A good book on pregnancy?

The most well-known pregnancy book is What to Expect When You’re Expecting. There have been many editions of it over the years, an it’s extremely comprehensive. Many women, including my mother, have referred to this book during pregnancy.

They also have a whole series including pre-pregnancy and fertility; caring for a child in the first year; toddler years; etc. Here is the page for the book on Amazon although I highly encourage you to purchase it from your local independent bookseller!

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Yes, what @ParaParaYukiko said. I lived by that, 22 years ago, and the updated versions are comprehensive and helpful. IMO, definitely the best choice.

Thanks @ParaParaYukiko and @JilltheTooth for the recommendation.

I was just about to place an order online for this book when I glanced at the reviews. Some of them caused a concern—saying the book will actually alarm and freak out the woman more than providing practical info. (Seems the husbands particularly hate this book :) )

What would your advice be… which aspects of the book need to be avoided / taken with caution? Or any alternative books that don’t come with such big warnings from readers :) ?

Thanks again!

IMHO, that is a pretty outdated book with many things in it that are not for the modern woman. I read that book when I was pregnant 10 years ago and I just laughed my ass off. I’m really not sure what other books are out there now.

@albert_e : Remember, pregnancy is a messy biological event than can be fraught with peril, but mostly it’s not. The more educated a mother-to-be is, the less likely there will be problems. I’ve never met anyone who was “alarmed and freaked out” by that book. Good luck, easy pregnancy and short healthy birth experience to your friend!

The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy is my personal favorite, but Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Glade Curtis fits your criteria a bit better.

I liked the “What to Expect” books. I’m a chronic worrier, and didn’t find the pregnancy book alarming. If I remember correctly, the section about problems was at the end of the book. There’s no reason to read that information unless an issue comes up that you have to deal with.

You may also want to consider some breastfeeding books, if the mom in question is planning to breastfeed or even just considering it as an option. My favorite was “So That’s What They’re For!” The only thing that annoyed me was the book’s emphasis on the potential for pain from nursing. I’d already nursed one baby when I read the book, so knew what to expect and could ignore the references to pain (which I did not have a problem with any of the three times I breastfed).

I haven’t looked lately, but I would suggest you don’t rely on one single book to tell you everything, but read several and pick the parts that make the most sense.

Pregnancy Sucks was my favorite during my first pregnancy.