is that it has a load of pictures (not graphic) and diagrams, which make it an easy read. If you are only going to buy one baby book (good luck with that by the way), then this should be it.
The Rest:
I want to preface this to say that these books all have their place, but they just didn’t do it all for me like The Pregnancy Bible did.
The Mother of all Pregnancy Books by Ann Douglas
This is a great book with a Canadian perspective which means you don’t have to wade through information on medical insurance providers that often bog down American-centric books. I found the book interesting but hard going at times. It’s not written in an overly user-friendly voice and after a while I found myself skipping through to read the “Moms the Word” snippets from real moms. I also found it strange that the first five chapters are on fertility and conception (there are better books on fertility out there and the title makes it far more pregnancy related) – why would I want to read about getting knocked up when I already am? After my initial read, I haven’t gone back to read more – which I think says a lot.
What To Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murk off, Arlene Eisenberg & Sandee Hathaway, BSN
If you thought that this was the only pregnancy book in the world, I don’t blame you. What To Expect might just be the most talked about preggo book on the market. I have a love/hate relationship with this one – yes, it’s full of great information, but no it’s not a great pregnancy book. It’s set out in a question/answer format (on a month-by-month basis), so you can go straight to the month you’re in or you can look up what ails you and go from there. It is a great reference but not a great read, so if you can borrow it or pick it up second hand then I think that’s the best way to go.
The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vickie Iovine
I thought I was going to hate this book but was surprised by its readability and tone. It reads more like a novel than a book of facts, so it is definitely the easiest read of the lot, but there is a lot of ground that is not covered. Ms Iovine is pro-doctor (she basically says, “Of course you should have a Dr deliver your baby?”) so if you’re planning on using a midwife her experience will differ from yours and she refers to God a lot (which is one of the criticisms that crops up a lot in online reviews), but to be fair it’s more in the “God willing” and “God only knows” way. Given the novel-style of the book, I found it didn’t grate on me but I can see how some people could find it off putting. This shouldn’t be your only pregnancy book – it’s a fun read, but not the be-all and end-all of informational sources.
Spilt Milk Mom Jo has a detailed review of the book here.
The Non-Review
The Complete Book of Pregnancy & Childcare by Sheila Kitzinger
This book must have been recommended to me at least three times when people found out I was pregnant, so I was really looking forward to reading it. Then when I sat down and started flipping through, it I just couldn’t do it. This is going to sound weird but there are WAY too many graphic, 70’s style photos in it. I do not need to see babies coming out of vajayjays in order to have a baby. I do not need to see women seething in pain to have a baby. This book scared me and the photos made me feel icky (incidentally, a similar thing happened when I picked up The Joy of Sex in my 20’s only to discover that the line drawing man looked just like my dad). In the end, I just cannot bring myself to read this book. I know Sheila Kitzinger is one of the most respected pregnancy and childbirth authors on the planet and I’m sure the info is brilliant, but I just can NOT, for the life of me, go there.
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Emily is very proud to be one of the Spilt Milk Moms ‘founding mothers’ as well as being Mama to “Little Miss” (who was born in August 2009) and Wifelet to her Husbando. She spent seven years living in London which helped her to develop a keen eye for amazing products from around the world. As an actress and producer, Emily ensured her place in hell with over 3 years in children’s advertising (her job was “to create want where there is no need!”) but looks to undo the damage by finding the best things around for mamas and little ones. Emily is always ready with fresh baking, a silly song, or a glass of chardonnay and is renowned for always being overdressed and having a killer collection of heels that she’s not afraid to wear (even whilst babywearing!). You can also find her on her personal blog Aprons & Heels ~ emily (at) SpiltMilkMoms (dot) com |
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