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Pregnancy
- Laurie A. Rich: When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect. A Layperson's Guide to
Complications in Pregnancy. 1991 and 1997 editions. Dutton (a division
of Penguin Books USA Inc.) ISBN 0-525-24961-3, $19.95
hardcover. [sources incl. the author herself and amazon]
- There are many books to tell you about what goes on in the average
pregnancy. Few books, however, are any use at all to those suffering
from serious complications of pregnancy such as hyperemesis
gravidarum, placenta previa, intrauterine growth retardation,
gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension ("toxemia"),
premature labor, etc. This book does an excellent job of filling this
gap. It begins with a chapter on just what a 'perfect' pregnancy is
like--along with all of the pains and discomforts that are
considered normal in pregnancy. I strongly recommend this book to
all who need more info on pregnancy complications. It can be useful
even to those whose pregnancies are perfectly normal, so far--for
example, it gives clear instructions on how to detect premature
labor before it's too late for treatment, something all pregnant
women ought to know about, just in case. --Paula Burch
- Richard S. Abrams, MD: _Will It Hurt the Baby_ [OOP; try the library or possibly amazon]
- A book I found helpful. ..He goes into medications and other
substances. --Laura Dolson [from a post]
The best source of official info on what drugs are and are not approved
for use in pregnancy, along with info on just what catergories
A, B, C, D, and X mean, and alternatives for the less-ideal
drugs. A book such as Shapiro's Pregnancy Book for Today's
Woman (see below) is more useful at presenting actual research
results; official recommendations are often less useful than
a review of the actual research..--Paula Burch
- Howard Shapiro: The Pregnancy Book for Today's Woman. c 1993, NY: HarperPerennial. ISBN 0-06-273030-4. [sources incl.amazon]
- Many pregnancy books are long on hearsay and short on facts. While I
do not always agree with the personal prejudices of this author (I
think he's much more anti-home-birth than the facts warrant,
although I'm not personally into home birthing), he tends to present
all sides of the research on a subject, incidentally often concluding
that many things condemned by fluffier books such as "What to
Expect" are quite safe in pregnancy. As a result I personally find this
to be the most useful general book on pregnancy that I've yet read. It
is very long and detailed, too long for some, but with a good index.
One of the many myths it contradicts is that one must wait several
months after a miscarriage before attempting another
pregnancy. --Paula Burch
- Janet and Arthur Balaskas: Active Birth. 1983.(paperback)
- An excellent book for pregnancy. Shows exercises that really
help you during labor. --Paula Burch
- Janet Balaskas: Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally. 1992.
[sources incl. amazon]
- Probably a more current version of the above.
- Ina May Gaskin: Spiritual Midwifery. Fat paperback.[sources incl. amazon
- Totally psychedelic birth stories from the Farm, a Tennessee
commune where Ina May & others almost singlehandedly revived
the art of midwifery in America.
definitely NOT for everybody, but if
you're into the idea of having a birth 'experience' on the New
Age side of things, you will really 'dig' it.
Great source of birth stories. Kind of weird and hippy-ish--
you have to get used to her use of the word "stoned" as
meaning a meditative state, rather than drug use, for example.
--Paula Burch
another view:
I HATED this book. It's the ONLY book that I've ever bought
that I feel I've wasted my money on. I found the spiritual
part hard to take but that wasn't the whole story. I'd bought
the book because I wanted information about pregnancy,
childbirth, and midwifery. The lack of correct anatomical
terms for body parts just killed me. I guess the intent was to
make it more accessible and it WAS ahead of its time. But it
came across as sounding stupid to me.
- Claudia Panuthos: _Transformation through Birth, A Woman's Guide
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
- Talks about 'clearing' up distressing old memories of previous
labors -- or your own birth trauma -- as part of an emotional/
spiritual preparation for a more rewarding childbirth experience.
- Lennart Nilsson. A Child Is Born. Hardcover. [hardcover sources incl.amazon; paperback sources incl.amazon]
- Wonderful book of photographs of human embryos and fetuses
at various stages. You should note, however, that it is
imperative to get the 1990 update! The first update was 1978,
and was minor. The '90 update was a whole new book!!!!
I loved being able to say "it looks about like a cashew nut
now" or "it's about at the shrimp stage now"! The photos are
wonderful. --Paula Burch
I also really have enjoyed Nillson's "A Child is Born" the hardback
"completely new edition" (not the "completely revised edition) is the
most up-to-date with colorized photos of scanning tunneling
micrographs, and lots of detail of what is happening, especially in
the first few weeks, when the embryo changes shape rapidly. So this
is not quite a pregnancy and childbirth book, but it is fascinating.
[Ed's note: It *is* a pregnancy book, just not a how-to book!]
- Stoppard: Pregnancy and Birth Book (1987, Ballantine; 0-345-31908-7)
[sources incl.amazon]
- My favourite pregnancy book. The one to get if
you're only getting one. Ignore the section on maternity clothes. Has
drawings of relative size/features of embryo/fetus and woman at
different points in the pregnancy. -- Kate Gregory
I really liked the book by Stoppard...
I don't plan on making it an only book (I've already got
_What to Expect...Expecting_ and _Getting Pregnant_), but
it would make an excellent only book if you could
only get one.
- Morrone: Pregnant While You Work (1984, Berkley; 0-425-08538-4) [OOP; try your library or amazon]
- Tips on maternity clothes, planning your leave, coming
back, not coming back, etc. -- Kate Gregory
- Bing: Making Love During Pregnancy (1977, Bantam; 0-553-14523-1) [OOP; try your library or amazon]
- The other books brush this topic off with references to "lots
of pillows, and lots of imagination." 165 pages later,
diagrams and all, I can see why. That's basically all this book
says, but it takes longer to say it. -- Kate Gregory
- Martin & West: Mother and Child - The Time Before Birth (1988, Random
House; 0-394-22038-2) [OOP; try your library or amazon]
- A Canadian book that doesn't have the emphasis many American books
do on the cost of procedures and tests. I turned often to the
"discomforts by trimester" section which is very complete and has
good suggestions. -- Kate Gregory
- Hotchner, Tracy: Pregnancy and Childbirth [sources incl.amazon] _and_ Childbirth and Marriage [OOP]
- both deal with the psychological as well as the physiological, and
emphasize your existing relationships and life as well as the new one.
I also have and like a book by Tracy Hochster (spelling may be off)
called "Pregnancy and Childbirth" She is a bit more of an advocate for
learning about the controversies of technology and does talk about
the controversy of fetal monitoring among other things.
- Barrett, Nina: I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Fireside Book, Simon & Schuster, 1990) [sources incl.amazon]
- I've lent this one to 3 women who have had babies in the past year,
and they've all said "where'd you get that??? I know someone _I_ want
to give it to.
To be read in pregnancy to find out how bad early parenthood can be!
I disliked it, but a friend of mine loved it. Better than
being surprised, I
suppose. --Paula Burch
- Barbara Katzman Roth: THE TENTATIVE PREGNANCY [sources incl.amazon]
- Just as an aside to this discussion of statistics, if you are a 37
year old woman worried about conceiving a Down's syndrome baby, you
must ask yourself only one question: am I willing to care for a Down's
affected child? For a nice discussion of this and related issues, read
[this book].
-- Janet Wilson [posted on sci.med]
A very useful book for anyone undergoing prenatal testing. This book
is better checked out from the library than purchased, however, if
possible, as it's not apt to be referred to repeatedly throughout the
course of the pregnancy. --Paula Burch
- Penny Simkin, et al.: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn
[sources incl.amazon]
- My favorite. This had lots of non-judgemental information
on medical interventions in pregnancy and childbirth, presented
in chart format from least interventionist, to most.
--Carol Alvin [from a post]
- Your Pregnancy Week by Week [sources incl.amazon]
- Once I became pregnant, I really liked "Your pregnancy Week by Week",
which showed drawings of what you could expect the fetus to look like
at various stages. I labelled all the chapters with the appropriate
dates, and once a week my husband and I have a treat looking at what
the baby looks like now (including size, and what parts are
developing)
a dissenting view....
I hated this book! The book seems to be written by an OB who sees
lots of complications in his practice and thinks they are common. He
cavalierly talks about all sorts of things that can go wrong during
pregnancy, without any real statistics to show that they are actually
very rare. I am glad that I got this from the library instead of
buying it, and I am also glad that I had read several other books
first. Otherwise this one would have been very frightening. Plus,
his information about the AFP test is completely wrong. Guaranteed to
needlessly distress many people.
- _BABIES AND OTHER HAZARDS OF SEX_ by Dave Barry. [sources incl.amazon]
- the most ACCURATE and informative guide of all :-> [humor]
- Niels Lauransen: It's Your Pregnancy [sources incl.amazon]
- I have a book entitled It's Your Pregnancy, which I like.
- Sheila Kitzinger and Penny Simpkin:
various titles
- Other good authors in the field are Sheila Kitzinger and Penny
Simpkin, but I don't know if they cover before pregnancy. Mostly I
would suggest getting several from the library, since not every book
is going to answer all your needs, and every book has its biases.
I liked EVERYTHING by Kitzinger--go to the library for
the ones you don't buy! --Paula Burch
Sheila Kitzingers books are all good. Also, "Pregnancy, Childbirth
and the Newborn" by Simkin, Whalley and Keppler is very good,
discusses the plusses and minusses of medical intervention and has
lots of references to studies to back up the findings.
Another very good book if you really want to maximize chances of
non-intervention is "The Birth Partner" by Simkin. Good information
on the benefits and risks of all labor drugs, and at what stage they
can be used.
--Dorothy Neville [posted]
- Sheila Kitzinger: Complete Book on Pregnancy [sources incl.amazon]
- As a soon-to-be-new parent, I must add my voice to the chorus of the
anti- "What to expect" books. My favorite pregnancy book (although a
bit dated) has been Sheila Kitzinger's Complete Book on pregnancy
which had lots of facts and information and a no-nonsense tone.
-- Holly Isdale [posted]
- Kathleen Diamond: Motherhood After Miscarriage. [sources incl.amazon]
(Bob Adams Inc., Holbrook, MA, 1991, ISBN 1-55850-043-x)
- When I had my miscarriage in Dec 93, I also wanted to find out more
information on why it happened. I found a good book by a biologist
who had 4 miscarriages and 2 births (3 miscarriages + the start of her
second pregnancy was all in 1 year!). I thought the book was very
understandable. It had more information than I wanted at the time,
but it does look into why miscarriages occur with her own personal
experiences included. For $10.95, its a good buy for someone wanting
more information. -- karen.l.carr [posted]
- Miriam Stoppard: Conception, Pregnancy & Birth [sources incl.amazon]
- The best book that I've read. It is a text book sized book and covers
everything in those three areas. If you are more interested in the
fact than the fantasy of motherhood I think this is a very useful
book. In comparison I found "What to Expect when you are Expecting"
lacking in real details. "What to Expect..." is formatted in a
question/answer style. I found many of the questions rudimentary in
nature. I preferred the wealth of facts found in Stoppard's book.
--Gail Hatch [posted]
- Dr. Meriam Stoppard: "Conception through Pregnancy" [could this actually
be the one just above? I can find no record of this title. -Editor.]
- I am enjoying a book by Dr. Meriam Stoppard called
"Conception through Pregnancy". It describes what
happens to the mother and baby on a 4 week basis.
It has a lot of details and nice pictures.
I like it better than What to expect... because
I know where I am. --Pam Omeara (posted to misc.kids.pregnancy)
- Niels Lauersen: Childbirth with Love. 1985. [OOP; try your library or amazon]
- Since I haven't seen it recommended, I thought that I would recommend
"Childbirth with Love". I really was not a fan of "What to Expect.."
although I did like "What to Expect in the first Year". I think I
liked "Childbirth with Love" because it covered the broad spectrum,
not just answering individual type questions. Each topic had a
section of its own. Although the title would imply, at least in my
opinion, that it is about labor, it really is about the whole
pregnancy. It gives information about the baby at about two? week
intervals (i.e. what it's doing, how long it is, how much it weighs)
for the entire gestional period. It covers how the mother may be
feeling etc. My husband also read this book (cover to cover) with
our first pregnancy and felt it helped him.
Good Luck. -- Linda Raver [posted]
- Wendy and Matthew Lesko: The Maternity Sourcebook
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
- I liked [this book]. It provided good information on the process, with a
very impartial tone. The book points out the good and "bad" side of
various issues like circumcison, episiotomies, C-section etc, as well
as outlining what was going on step by step in the pregancy, what to
expect, etc. I've lent my book to many friends, and it's now pretty
beat up, they liked it too.
--Kim Fisher [posted]
- The Wise Woman's Herbal for the Childbearing Year [sources incl.amazon]
- Contains potentially dangerous medical advice. Herbs are not
necessarily safer in pregnancy than synthetic drugs, and a couple of the
ones recommended by this book can be quite dangerous. (Avoid blue
cohosh, which can cause maternal heart damage, and any internal use
of comfrey, which has caused at least one baby to die after its
mother used the tea during pregnancy.) --Paula Burch
- Myles Textbook for Midwives [sources incl.amazon]
- [Another book] that I found had errors in things as basic as
English/metric conversions, and was really rather fuzzy. The
one my wife found had lots of generic "feel-good" advice: "You
should stay away from spicy foods such as Mexican and
Chinese." We wondered aloud how they could possibly have
managed in Mexico and China until McDonalds came along. "Your
doctor knows best." My wife shut the book. Both those books
went back to the store. [...]
We ended up with medical textbooks. These require a fair amount of
scientific literacy, and of course are written from the point of
view of the medical professional. They are concise and matter-of-
fact, and obviously make no attempt to make the reader feel good.
(Get used to being referred to as "the patient" or "the primigravida".)
The best of the ones we found, and the one that we referred to most
is _Myles Textbook for Midwives_. It's a British publication, and
some of the material is not applicable in the US (it refers to
particular practices in the UK). However, all of the
physiology (obviously!) and much of the practical information
is the same as in the US. A "pocket" medical dictionary may
also be of some use. --Bruce Toback [from a post]
- Chalmers, Enkins, and Keirse, eds.:_Effective Care in Pregnancy and
Childbirth_ (volumes 1 and 2) [OOP; may have been replaced by Enkin, Keirse, and Neilson: A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth, 1995]
- My favorite in this department. I found
it in the local university med. library. It has dozens of
chapters written by various researchers, each on a different
issue of pregnancy or childbirth. Though it comes firmly from
the medical establishment, it is very broad in scope and outlook
(including information on home and birth center births and other
controversial practices). It provides an excellent review of
the empirical literature. Personally, I *want* to see what kinds
of research all this advice is based on. Often, it's just a study
or two with little power or a shaky methodology. This book lays
all bare to the interested reader. Oh, and it definitely qualifies
as concise. Even though it's a *lot* of pages, it covers a *lot*
of territory and each chapter is relatively short. You can jump
around and check out the topics that interest you (many are very
finely focussed and would only be of interest to people with
certain medical problems). --Ericka Kammerer [from a post]
- Thomas Congdon: "Having Babies: 9 months inside of an obstetrical practice"
[OOP; try your library or amazon]
- I just read this new book --by a journalist who spent 9 months
hanging out in an OB's office...His book is an account of the
pateints, the docs and the office staff and it's a good read
for anyone who has had a baby or plans to. It's a brand-new
hardcover book -- I got it from our local library. --Leigh
Hancock [from a post]
- Henci Goer: Obstetric Myths versus Research Realities [sources incl.amazon]
- This book is about the current controversies in childbearing
(EFM, cesareans, VBAC, drugs, etc). It breaks down the
medical literature and cites hundreds of pages of the actual
studies for you to read. It also contains a section on how to
read medical literature.
-- Robin Elise Weiss, ICCE, CD, NACA
What to Expect When You're Expecting [sources incl.amazon]
(each paragraph is from a different contributor)
This book has been on the New York Times bestseller list forever. Is
it because it's so good? Actually, it's kind of a scam. The book is
given away for free at many hospitals (presumably in response to an
great publisher discount), so it's the only book many people know
about--this inflates sales figures dramatically, and of course
anything on the bestseller list sells even more. "What to Expect" is a
good book if you don't have access to any of the other fine books
recommended in this list, and many people do like it....but also many
people loathe it, for its many deficiencies. -- Paula Burch
Medically inaccurate, pro-intervention, and makes you feel
like you should be a good patient. On the other hand, some
really like the emotional aspects of this book, but I wouldn't
get carried away with the medical portions.
-- Robin Elise Weiss, ICCE, CD, NACA
I don't think "What to Expect.." is that bad, and it does have a whole
chapter on before you get pregnant, as well as early pregnancy stuff
such as symptoms. Someone on the net complained a while ago that it
did not include the common symptom of pain when the blastocyst passes
through the sphyncter at the base of the fallopian tube into the
uterus. But no book is perfect and can handle everything.
I agree with others that the diet and some other things are written in
a guilt producing way, but the nutritional information is pretty good
(except for the fructose hype). One just has to relax, learn the
important things about calories, vitamins and minerals and then do the
best you can (she says with half a piece of chocolate cream pie in
front of her)
I also object a bit to the childbirth section of the book, as it seems
more designed to make you a good patient from the dr's point of view
instead of a real advocate for your rights. For example, there is
nothing in there about any controversy surrounding fetal monitoring,
just says it is a hunky dorry thing and if the hospital says do it,
then obey. (Must be why the hospitals give it away for free.)
But on the whole, it is a decent book to read and has a lot of good
information and things to think about, just don't make any one book
your only source of information.
What to Expect when you are Expecting is the BEST book going.
What to EAT when you are Expecting (which is an expanded version of a
chapter in what to expect..) was flamed for its unrealistic
approach to diet.
Before I had conceived, my copy of "What to expect..." was dog-eared
from being read so many times. I loved it, and can't recommend it
enough.
You are getting two books 'What to expect when you are expecting' and
'what to eat when you are expecting' mixed up. Although they are written
by the same authors... [Ed's note : 'What to Expect' does contain a
whole chapter of the nutritional nonsense of 'What to Eat'.]
What to expect... is a great book, and most people in the past on the
net have agreed. It gives you a month by month guide, which I found
very helpful. All except the chapter on what to eat, which they took
out of the other book. A friend bought me 'What to eat... (some
friend) and I was immediately depressed. It tells you not to eat
anything that isn't 100% real, and identifiable, and its list of not
to eats is nearly impossible, especially when you and your husband put
in 40+ hours a week each at work! (for example, it tells you not to
eat salad dressing, but to make your own... please, like I have time
to mix vinegar, oil, and a perfect blend of herbs and spices every
evening...) I made an appointment with an OB nutritionist, who
listened to my diet (cereal for breakfast, juice, pretzels for snacks,
along with fruit, peanut butter and jelly for lunch (I craved it), and
a grilled meat with rice and vegetables for dinner) The nutritionist
informed me my diet was perfect, and better than 99 percent of the
people walking around, and couldn't believe I was worried, until I
told her about what to eat.... She laughed, told me that speaking as
a nutritionist, that book was extreme, and advised me burn it. I'm
holding on to it to give back to my friend when she gets pregnant...
(hee hee hee...)
What to Expect says absurd things about diet. We now know that
restricting sodium can actually CAUSE high blood pressure in pregancy,
but What to Expect recommends cutting it out. This advice stinks. And
suggesting that refined fructose is an ingredient worth using is just
ignorant! Read this book, but don't take the nutrition seriously.
Eating well is important, but you don't have to follow What to Expect
(or the companion What to Eat When You're Expecting) in order to eat
right!
_What_To_Expect_ is rather preachy about certain
topics, especially nutrition, but if you can overlook it is really
is the best all-round book on pregnancy and it even includes a section
on pre-conception. Try to think of it like a mother, kind of preachy,
but very knowledgeable and wanting the best for you!
I didn't read the flaming about this book, but I bought it and I like
it. I am not pregnant yet, but it has good pre-pregnancy information.
It also has a list of symptoms possible, many are possible for
menstruation and pregnancy. It has two parts to it. The first is a
list of questions and answers that many people have while pregnant.
The second is a month by month, what changes to expect. I would
suggest looking at your local library. Maybe check it and a few
others out and see what you like. Then purchase a book. As for the
impossible to stick to diet, I think that if people read a standard
diet and what they should be eating, they may think that is impossible
too :). At least the diet they give gives lots of examples of what to
eat to get good nutrition. It helps when you don't know what to
eat some night. Some things I didn't realize had the nutrients
they do.
The _What to Expect..._ books are pretty good
and I like the month by month format. I also agree that you should find
as many sources of information as possible--I read *every*
book in 2 local libraries about pregnancy, infertility, etc.
when we were having problems conceiving and read some over
again when I finally did get pregnant!
Well, YMMV ["your milage may vary"] on this one. A big reason
to go to the library and check
out many different books. I found "What to expect..." very
pro-intervention, mostly says just relax and your doctor will do
what's good for you. Says only good things about electronic fetal
monitoring, and poo-poos all the research that says episiotomies are
worthless (or worse). It's pretty clearly against homebirth also.
-- Dorothy Neville [posted]
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