Best Pregnancy book ever!
584172
I bought this book while alone and pregnant living in Japan.  It was with out a doubt the most informative book I read.  I first bought what to expect, stressed myself out trying to eat by their meal plan, and was  really offended by their bordering on racist remarks about beliefs of other  cultures ( such as sleeping with babies or using babycarriers.) Kitzinger's  book helped me to feel confident that I was healthy and able to take on the  challanges of pregnancy and childbirth.  I did not think that she was too  new age  in fact she opened my eyes to medicated childbirth as well as  water births.  I remember reading the part about alcohol, and I feel that  it comes from a British perspective.  I think that in the U.S. people tend  to take things to extremes, and I do not think that having one glass of  wine or beer is harmful.  If anything I think that it is better to mellow  out with a glass of wine then to be stressed out through out one's  pregnancy. All in all this is the book I recomend to everyone, the pictures  of the different childbirths are themselves worthy of buying the book.  The last thing that I would like to point out to the person who wrote such  a nasty review is that Shelia Kitzinger is a mother of 5, and an  anthropologist who studied childbirth practice all around the world.  I  think that she is quite qualified to write a book on childbirth.
44009
I recently found out that I was 6-weeks pregnant, and my first thought was, "What's the most informative book I can have to guide me through these 9 months?"  I blindly stumbled on this book, and I am so relieved!  Considering I forgot to ask my friends and family on advice for which books I should purchase and use as my bible, I (thank GOD) didn't buy What to Expect When Expecting, and instead, bought Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.  I guess my primary reason of choosing this book is because its written by medical professionals.  The last thing I wanted to do was choose a guide that was not written by medical professionals.  I want to feel as though I have something to refer to when I can't call my OB at 3am!!  Its very well organized, and although I'm only in my first trimester, it helps to view what is to come in my 2nd and 3rd trimesters.  The information provided is very clear and for being a first-time mom, I want to know what I should be alarmed and/or concerned about, but I definitely don't want to feel as though I'm becoming completely paranoid about every little thing (I don't need extra help in that category!).  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is experiencing their first pregnancy, or even for those who have traveled down this road before.
3592037
I can't rave about this book enough!  If you are a mom or going to be a mom at some point in your life, this is a must read!  My son will be 11 in 2 weeks and this book made me remember all of the good and bad things about pregnancy.  It made me laugh so loud and hard that my family thought I was crazy.  Then, when I cried, they knew I was crazy!  LOL!  There was also a certain popsicle recommendation that I wish I had heard of!!!  Read this book.  You won't be sorry!  If you are sorry, then I feel sorry for you and hope that your life gets better because you obviously have no sense of humor!

Seriously, this book is very well written.  I'm normally one to critique spelling errors and grammar errors.  This one didn't have any that I saw. I loved the way it was written completely!
14373
I am really enjoying this book! This is my first pregnancy and I'm so glad to have a reference book like this one. It has a ton of great information in an easy to follow weekly format. The book came out at week 20 of my pregnancy, so I started there, but was easily able to find other topics of interest in the table of contents.
2696328
This is the best book for expecting mothers. Whether you are a first time mother or having your fifth. The information is clearly presented. The book is easy to navigate and has wonderful pictures, tips, and helps. I recommend to mothers of all lifestyles.
473883
Excellent book that completely changed how I handled my pregnancy.  She blasts the lid on many pregnancy myths and gives you hard information about food to eat, genetic testing, your chances of miscarriage, and fertility with age. Can we require all doctors to read this as well?
60344
I am 33 weeks pregnant now and am disappointed that I did not find out about this book sooner. This book provides all of the medical science, research, and data I think pregnant women crave most. Here are my top reasons I would recommend this book to any pregnant woman...and anyone in general.

1. Having the actual percentage risk of various outcomes of pregnancy (miscarriage, premature birth, etc) is so much more comforting and less stressful than hearing broad generalizations and rules like the chances of miscarriage decrease after the 1st trimester.

2. If you are very firm in your conviction that the conventional wisdom is right, this book provides the evidence behind the rules which I believe will make people more inclined not less to follow the good conventional wisdom rules (rather than hearing reasons like "because I said so" from the medical community, family, friends, and even strangers - oh yes even strangers. If you are pregnant or have been, you know what I'm talking about)

3. If you decide upon seeing the evidence that the conventional wisdom is wrong for you, then having the evidence on hand will undoubtedly make you more comfortable in your pregnancy, confident in your decisions, and better able to ward off all of the unwanted and often misguided advice from those well meaning friends, family, and strangers.

4. This book continually emphasizes that good decision-making involves combining the facts with our own values to make the right decision for ourselves - i.e. we can both incorporate the same facts about epidurals and come to different conclusions about what's right us and we can both be right! A better understanding of this concept can help reduce the harsh judgment that pregnant women and mothers often face.

I have been looking for a book like this since I saw the positive pregnancy test. So glad I finally found it. Now I wish Emily Oster would write a parenting book!
1927720
Such a great book! Im not super all natural person but was looking for a book that broke everything down week by week but was more entertaining than what to expect. This is just what I was looking for! Its filled with medical facts but all broken down into easy ways to understand them. Also has great suggestions and recipes! I love that the author tells her story and gives a very real expectation for different things you got through during pregnancy and labor. My only wish is that I would have purchased this book earlier in my pregnancy instead of what to expect! Perfect for first time moms as well!
4072246
I found out late in my pregnancy that I was having twins. I was scared and excited all at once. I went to the local book store and starting reading everything I could. Any mom that is expecting multiples should have this book!

It was excellent for all me questions and calmed me fears. My babies were born at just 31 weeks. This book helped my understand everything I needed to know! It was a great read before and after my babies was born. I was able to read it the month I was in the hospital for preterm labor.

The nutrition guidelines were great! My Dr had me follow them and I had as healthy preemies as a preemie can be. Both my babies came out screaming!  The advice is awesome! I can't say enough awesome things about this book! It is a must must have!!! This list in the back is very helpful for getting that extra help from different foundations.

This book was my life saver for my pregnancy and the first year!
2553422
I love this book!!! I love it so much I have bought 2 more for pregnant friends! The pages are great, fill-in-the-blanks that you don't think about when your pregnant make it easy to  document your journey! The spots for pictures are great, and there is a pocket in the back for extra keepsakes!
3573664
By far this is the best what-to-expect book out there.  Easy to use overview of all important pregnancy and child birth topics and a great follow-along section for weekly progress throughout the pregnancy.  I read a ton of these and this one really is a better resource than all the others like it.
1064316
This book was the best baby/pregnancy book I bought!  I was so overwhelmed by baby products when it came to shopping for my first child.  The Fields narrowed it down nicely and gave great advice on what to buy, what NOT to  waste your money on, and how and where to get the products, including mail  order and internet shopping.  It's a book not to live without out,  especially if it's your first child!!!!
3022382
I referred to this book right from the beginning - 6 weeks into pregnancy and it's worth reading every page! It's great to 'know' things - the name says it all. It prepared me well about what all can happen, what symptoms to watch for and what all precautions have to be taken. Finally the day before my baby was born (2 weeks before due date) when I was alone at home and had no pain but started a 'bloody show', I knew what it was! I drove to the hospital myself without panicking - the credit goes to this book!
The book tells you everything that your doc will not have time to tell you!
4584381
Upon receiving it I felt a bit daunted by the absence of pictures that most other pregnancy books have and I thought that I would find it difficult to read. How wrong was I: I read the entire book in a single afternoon!!! It's so easy to read, it gives you such useful information. It even made me feel good about gaining weight, which I was so apprehensive about! I definitely recommend all women who are expecting multiples to buy this book.
1899664
My husband gave me this book for my first pregnancy, so when we found out we are expecting again, we immediately had to order another belly book!  I love this book!  I filled out almost every page with my first pregnancy and have enjoyed going back and reading my notes already numerous times.  It's amazing how fast your forget all those little things along the way.  I love the prompts in this book, though many times I just wrote whatever I felt like and filled up entire pages in the weekly write up section.  The space for the picture is somewhat small (especially if you have writing all along the edges like I did) so just choose which pictures you want to put in more carefully.  Some of the pages never applied to me, so I just skipped them.  I did however run out of pages for prenatal doctor visits...so I had to staple some extra pages in.  This book also (as others have mentioned) doesn't go past full term.  Luckily my first was born in week 39 so that wasn't a problem for me - but you'd probably need to add another page or two if you went past your due date.  Otherwise, it's a really cute pregnancy journal and I love it - twice!
1430755
This is my first pregnancy, and I purchased "What to Expect..." because that is what everyone else has. It was so very unorganized, constantly flipping to this page or that! I was extremely frustrated and searching for a different book.

Thank you Mayo for creating such a wonderful book! It is so organized, all in order, and very informative. Not to mention the fact that it has such a reputable name behind it! Once I got this book, I never even touched any other pregnancy book! I will forever recommend this book to every pregnant woman I come across!!
4054918
I am a new mom and reading this book has been such a treat to me. It seems like there are so many things that people forget to tell you about pregnancy and being a new mom. I love the way Nancy just puts it all out there. I have always enjoyed watching her on Access Hollywood, it was nice to see how funny she is!
I loved this book so much I am going to share it with all of my pregnant friends!
If you are looking for a book that tells you the real things that happen when you are pregnant...buy this book!