what to expect when your expecting?

Question

Is it worth getting? Everyone claims it's such a great book.

Answer 1

No. It's barely worth reading if you get it for free. Trust me, if you're intelligent enough to wonder about it, you're intelligent enough to avoid it.

It orders women to cut out an awful lot of stuff with no evidence for it. It's just 'don't do it.' There's no 'however, many soft cheeses are pasteurized... a few drinks have never been proven harmful, and some studies even show a benefit...' It's just: soft cheese, booze, etc, make you an unfit mother-to-be.

As for labour and delivery, it's: shut up and let a doctor throw every possible intervention at you. Don't question it! It's all for your own good!

The _only_ things it's good for are lazy doctors, and lazy women who can't be bothered to do any research, and want reassurance that going along with something stupid like the lithotomy position is okay because, well, loads of other idiots are going along with it.

The information isn't reliable, and it's extremely biased. I suspect it's responsible for a lot of the lousy things surrounding contemporary American pregnancy and delivery beliefs.

Some of the advice is just risible. Who on earth would manage to satisfy a french fry craving with baked sweet potatoes, I ask?

Review here:

http://www.epinions.com/content_240437137028

(Check out the other negative ones on that site, too.)

Try Henci Goer's _The Thinking Woman's Guide to Pregnancy_. Apart from not being so irrational and scare-mongering, it actually cites sources.

From the Amazon.com reviews:

Should you be afraid of your microwave oven? This book discusses that non-issue for several paragraphs, before concluding that no, you probably shouldn't be afraid of your microwave. That embodies what's wrong with this book. It pretends to be reassuring while actually planting a bunch of paranoid ideas.

This book is the first one you will reach for if it is your first pregnancy. Save your cash and get it from the library. Then read something that expects you to be a thinking woman, not a child taking orders or information without question. If you want to go through pregnancy, labor and birth, and have no say at all or learn anything useful, then stick with this book; i.e., go to the hospital, have an epidural, episiotomy, then finally the c-section that 'must' have been necessary, this is it.

every time I pick it up, I am quite turned off by the condescending tone (i.e. if you eat a slice of white bread with butter, vs. whole grain with nothing, you are probably not fit to be a mother sort of notion).

The chapters were basically the same and you can find more information online than what was here.

Unfortuately, I found alot of misnomers and straight out myths in this book

#1, it is CONDESCENDING! I don't know whether the author really felt this way, but the impression I got was that everything SHE ever did during her pregnancy was perfect and should be copied by all others, and anything she avoided during her pregnancy was evil and anyone who does it is a failure. Personally, I don't need to be made to feel like a failure for enjoyng Carvel ice cream or continuing to excercize during my pregnancy. Caution #2, ladies, DO NOT let your spouse read this. Mine got a hold of it and read the section on sex and refused to touch me for a week because he was convinced that "somthing bad" might be going on down there.

There are a lot of problems with this book, so I'll be brief. Firstly, it assumes a lot. It assumes you're happy to be pregnant, that you're a middle-class, straight, married woman, and that you are constantly thinking about your uterus squatter in the most gushingly positive terms possible. I'm just guessing here, but I have to assume that most women are at least a little more ambivalent than that. Secondly, the book claims to be a reassuring guide to blah blah blah. The fact of the matter is that if you find it reassuring to read a page long description of a serious medical problem followed by a sentence or two of "but don't worry, it's probably not going to happen to you, although it might", then this is the book for you. I skimmed a lot of these, so there might be a complication that causes Cthulhu to emerge triumphant from betwixt my legs- I'll never know. Thirdly, it is a bit dismissive of some alternative birth options, but it makes up for it in its insane dedication to the diet from hell and entirely unfounded assumptions that a pregnant woman will catch on fire if she uses an electric blanket, give birth to Toxie if she dyes her hair, and is Satan Incarnate if she eats refined sugar. It actually says that if there isn't research to say that such and such is safe, you're better off avoiding it completely. I myself have never read any peer-reviewed articles stating that breathing during the third trimester is completely safe, so I urge all of you out there who are expecting to abstain. Finally, the book's format is ridiculous, based on totally arbitrary placement of burning questions like "what should I name my baby?" which of course could only be asked during the sixth month. These questions by the way range from the laughably stupid myths which are debunked ("If I spin around really fast, can I make sure it's a boy?") to the laughably stupid myths which are supported ("Is exercise during pregnancy bad for you?" A: Just don't do it until you're tired, or sweaty, or warm, or have in any way exercised).

In conclusion, this book is dumb. Look elsewhere for enlightenment.

Answer 2

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I ran to the library and checked out every book they had on pregnancy.

I like this book as a sort of reference book, but it can at times be too vague and too scary. I do have a copy of the book and I use it as a reference, but i much prefer the Ultimate Week-by-week pregnancy guide, since it has a chapter for each week, complete with a picture of the baby's development.

The two together satisfy all of my pregnancy reading at home needs.

Answer 3

When I had my first baby, it was extremely helpful since I had alot of worries and questions. Im working on my 6th baby now and Ive read a bookstore's worth of books about pregnancy so far.

I feel that its good to get as much information about it as you can. I read from several different kinds of books from very technical to funny. Not every pregnancy is the same so its a new adventure everytime so I found I read up on different things each time.

Its always best to gain as much knowledge as you can about what is happening within you so you can make informed choices for you and your baby.

Good luck and congrats!!

Answer 4

I had this book and I really didn't like it. However, I also had a book called The Complete Idiot's guide to pregnancy or something like that, and that book was my favorite book ever! It seemed to help a lot more than the What to Expect book.

Answer 5

It's definitely worth reading, but it really confused me with the timeline of how far along I was early in my first pregnancy. It makes you think you are further along than you are. I got the hang of it after a few months...LOL. It tells you, you are in month three, when you are technically 2 months, because you are actually in your third month once you hit the 2 month mark...see what I mean. It's hard to explain, but you'll get it. Other than that it made me worry about stuff I didn't need to worry about, but you get some good info and it is fun to see what is going on inside you with your developing baby.

Answer 6

I have never been pregnant and am not pregnant, however, I feel you need to get the book if you think it will help. All of my friends who have had babies, used this book and they recommended it to me. Basically, I have a great Gynecologist who is very informative. I asked him about pre-conception care, and he sat down with me in his office and told me all I needed which was 1 mg of folic acid or 1000 mcg of folic acid, to start eating healthy now as if I was pregnant, and to get the rubella shot. He also informed me of all the tests I can take.
My point is, if you have a really good doc, you do not need books.

It still does not hurt to get all of the books you want if it helps you. Even good doctors get really busy and do not have the time.

Do not let the book scare you, just do the best you can and that is all you can do.

Long ago people did not have knowledge like they do now/
I was born in 1978, and my mom did not know she had to cut out caffeine, but I am still healthy but a bit hyper at times. lol

Lol@kmennie

Answer 7

YES! It's like having a doctor in your house with all the questions it answers for you. I would recommend getting the 3 book set with "What to Expect When You're Expecting", "Eating Well When You're Expecting", and the book "What to Expect the First Year". They are ALL awesome books and I don't know what I would have done without them! Good Luck!!

Answer 8

I think A girlfriends guide to pregnancy is a much better choice. Its a tell-it-like-it-is type of book. Great reading when prego!

Answer 9

hate that book, I think it's so popular becasue they give it away in many offices. THe information is very dr based which is probably why dr's like it. Safety issue of pain medicine, labor positioning and just really good help is practically over looked. They don't even like it if you are a vegetarian, say it's dangerous fo rthe baby.I also think it fosters a real weaker sex attitude during pregnancy stay- far away. Boooks by PEnny Simpkin are far better in balance and a great deal more information.

Answer 10

I got that book at my first baby shower and it does help a lot but seems like some of the things are outdated.