What to Expect When You're Expecting

This book is the worst book any newly pregnant woman can read. It is fear based to a degree that makes you wonder if Murkoff is intending to help you or to avoid a lawsuit. According to the book you are cursed if you do and if you don't. Diets are impossible to follow, and practically everything from green tea to vitamins can cause a birth defect. In terms of literary value, this book is filled with annoying and condescending cliches. Sadly, it becomes evident through the content that Heidi Murkoff has no formal training in these matters.

I followed my midwife's advice and decided to throw it away. Please, do not give it to your girlfriends as a gift. It may say that is the pregnancy bible, but it is in fact a misinformed alarming guide to complete freak out. My anxieties indeed stopped when I got rid of this book.

I would suggest "Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide," by Penny Simkin. It is written by actual professionals in the field.

btw, I'm using my husband's account. This review comes from a pregnant woman :)

This book assumes that pregnant women are idiots, and talks to them accordingly. It's full of cutsey language, puns, and linguistic tics that drove this English major up a wall. In terms of content, it contributes to our culture's position of "better safe than sorry" when it comes to kids - kids and pregnant women must be protected from anything and everything that might be the slightest bit upsetting. It does not provide any information on the research behind their advice, assuming that the pregnant woman is too stupid or lacking in self-control to make an informed decision for herself upon being presented with the facts, relying instead on making across the board recommendations on all kinds of things for which there is no scientific basis. I also hated that the miscarriage section had a big disclaimer warning pregnant women not to read it unless they actually had had a miscarriage, because the knowledge alone that miscarriage could happen would be so emotionally devastating to her that she couldn't handle it. After doing some research on my own and finding out how inaccurate and unnecessary many of their claims are, I find I no longer trust the book at all. I would not recommend it.

This book offers only one version of pregnancy and childbirth - a managed, highly medicalized version. Which is totally fine if this is what you want, but this book doesn't present it as, "Well, you have this option or this option." It is straight away one version of high-drama childbirth that totally discounts the ability of most women to have a healthy, normal birth and healthy normal baby. Granted, all birth books seem to have a slant, but why not err on the side of what is healthiest for mom and baby? Sure, if you feel like you cannot birth without drugs or you don't care about having an episiotomy, this is fine and good, but lots of people find that when they are not scared into these procedures, and scared by birth in general, things tend to go more easily. The Sears pregnancy and birth books acknowledge the need/option for fetal monitoring, ultra-sounds, c-sections, drugs, etc., but at least give you the information about them rather than assuming that they are routine and 100% without risk. More on the alternative side is Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, but even if you don't end up going that route, everything in the book is well documented by studies, so it is a great source of information. I'm not trying to be harsh on this book, but it really stinks at giving a balanced, comprehensive view of your options, or of portraying birth as a natural, normal process. Try to avoid it if you can - it just makes you feel more nervous and stressed.

Guys ... consider this a warning; this will be the worst book that your significant other can read and will make your life utterly miserable for the next nine months. It's been over four years since I had to deal with this serie's 3rd edition and I still can't stand the sight of it.

It may have been intended as a self-help guide, but its alarmist tone and condescending attitude leads this to act more as a bible for every worst-case scenario imaginable. After spending a few hours perusing this book's contents, your wife, girlfriend, whomever will become so overworked and paranoid that every little ache, pain, and irritation will become a sign of the baby being born with a forked tongue and three heads. The diet your partner will be instructed to keep is impossible for any human being alive to follow. She will be told to try and avoid ... damn near everything it seems like.

I was also incensed that after reading up on the author, all of this "wonderful" information was being brought to me by someone with NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND. If I'm going to want advice on dealing with pregnancy issues, wouldn't I want to consult an expert (i.e. someone with a degree)? Murkoff is no more an expert then I am ...

I'll be blunt, WTEWYE seems to be an EXTREMELY popular gift for someone who's pregnant for the first time and it's probably unavoidable. I came into three copies without any effort at all. I'm not going to stand here and pretend I know of a better source for information either, because (outside of ... oh I don't know ... a doctor) I don't. All I know is that if THIS is the definitive volume on the pregnancy experience, then God help us all.

I absolutely guarantee you, someone your partner knows WILL buy this for her. Your mission is to "lose it." If you're already stuck with it and you can't hide it or burn it, at least do your best to temper its pages with as much perspective as you possibly can. Again, for a first-time mom-to-be, who, frankly, is probably a bit nervous anyway about all the changes her body is going through, all this volume is going to accomplish is completely freaking her out.

Batten down the hatches and break out the antacid my friends, it's gonna be a long nine months

Pregnancy is an exciting time and it's good to have fun with it, but the 4th edition takes the most simple descriptions and turns them into terms 15 year olds use. Sperm is routinely referred to as "the guys", and the following is taken from page 8, "Knowing when the Big O (ovulation) occurs is key when doing the Baby Dance (aka trying to conceive). Here are a few ways to help you pin down the big day--and pin each other down for baby-making activities."
I will only use this until my new pregnancy book arrives at which point this is going to a book drive.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't really what I expected. If you are looking to be scared by you pregnancy, than I suggest this book to you. However, the offensive and judgmental tone of this book will do you no good. Try something else that won't make you feel bad while you read it.

To make a long story short, after getting about 120 pages into this book, I called my best friend nearly in tears. I told her I was reading the book, and before I could go into details, she said "oh for goodness sakes, don't read THAT! It's all about what you can't do and what can go wrong."

Turns out that three other friends of mine echoed the same sentiments with no prompting.

This book is a great way to make a (probably already nauseous) pregnant woman even more miserable.

I am a midwife and so many of my clients complain that this book is disempowering and scary. This book may match the mainstream maternity care system that is quickly spiraling downward in America. In the city where I live there is a 38.5% C-section rate. Of course, there is a place for C-Sections. Of course, there can always be comlications, but remember that your body was built to do this! As a new mother, please do your research before choosing how to birth your baby. Read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Henci Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to a better birth. Read anything by Sheila Kitzinger. Read books by Marsden Wagner and Robbie Davis-Floyd. Be sure to watch the new movie "The Business of Being Born" by Ricki Lake.

This book is the one book that midwives love to hate : )

This is a bullet-pointed, anxiety-driving writing that somehow induces guilt and encourages self-absorption in the same condescending baby-talk you get from women's magazines. Think bad skin or weight loss. I'm a smart person who likes to read books, and read both of the thoughtful books I bought for my husband (in the Expectant Father series) with relief. I want to throw this book out the window every time I see it or look at it. At least those books acknowledge that there may be another adult involved in having a baby.

I was given this book by my doctor's office at the beginning of my first pregnancy. I had gotten pregnant as a result of over a year of fertility treatment and subsequently miscarried as a result of a virus I caught from students that I was teaching at the time. My warning: DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS BOOK. The diet alone will have you terrified of going near the kitchen - the constant feeling that if you do anything outside of the dictates of the book will have you convinced everything will go wrong. Well I did everything RIGHT according to this book and everything did go WRONG. When I finally conceived after another two years of fertility treatment, I promptly shelved this book and read "Pregnancy for Dummies" and "The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy". Both of those books were helpful, informative and neither of them talked down to me as though I were incapable of making even the most insignificant decision - like this one does. I had a healthy pregnancy and delivery and now have a healthy active toddler and am nearing the end of my second healthy pregnancy. Please, leave this book at the doctor's office. It's not worth the time or worry. I would have given no stars if I could for this review.

DON'T READ THIS WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING!!!!!!! This book will only serve to scare you! Try "Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: the Complete Guide" by Simkin, Whalley & Keppler instead.

This book is awful. If you want to be scared that every little ache and pain during your pregnancy could be the uterus rupturing or the baby in distress, then buy this book. My husband absolutely hates it as well - he's nervous enough already and this book just puts him over the top. You'll be calling your midwife every five minutes if you follow the advice here. Do yourself a favor and try Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn - much better book, not fear-based. Ask your midwife for other recommendations too if you want a good book!

A MUST have: If you are looking for a thorough pregnancy book, this has to be it. When I got it from my doctor (he gives one out to each new, expectant mom) I was suprised at how big it was. Wow! A lot of reading material. However, this one covers just about everything you want to know about pregnacny and then some. There was also some stuff in here that I particularily didn't want to know!! However, it's a good, solid read and one of the best. A classic. I also liked Really Pregnant! Confessions of a New Mom-To-Be or Why I Couldn't Stop Eating Brownies.

I am now 7 months pregnant and have FINALLY come to the conclusion that this book is unhealthy for me to read and I can toss it. The writing is vapid and uninspiring. The tone is condescending. The information is watery and half-assed. Worst of all it makes me feel like a failure for not stocking my freezer full of fruit-juice sweetened bran muffins. The only genius in this book is it's ability to make a pregnant woman feel guilty for not knitting tiny sweaters in her spare time. I would give my copy to our local thrift store but I don't want to subject another woman to it's unique form of torture.

I bought this book thinking it would be helpful, but it reads more like a lecture from some know-it-all jerk. I have to agree with another reviewer who commented about the condescending tone of this book. It seems in every other passage, there are some subtle (and often not-so-subtle) comments about weight gain, which, I suppose, are supposed to be "funny" or "cute" but simply fall flat. Also, there are helpful "hints" throughout it that simply advertise additional books published by these people (advertising snippets) to try to brainwash you into purchasing more of their garbage. In addition, the diet plan is ridiculous. I slammed the book shut for good when I got to the part about (I'll paraphrase it) "walking to ease morning sickness and so you don't get fat! But before you go for a walk, make sure you always wear sunscreen!!!!" Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious. Every chapter lectures about weight gain, which is a good thing to keep an eye on, but seriously, it's in every other paragraph. This book talked to me as if I were a complete utter moron, and made me paranoid about preservatives, that I HAD to HAVE a completely 100% organic diet, and that if I didn't, I could just READ ON ABOUT EVERY POSSIBLE BIRTH DEFECT or terrible situation that could occur. Don't buy this book...I expressed my feelings to a friend and she, totally understanding, said she threw that book out. She then handed me a well-worn copy of "Your Pregnancy, Week By Week", which was written by a physician in an intelligent style. I'm taking this book of terror back to Borders!

This book is full of information unfortunately, it is all the scary information. For first time parents, it will scare the heck out of you and make you feel that your pregnancy is a sickness. Pregnancy is not a sickness, it is a natural biological process. I don't recommend this book especially if it is the only book you read about your pregnancy.

If you're looking for a book with clear, concise, helpful information, look further! I'm not sure how this book became the "go-to" book for pregnant women. Months are lumped together, so you won't really know what stage of development your baby is going through. The information is so focused on worst-case scenarios, that it will make you anxious rather than relaxed.

Buy the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy instead. It contains well-organized, important information that is actually written by doctors! The baby's development is divided into chapters by month, but then within that month there is a week by week section describing changes in the baby and yourself. My favorite part during the early weeks of development are the pictures of what the baby looks like at 5 weeks, 6 weeks, etc. The labor and deliver section of this book is also excellent!
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

I usually do not write reviews but I felt I had to do it for this book : when I read the bad reviews about it, I wonder if we really had the same book in hand ? For me it was a mine of information and above all, a mine of reassuring tips and advices. I'm the type of person who worries about all and everything. I got this book for my first pregnancy and it helped me getting started and understanding the pregnancy step by step.

It is much less a catalog of awful things than other books such as "your pregnancy week by week", for instance - that, in a funny way, readers that actually disliked "what to expect" preferred. In a funny way, because for each week, you have about three pages about you and the baby, and the rest for what can go wrong, full chart of what substances will do to your baby, money concerns, it even talks about tuberculosis !! Personnally, I realy disliked "week by week" as, after every chapter, I felt I had read more about problems than about the pregnancy. I did not have this impression with "what to expect".

I got very worried at the beginning of my pregnancy because I'm older (37) and was experiencing cramping and no morning sickness. In at least 4 places in "what to expect" they explain this is perfectly OK and normal and that this is not necessairly bad unless associated with other symptoms.
I also had a miscarriage - and the book helped me cope with it in a wonderful way. It told me more than my own doctor... I actually found that it is written in a way that leaves room for everyone, every taste, every reaction, without judging nor condescending as others have said.

Honestly I have few usage of a book that would NOT tell me the truth abouth what to expect : the various pregnancy symptoms, the procedures, what can go wrong. In other books I got they do not talk about "normal cramping" - and I would have begun to worry about not reading about it. This is the exact reason WHY I got this book - so that I can find most of the answers that I'm looking for. And if there is something to be looked at in more detail, there is always your practitioner, and the internet. And let's face it : pregnancy is not a piece of cake. I do not need a book enhancing how wonderful time it is... I need a book that is practical and matter-of-factly.

Actually I found strange all the reviews of hate - as if the readers had developped a personal relationship with the book itself. After reading the book, I find most of the reviews exagerated - this is of course my own take at it ;). I guess people find in there what they want to find... maybe the style in which it is written is not the cup of tea of everybody. Personnally it did not prevent me from getting the information that I was looking for without getting emotional over it.

A few excerpts of the book that answer some concerns of other reviewers :

Reader : "it was so discouraging to be reading the guilt-inducing message that I might be denying my baby something because I was gagging on my spinach". Extracts :
- page 89 : "there is a very important point to keep in mind as you embark on making a diet change for the better :what's presented in this chapter is the ideal, the best possible plan for eating when you're expecting. Something you should strive for, certainly, but nothing you should stress over (especially early in pregnancy) [...] "
- page 92 : a full "No more guilt" section...

Reader : "You know what it says in the index? "Mood swings: see depression."
This is absolutely not true. Tere are two pages on mood swings, one on panick attacks, and it explains why and how to cope with it and how your husband can cope with yours... the index actually says : mood swings : 162-164 ; and DHA/Omega 3 ; and thyroid condition; father's ; spouse coping with your ; see also : baby blues, depression, emotions

Reader : "This book is full of information unfortunately, it is all the scary information."
Well, I think the contrary. The scary information is actually regrouped at the end of the book, in a chapter called "managing a complicated pregnancy". The introduction to the chapter reads : "If you've had a problem-free pregnancy so far, though, this need-to-know chapter is not for you (you don't need to know any of it). Most women sail through pregnancy and childbirth without any complications. While information is definitey empowering when you need it, reading about all the things that could go wrong when they're not going wrong is only going to stress you out - and for no good reason. Skip it, and save yourself some unneeded worry."
By the way, this is the same disclaimer this reader is talking about here :
Reader : "I also hated that the miscarriage section had a big disclaimer warning pregnant women not to read it unless they actually had had a miscarriage, because the knowledge alone that miscarriage could happen would be so emotionally devastating to her that she couldn't handle it."
I call this an far-fetched interpretation of what is actually written.

Reader : "...was advised to have an amniocentesis. The language in "What to Expect" emphasizes: 1. The large size of the needle, 2. The risks of the procedure, and 3. Pain"
I think you read what you want to read. These facts were not "emphasized" but merely described. And these ARE the facts. Would you prefer a book stating that the needle is nothing to notice, that the procedure has no risks and there is no pain ? You would call that book a liar...

"Although it explains procedures, it does not emphasize a pregnant woman's rights to refuse those procedures if she chooses, and take ownership of her medical care during this crucial time."
Again I do not think this is true. Of course if you jump directly to the paragraph talking about amniocentesis, there is nothing there. But there are some caveats in a lot of other places, particularly in the few pages preceding the description of the invasive procedures. For instance :
- page 59 : "for those whose concerns represent more than normal expectant-parent jitters, the benefits of prenatal diagnosis can far outweigh the risks."
- page 63 : (talking about screening which is a blood test) : " once you have that information, you can decide, together with your practitioner, whether you want to undergo diagnostic testing". page 64 (same) : "the major risk of the test is that a positive result may lead to follow-up procedures that present greater risks. Before you consider taking any action on the basis of prenatal screening, be sre an experienced physician or genetic counselor has evaluated the results." (follow the descriptions of various procedures including amniocentesis)

Anyway, I will just stop here, it was just an illustration of what people disliked vs what was really written. Try to borrow the book or have a peak inside here or at a library to get an idea of whether it's right or wrong for you. It was definitely right for me. Every pregnancy is different... everybody is different.

Seriously! If you take this book to heart, you *will* have a miserable pregnancy and an even worse birth. The basic gist of it is all women's bodies aren't meant to birth, and we should have every medical procedure done under the sun.

Better books out there are "Ina May's Guide to Birthing," and "The Birthing Partner" (gives *fantastic* suggestions for alternative birthing positions to help with less painful births).

I bought this book at a Wal Mart, and started reading it that night. Some of the things they cover in this book are very scary to think about, and not very likely things most women need to worry about. I called my sister freaking out about one of the things I read, and she asured me that she never had that done in either of her pregnancies. I understand that I'll be going through a lot of tests now that I'm pregnat, but I don't want to start freaking out about something I will probably not have to do. My sister recommended the book Your Pregnancy Week By Week instead, and I am loving it.

I really hate this book.

A friend lent it to me when she learned of my pregnancy, and I was so thrilled because I know that it is the old standby pregnancy guide. When I actually read it, though, I fount it wishy-washy, condescending, disorganized, and dishonest. I DO NOT recommend it.

This book isn't all bad, it certainly contains some good advice and information, but I gave it one star because that's my gut feeling about it. I would steer other expectant mothers away from this book and towards better ones.

First of all, I read it when I was in the midst of first-trimester morning sickness and heightened food aversions. It was so aggravating to read page after page after page telling me to eat my vegetables. I am a health freak, but in my first trimester, vegetables made me gag and I could not swallow them. There was little or no sympathy for that kind of reality. I completely realize that it's great to eat vegetables, and that their advice is good if you are capable of eating vegetables, but it was so discouraging to be reading the guilt-inducing message that I might be denying my baby something because I was gagging on my spinach. For someone who knows a lot about nutrition, it seemed so condescending. I wasn't a dummy, I just couldn't get through a decent meal because I was pregnant!

Then there was the time I tried to look up "mood swings." You would think that in a comprehensive guide to pregnancy, one that claims to inform you of "What to expect," they would give a few pages over to mood swings. You know what it says in the index? "Mood swings: see depression." Well, that's tough, because I wasn't depressed, I was just feeling rather insane and throwing tantrums all the time. A little bit of attention to this saying "You're normal, it's just the progesterone" would be helpful. Even in the "for men" section, it basically just says to be patient because this can be an emotionally trying time. It isn't exactly emotionally trying, it's more hormone-fueled insanity, and to know that it's normal and that it will pass would be WAY more helpful than to discreetly ignore such a widespread problem. You have no idea how many mommies have confided in me that they threw something at their husbands when they were pregnant: a glass, a sponge, a kitchen chair. As a first-time pregnant lady, I certainly wasn't expecting to experience rage like that, and this book totally ignores it for the sake of sweetness.

I could go on, but I'll spare you. I recommend the MAYO guide as a basic reference instead. Start on the MAYO website and see if you like it. Buy the book if you want to have it on hand. Skip "What to Expect" altogether.

Good for nothing more than scaring expectant mothers into blindly following modern medicine - despite the consequences and other options available. Much of the information is either outdated and alarmist, and will surely worry expectant mothers (especially first time moms) for no reason. Pregnancy is a wonderful, joyous journey - don't bog it down with the undue stress this book will cause!

This book is horrible. I am an RN who used to work OB. My friend and I are currently pregnant with our first babies and another common friend gave each of this book as a gift. I put it down after the second chapter and never picked it back up. My friend was calling me constantly in the first few months of her pregnancy, fearful that she may have damaged her baby because of something this book said. She was in tears after she ate a chef salad because this book said deli meat could cause miscarriages. Women need to be informed, not scared of everything they encounter while they are pregnant.

This book breeds fear. Dick Grantly Reed M.D. first coined the term "fear-tension-pain". The more fear you feel coming into your birth, the more tension you will carry and the more pain you will feel. So if you want a tense, painful, high intervention birth, read this book!

Since this is my 2nd baby and I had read the last one many years ago, I was hoping to find a more updated and positive version. It isn't much different than the old one and I still think it has too much unnecessary information in it. It makes pregnancy seem complicated -- even my doctor recommended against it. If this were my first baby, I would find way too many things to worry about in it. My doctor suggested a book called The Joy of Pregnancy which is written by an RN and I really like it. I also like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I would save your money on this book.

I hated this book when I was pregnant. Absolutely hated it. It was incredibly condescending and over the top. Belch. I couldn't get it out of my house fast enough.

This is the WORST pregnancy book I have read during my 3 pregnancies. I am not generally an anxious person, but this book gives you lots to be anxious about. If you want to know every single thing that could go wrong during a pregnancy (regardless of how rare it is) then you might like this book.

I have also found the other books in this series to be of a similar tone and in some cases to contain inaccurate information.

The What to Expect Series of books should be on the list of books to avoid when you are pregnant or have a young child. I preferred Dr. Sears Books.

This book will scare the ever living crap out of any pregnant mother-to-be. We picked it up due to its inexplicable popularity to find it's full of useful little tidbits like "too much sugar will permanently ruin your child" and "if you drink unfiltered tap water, your baby could DIE". It's like handing someone a medical journal and watching them self-diagnose terminal illnesses. Mothers, unless you want to find out how every little thing you do is going to damage your fetus, DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. Fathers, unless you want your wife to break down in tears because they thought they were giving your unborn child brain damage (like my wife did), DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. Friends, unless you think 9 months of OCD makes a great baby shower gift, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.

Useful recommendation: Your Pregnancy Week by Week, 6th Edition (Your Pregnancy Series). After chucking "What to Expect", we found this book told us everything we actually needed to know without causing us to wake up in cold sweats.

I picked up this book twice - once before getting pregnant, and once after getting pregnant. On both reads, it frightened me with information I later found out was not in tune with actual practice. I feel its tone and language is unnecessarily scary. Many people have commented on this, so I'll just give one concrete example.

I am 42, expecting my first child, and, because of my age and risk factors, was advised to have an amniocentesis. The language in "What to Expect" emphasizes: 1. The large size of the needle, 2. The risks of the procedure, and 3. Pain. Of course, after reading this I was a basket case! "What to Expect" did nothing create fear where there was nothing to worry about - none of those frightening things turned out to be true. There are many other examples of this fear-based language within its covers.

I also can relate to other reviewers' comments about this book in terms of labor and delivery. Although it explains procedures, it does not emphasize a pregnant woman's rights to refuse those procedures if she chooses, and take ownership of her medical care during this crucial time. I find that this book makes pregnancy, labor, and birth seem unnecessarily difficult and unmanageable, and fosters a feeling of helplessness. I'm glad I put this book down and discounted its approach. My advice is not to purchase this book, and instead use common sense, supplemented by books that offer the expectant mother a more positive and powerful message.

After reading this book, I am amazed there are any successful, healthy pregnancies at all. This book has kept me on edge for the entire duration of the pregnancies with its monthly list of complications. I would have definitely been happier with a book that outlined all of the things that you personally can do to ensure a healthy pregnancy, and focus less on possile complications which are beyond your control!!!

This book feels like a year's worth of pregnancy magazine articles stuck together. There is no flow or organization to the book; articles just appear randomly in the middle of chapters. One minute you're reading about what the baby is doing in month two and how you may feel, and the next minute you're treated to a 6 page dissertation on hair coloring. This leads to the second big problem with the book: It's completely hysterical. If you believe this book, you must lie in bed for 10 straight months eating organic mush, because otherwise, you will kill your baby.

I highly recommend the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy instead.

I wasn't going to leave a review but all of the negative reviews made me want to clarify how this book should be read. Read it lightly, from week to week for an idea of what your body is going through during your current week of pregnancy and to learn how your baby is developing (for amusement). As for it being a bible on pregnancy it can only explain what can happen when you are pregnant. Everyone is different so not everything in this book applies to everyone. Not everyone will have their water break, nor lose a mucus plug, or even have bloody show before they go into labor. So don't count on the examples from this book to help you navigate through labor. Take a childbirth class or watch the Laugh and Learn About Childbirth DVD that is sold here on Amazon it is excellent for those that can't afford or don't have time to go to Childbirth classes (Note: that DVD encourages natural childbirth but from my experience was accurate).

First off let me say that Pro-wise, this book contains a LOT of information, probably more than any other pregnancy book out there in terms of actual reference-type materials. However, the biggest Con is the poor organization. The layout overwhelms you with both month-by-month information and any disease, complication, or test that you can expect to see while pregnant but shouldn't have to read about when you are looking for information about simple aches and pains!
That's why in our house I have designated this book "For Reference Only" and labeled it so using my label-maker. :)

As per other reviews, this really is a very "gloom and doom" type book with a bias towards the traditional doctor-hospital model, complete with all the available interventions: epidural, cesarian, fetal monitoring, etc. Midwives are only mentioned a couple of times, and there is almost NOTHING about natural childbirth methods.

There are far better books out there that can give you more down-to-earth, unbiased, and evidence-based information than "What To Expect". Dr. Sears' "The Pregnancy Book", Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Spiritual Midwifery (also by Ina May Gaskin), are just a few. The Dr. Sears book in particular not only gives you a monthly guide to the development of the baby, but also deals with the emotional changes that are expected during that month.

So, a yes for home libraries, but only in the reference section. :)

It's a good book. My wife and I owned the prior edition in paperback. The kindle edition is fine, though we were surprised to discover that we got the British version. It's fun to substitute 'nappies' for 'diapers', "antenatal' for 'prenatal', etc. The problem is that portions of the book discuss specifics of the UK health system (visits to the 'surgery', home consultations), which are notably different from the US.

I asked Amazon customer service, and they didn't seem to understand. They offered to refund the purchase price, but I opted to keep the book because it is a good reference nonetheless.

I borrowed a copy of this book from a co-worker when we found out my wife is pregnant. Since she is not a native English speaker, I'll be the one reading most of the pregnancy books for the next few months.

This book has good information and is pretty comprehensive. My feeling is that if you were to use this as your main guide during pregnancy, you wouldn't go far wrong. It steers you in the right direction and is useful.

What I don't really like about it is the huge amount of unnecessary, and as another reviewer put it, condescending verbiage. Does the chapter on eating right during pregnancy really need to start with the following paragraph? "There's a tiny new being developing inside of you -- a baby in the making. Adorable little fingers and toes are sprouting, eyes and ears are forming, brain cells are rapidly growing. And before you know it, the speck of a fetus inside of you will come to resemble the baby of your dreams: fully equipped and suitable for cuddling."

I can actually understand how writing like that could have an audience. But I'm just not part of that audience. I don't need this kind of cuteness. I find it more of an irritation than a confidence-builder.

We have found two books that we will be using as our main go-to references. For no-nonsense, but still sensitive and medically competent advice, the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy is a winner. We also like The Pregnancy Bible: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Early Parenthood, which also has good information, but in a more stripped-down version with pictures. Pictures are good, and the pictures in that book help in visualization and understanding the material. Tastefully done.

If you find "What to Expect When You're Expecting" appeals to you, that's great. Like I said, I think I'd trust the information here, subject to verification and further research. But we're happier elsewhere.

This book is useless for those women really wanting to know about pregnancy and birth. It basically tells mom's to just do what the Dr. tells them. It does not inform mom so that she can really know what is happening and how to make informed choices regarding pregnancy and birth. Don't waste your time or your money.

If you want a pregnancy book I suggest Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Peggy Simpkins. When I was trained as a doula and childbirth educator, this book was on the 'to read' list. Very informative.

I purchased both this book and the one from Mayo Clinic. I found the information in the Mayo Clinic book to be more well rounded and consistent with current research. The "What to Expect" book presented a lot more don'ts that really aren't current research based, such as the don't eat peanuts thing as it might give your child allergies. Multiple current studies have proven this theory wrong and telling Mom's-to-be not to do this kind of stuff just to be on the safe side is unnecessary and can lead to anxiety and worry over harmless things. I also didn't like the arrangement of the information as a topic my show up in different sections throughout the book and I'd have to flip to all the sections to get the complete information rather than having it all in one easy find place.

Overall this is not my favorite resource. I preferred the Mayo Clinic book for is organizational structure and scientific approach that was research based. What to expect was a little more down to earth, kind of like having a conversation with a friend (who may or may not have their facts straight). As a first-time preggers this book could have left me with a lot of unnecessary anxiety/worry if I hadn't done my own research. This book just doesn't cut it as the go-to resource.

During my first pregnancy, I received three copies of this book from friends who had had babies. I consumed it, reading every word on every page. And then I WORRIED. What if I wasn't eating right? What if one of the complications listed happened to me? What if my placenta is in the wrong place?! I was a neurotic mess. The more I knew of the various possibilities within my pregnancy, the more worried and neurotic I became. I eventually passed the three books on to a thrift store. Five years later I was pregnant again. No one gave me the book. I missed it--I wanted to know how big my baby was each week, what I should be doing, what I should be watchful for. I couldn't remember anything I had read last time. I went out and bought the book. I no longer worried. I read it all again. It was a wonderful way to focus on the pregnancy, my body, the baby. It was just what I needed.

I hated this book. It's poorly organized and seems designed to scare you to death by bombarding you with all of the possibilities of everything that could go wrong, and no reasonable discussion of actual risks. It's especially scary for first-time parents. This may have been the go-to guide back when there were no other options, but now it's just awful. Go with the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy instead.

What to Expect When You're Expecting is an interesting read. I picked up this book when my husband I started trying to conceive and promptly freaked myself out. It seems that a large part of the book is dedicated to showing you exactly what can go wrong and every possible thing that can go wrong with your child before it's even born. To me (a worry wart), this was the LAST thing I needed to read when preparing to bring a child into this world. Luckily, I picked up several other pregnancy-related books that were much more toned down and friendlier than the Doom and Gloom of WTEWYE. While I think this book is okay for someone who has absolutely no knowledge of babymaking or how anything can affect your body, I'd actually recommend Ann Douglas' books and/or Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Having a baby is a happy time: don't let WTEWYE scare the bejeezus out of you!

I bought a few books the months after we found out that my wife was pregnant. Initially i stayed away from this book, because even though the reviews were pretty good, i was really turned off by the look/design of the book, especially in the previous editions, with the image of the depressed, near suicidal woman wistfully looking out into space (that really didn't sell this whole pregnancy thing to us!). I know it sounds shallow, but stuff like design does make an impression.

Anyway, We bought two other books: The complete book of pregnancy (recommended by our mid wife - a bit too hippy dippy for my taste, but okay) and The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (also okay, but it really didn't follow a cohesive chronology of pregnancy).

Then, I found out this book was out with a new edition (and new cover design to boot!) and purchased it. It's been a great help. We love reading the month to month rundown of things, it contains some excellent chapters on various problems and questions that arise while you go thru the many months until delivery.

The drawbacks are very few. One was what we found to be the same with many of these books, that fathers are pretty much treated as an afterthought. Granted we're not the ones who have to carry the baby and deal with all that come with itt, but we are still along for the ride and most of us want to be. To be fair this book has one "dad" chapter, which was pretty good.
If you're interested in that aspect of it, I'd highly recommend The Expectant Father book, which is very thorough and insightful.

The other drawback is how little there is about the delivery and labour part of pregnancy. Again, something we've found to be very little info on (especially for us novices). I was given the book The Best Birth, which deals with that and only that topic. Very much worth a read.

Long review, but i hope it helps people.

This was the first book on pregnancy I purchased. I was extremely disappointed. Not only is it poorly organized, but it is not very informative. This book is supposed to be the the holy grail of pregnancy books, but I say don't waste your money!

Luckily I purchased this book before reading the Amazon.com reviews. The reviewers that gave this book a poor rating, claiming it is "alarmist" and "fear-mongering," are using exactly the kind of hyperbolic language they accuse the authors of using. I am normally overly self-aware and concerned about every little pain or abnormal feeling I have; if anything, the book's month-to-month description of possible symptoms and conditions helped reassure me that all the things I went through were normal and easily explained. It made for a convenient reference to further research things that were pertinent to my situation. I didn't find the book frightening or agenda-pushing at all. In fact, I thought it was much less concerning than the book that the doctor's office gave me.

The section on birthing options seemed fairly diverse to me. It did not condone using medications or seem to favor hospital birthing in any way. It encourages you at around 7 months to start thinking about and preparing your birthing plan so you can make sure it is carried out in the way you want it to be.

There is a whole section, at the back of the book, SEPARATE from the month to month sections, which covers the various conditions that can potentially complicate pregnancies. I think this section is more for mothers who are pre-disposed to these conditions or have already been diagnosed with them. The book in no way made me feel like I was at risk for any and all complications or that I had to sleep with all eyes and ears open. I myself have been at-risk with a short cervix so I found that section, and the section on the signs of preterm labor, to be helpful, informative, and unbiased.

The best and first place you ought to go with a pregnancy concern is of course your doctor or midwife. But if you'd like some handy and concise information on the kinds of things you MAY encounter month-to-month, why these things happen, and some possible ways to deal with them, then this is a fine book. I did not find the tone threatening, condescending, or heavily prescriptive by any means. I'm not sure why anyone would give it one star.

I was a little hesitant before buying this book because I had read all the negative reviews on Amazon that were saying that the tone of the book is bad and that the book jumps from topic to topic. I still decided to go ahead and buy it because my doctor recommended it. Well, quite to the contrary of what many negative reviews had been saying, I found this book to be well written and with a great sense of humor! Honestly, I have no idea what all those people mean when they say that the tone of the book is condenscending and that the book is designed to scare you by pointing out everything that can go wrong... This is just not true! In fact, I thought the tone of the book was quite the opposite and I've been enjoying reading it so far.

I'll give you a specific example. One thing that was bothering me and that I was hoping to find answers to in this book was the fact that I had a few glasses of alcohol very early in my pregnancy (the first 2 weeks after conception) before I knew I was pregnant. I was expecting (after all those negative comments that I'd read!) the book to tell me what a bad mother I already am and how this has hurt my baby irreversibly. Well, to my surprise, the book said quite the opposite. Here are the exact words (4th edition, p.71, paperback): "Fortunately, it's a concern that you can cross off the list. There's no evidence that a couple of drinks on a couple of occasions very early in pregnancy, when you didn't even know you were pregnant, can harm a developing embryo. So you - and all the other moms who didn't get the message right away - can relax."

All in all, this book is very informative, written in a style that anyone can follow and understand, it's full of jokes, and so far has given me answers to 99% of my questions. I am still not done reading this book because I'm still pregnant ;-) and I highly recommend the book to anyone!

This book represents to me the worst in our alarmist culture and medicalized pregnancy and birth. I dislike it to the extent that when visiting my doctor's office I want to remove it before any unsuspecting pregnant woman reads it. If you want a book on pregnancy and childbirth try Active Birth by Janet Balskas or anything by Ina May Gaskin or Sheila Kitzinger. Or how about Birth Without Fear by Michael Odent? (And please do not miss the wonderful Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott!) Are there risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth? Yes. Are there risks associated with being alive? Yes. Is it helpful for a wildly popular book to be so laden with warnings and fear? Absolutely not.

This is the WORST book to read if you are pregnant. It feeds into the fear culture that unfortunately surrounds birth today.

I received several of these when I was pregnant the first time and now that I am a seasoned mom of 2 and a childbirth instructor-- I won't even give these away for fear of having another mom misinformed.

Read
Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth"
Dr. Sear's "Birth Book"
Dr. Marsden Wagner's "Creating Your Birth Plan"

A girl had just come back from the doctor, sobbing. Her concerned mother asked her what was wrong. Between tears she said, "That mean doctor told me I was overweight and needed to stop eating so much junk food!" "How awful," the mother responded. "We won't let you see him again."

The relationship between a patient and a doctor is changing. It seems that in this day and age, we would rather have our doctors lie to us than give us a forthright view of our health. This book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting," does just the latter. I'm not clear on why so many reviewers despise the tone of this book, but large portions of it are available for previewing so I suggest you review it for yourself and decide. This book does not use scare tactics, and if you read it thoughtfully you'll notice that its language is very careful to do just the opposite.

As a first-time mom, I appreciate the wide scope of information this book provides. There is information here I know that is not for me, but another Mom in another situation would appreciate getting information her doctor may or may not provide:

"Going one step further to definitive diagnostic tests isn't for everyone. Many parents--particularly those whose screening tests come back negative--can continue to the play the waiting game, with the happy assurance that the chances are overhwelming that their babies are indeed completely healthy."

For example, the book explains clearly what different tests are available, what happens in them, and what the risks are. I feel it did a better job than my own doctor did who told me simply that the risks are "minimal" and if I wanted to know more I could just read the packet they gave me.

Here's another excerpt:

"Can city air pollution hurt my baby?"
"Take a deep breath. Ordinary breathing in the big city is a lot safer than you'd think. Millions of women live and breathe in major cities across the nation and give bith to millions of healthy babies."

The question and answer format is meant to be conversational, not condescending. What many readers may be having trouble with is that these questions are actually on their minds, and they'd rather forget it than tackle it head-on. There's nothing "scary" about this response, and the chapter goes on to explain practical tactics--like staying away from smokerooms--for the Mom that really is concerned about this.

Overall, this book lets you pick and choose your concerns and deals with them appropriately. Not every single section is for everyone, and I appreciate the wide scope of material. For example, there's a section on Domestic Violence which I know is not for me at all. However, for some readers this section may be life saving. The book also deals with vegetarian/vegan Moms out there in an encouraging way, not forcing them to change but making suggestions for them to keep in mind of nutrients they'll need to boost up on for their baby.

If I could change anything I would like to see references to the studies and research information in the text itself. But overall, this book is an excellent resource and I encourage everyone to read it carefully to find what is best for them.

I found this book incredibly helpful during my pregnancy. I didn't find it scary at all. Possibly because I'm the type of person who wants to read about all of the scary things that could happen even if they don't.

I found this book to contain alot of answers I was looking for. As a new mom-to-be, I wanted to be sure that my baby was born healthy and that I knew how to take care of him/her and myself during this pregnancy. I found all that and more in this book. Would definitely recommend for new moms-to-be.

I like this book. The layout is a little scattered but it is informative. I do not think the author "talks down" to the reader although this book is written in more laymen's type (as compared to some other books). I would agree that this book will scare you! I have not been through labor yet but reading this book makes me not want to! But I'd rather be over prepared and expect more than less going into the delivery! Other books I read seem to "gloss" over delivery and tend to make delivery just be a walk in the park. I appreciate this book gave me lots to talk to my Dr. about!