"What to Expect" alternatives

[azjen43]

I know that "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is a pretty widely disliked pregnancy book here. I haven't read it myself, but do know that, in general, it is thought of as a guide to just laying down and letting your doctor take charge of your pregnancy and birth, is that right? Is there anything else, specifically that makes this book a bad choice for expecting moms? ( I think I will check it out from the library this week...just to know what's in it)

Also, are there any other popular ( widely available) pregnancy books that are particularly good? I usually recommend The Pregnancy Book, by Dr. Sears, and I really like Having a Baby, Naturally, by Peggy Omara, but that's not usually on the shelf in Barnes & Noble, etc. Not necessarily looking for birth books, but something general on pregnancy that can replace "What to Expect."

I'd love to get ideas from everyone. What do you recommend as an alternative to WTEWYE?

[MsBlack]

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth --Ina May Gaskin
Special Delivery--Rahima Baldwin (can be ordered through alace.org)
Birthing from Within--Pam England
anything by Sheila Kitzinger

to name a few!

[blissful_maia]

I second the Sheila Kitzinger books. Any of them. She approaches things in such a matter-of-fact, clean and easily absorbable way. She is very pro-home birth etc. but not in a flaky way that may not appeal to all expectant women.

[momileigh]

For a pregnancy book (not a childBIRTH book), I like Dr. Sears The Pregnancy Book. The Pregnancy Bible is pretty good too, with beautiful pictures as a big bonus. From The Hips would be my third choice. All three are natural/midwife friendly and will appeal to different women.

Disappointments for me were Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn (seemed cold, distant, and surface, and not even especially natural) and The Natural Pregnancy Book (lots of herbal info, but very light on labor and birth and fetal development).

The other suggestions here are good for birth info, but many women want a book to guide them during pregnancy itself, not just preparing for birth. I have a long list of "birth" books that are great; it is harder to find a good book on pregnancy.

What To Expect is a dud, but it is rainbows and sunshine compared to Your Pregnancy Week By Week. That book should be BURNED. UGH!!!!!!!

Also terrible: The Everything Pregnancy Book. My main beef with that one is the clipart of bottles from cover to cover, including one right beside the section on sore nipples!

There is a void out there: a natural-friendly guide to pregnancy and birth that is comprehensive and has wide appeal, doesn't sell out to the mainstream, yet manages to provide the info that the majority of moms are going to need. There are LOTS of great birth books, but not so much pregnancy books.

[pamamidwife]

I like Sheila Kitzinger's The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth - I give a copy to every one of my clients. Beautiful pictures, great info - even talks about home and water birth like it isn't something to fear!

[tifpaul]

Conception, Pregnancy and Birth by Miriam Stoppard. It's written by a British MD, has great photos of pregnant moms week by week, and has the Lennart Nilsson photos from his book, A Child is Born.
The information on natural birth is even-handed and it has accurate descriptions of things like the Bradley Method.

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth is widely available around here, but again, it's a birth book.

I'm not a birth professional (yet), but have a serious problem with collecting pregnancy and birth books.

[linaee]

The Dr. Sears books are good for developmental things, IMO. I also like Peggy O'Mara's work, but as you said, it is rarely on the shelves.

Other books not mentioned are
"The mother of all pregnancy books" by Ann Douglas
"The Pregnant Woman's Comfort Book" by Jennifer Lauden

But, the book below that someone else mentioned is the best by far, IMO. The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger
(If only I had the budget to give each of my clients a book!)

And, of course, Ina May's newest book.

Good luck.

[ldsapmom]

I love Kitzinger's Complete Guide. It is one I consider a good, thorough, what-to-expect equivilant, where it talks about development from start to finish. And yes, the pictures are great.

I also like the Sears Birth Book, as well as the Pregnancy Book. Thos are a couple I also see as equivilants.

I like Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn.

Those might be the ones I like for throrough, non-mainstream counterparts to our Pregnancy Week by Week, and WTEWYE.

Others that are great that teach but don't really go into developmental stages are Birthing from Within, Ina May's Guide, Spiritual Midwifery, Active Birth, Lamaze Guide, Natural Birth the Bradley Way, and many others, lol. I also have quite a collection . I also love Heart and Hands, which is technical, but a great read for a mama interested in the info. Henci Goer's two great books (Thinking Woman's Guide and Obstetric Mythes versus Research Realilties) are both in need of updates, although they are still great books.

[mendomidwife]

Originally Posted by pamamidwife

I like Sheila Kitzinger's The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth - I give a copy to every one of my clients. Beautiful pictures, great info - even talks about home and water birth like it isn't something to fear!

I agree - it is one of the textbooks for our Doula Training Course.
I also like Gentle Birth Choices, and Birthing From Within. And,
I still use Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin for teaching.
I took all the copies of "What to Expect..." out of our lending library....

Carla