Ok, don't judge...

bunniesmrs

But I have not read one pregnancy book!  Not a one.  I've read my pamphlets from my doctor and read up on the net and such, but between work and moving and holidays and everything else I just haven't had the motivation.  Not to mention I'm scared I'll read bad stuff and it will consume my brain...

Anyway, if you ladies had to pick the BEST preganancy book or what to expect type book what would you recommend?  I'm trying to get my mind around labor/delivery but knowing what I might experience in trimester 3 would be nice too...

randimarie86

I read WTEWYE each month (for the month I'm in). My friend just sent me The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. I would recommend it if you're wanting to know what to REALLY expect. She gives best and worst case scenarios-using herself and her girlfriend's experiences. I haven't finished it yet, but it's pretty informative to me. HTH!

old_time_girl

I didn't really read many pregnancy books. So no recommendations there, but i do recommend Dr. Sears The Baby Book. It's great for the first year of baby! I highly recommend it.

TnArichmond

With my DD, I was 19, in denial that I was pregnant, and terrified of what my parents were going to say. I didn't tell them until I was over 5 months pregnant! After that blew over the only book I read was What to expect when you're expecting...then i was gifted what to expect the first year. i liked them, and didn't feel the need to look for more books to answer anything else.

bunniesmrs

I've heard good and bad about WTEWYE but it sounds like it helped you ladies.  I guess I'm old and stubborn and scared - this is my 1st pregnancy.  Most of my relatives, friends, family either don't have kids or are way out of the baby stage and don't remember so I appreciate the feedback!

CougFan

I like the Mayo Clinic pregnancy book better than WTEWYE.

Ooglybear

Well, you certainly won't pass the mandatory "parenting exam" if you don't study...

Eh, pretty much all the "reading up" I've done has been online and from other women's experience. I own WTEWYE, but I've only cracked it open a couple of times.

skoogirl

I highly recommend not reading the pregnancy or baby books!  The pregnancy books are scary and the baby books are not backed up by science.  The baby books I read weren't applicable to my baby at all and when I tried to find actual scientific evidence to back up most of their theories I couldn't find any.  It might be helpful to have one handy that you can look up stuff when you need to but nowadays you can pretty much just do that on the internet with about as much accuracy.

Dolls2011

I've heard nothing but bad things about What to Expect... and after skimming through it in the store, I can see why. The tone of the book is very negative and it focuses too much about all the "bad" stuff that can happen. Sure it's good to know about those things but I want a book that's going to tell me what's happening month to month with the baby's development not what negative thing might happen that month. On that note, I too purchased the Mayo Clinic book and really like it. It does well to educate you about being pregnant and giving birth, not scare the crap out of you.

MrsP7309

I haven't, either. I read a booklet that my insurance company sent me, and it freaked me out so badly I had an hour long 'talking down' with my mom. No more pregnancy books for me... if I get a strange symptom I'll just call my midwife!

BellaBean76

I read "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" thought it was informative but delivered in a light hearted way.  Also have "The Happiest Baby on the Block" which friends have highly recommended...but I am waiting another few weeks to start it so its fresh in my memory when the baby comes.

pinottoparenthood

I have the Mayo Clinic Guide to a  Healthy Pregnancy (or something like that). I don't read it too terribly often, but it has weekly updates about what baby is doing, and each chapter (which covers a month) also discusses your symptoms, feelings, what you should be doing, etc. There are chapters on labor, delivery, c-section, bringing baby home, etc. etc. So I am starting to look at that. I also got What to Expect the First Year for Christmas, which pretty much deals with after pregnancy.... so I am starting to read that, too. I really enjoyed reading The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vickie Iovine, but that was more for fun than medical advice. Covers the whole pregnancy through labor and delivery, with a sarcastic/funny edge, and lets you know from a real person's perspective what to expect.... not very clinical.

heddy79

I got Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn, but I have failed to dedicate time to read it.  I've been using it as a reference, but I get so much info from my OB and Babycenter.

JSS1002

randimarie86:

I read WTEWYE each month (for the month I'm in). My friend just sent me The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. I would recommend it if you're wanting to know what to REALLY expect. She gives best and worst case scenarios-using herself and her girlfriend's experiences. I haven't finished it yet, but it's pretty informative to me. HTH!

I second "The Girlfriend's Guide" book! 

 

nyki06

I would say my favorite was Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, it was a quick read and whether you go med free or not I think it really helps you to feel comfortable with the idea that women birthing children is not a new thing. I also wish I would have started reading Dr. Sears Baby Book before the baby was actually born. You don't have time once they are there so you're just winging the actually having a baby part. 

elizabethnseanny

I've read tons of books on pregnancy, I love research and reading, so it is something I enjoyed. I'm not sure how you would know what a "weird" symptom is if you didn't read, except for the few your doctor tells you to watch for...there is no way I would rely on my doctor or mother to "tell" me everything, but then again, I'm one of those "have to know" type people.

Unless you have a sibling you helped care for (I was 10 years older and had 5 younger siblings) or babysat a ton of newborns, I don't know how you could feel comfortable taking care of infant without reading...I had all that experience and was still a basketcase with my first!

whitneylauren

My aunt gave me a 5 ft high stack of books from the 80s....not going to read them. I bought WTEWYE and a friend just bought me Baby 411 and The happiest baby on the block

pachisophic

NandaB:

Dolls2011:

I've heard nothing but bad things about What to Expect... and after skimming through it in the store, I can see why. The tone of the book is very negative and it focuses too much about all the "bad" stuff that can happen. Sure it's good to know about those things but I want a book that's going to tell me what's happening month to month with the baby's development not what negative thing might happen that month. On that note, I too purchased the Mayo Clinic book and really like it. It does well to educate you about being pregnant and giving birth, not scare the crap out of you.

I hear this a LOT on TB and I totally disagree. I wonder if most of the people saying it are like the pp, didn't actually read it, just heard it was bad. I have WTEWYE and really liked it. It has a section for each week that tallks about what you may be feeling/seeing, the approximate size of the baby, what is happening developmentally with the baby. It also has a checklist section discussing what may be happening at each dr appt and questions you may want to ask. There is information about healthy eating, and a Q and A for problems/pains/issues you may be having. And, there is good info about labor and birth and a discussion of different types of pain management. I didn't think it was overly negative at all. I mean, there were sections about when to call the dr...but when I started bleeding on my son's due date at 3 am I was glad the book said to call right away because I wasn't sure since some types of bleeding can be common during some stages of pregnancy.

I also like WTEWYE. I think it the earlier editions got a bad rap for scaring women by talking about all the possible worst case scenarios for every situation. The newest edition (which I have) has a back section called the Complicated Pregnancy or something like that. It specifically warns you not to read through that section unless you're looking for guidance regarding a specific problem. The main body of the book is very  informative and unscary.

bunniesmrs

Thank you all SO much for your help! These are some great recommendations!

I started to get a complex when a friend was making me out to be a bad mother already from not having read every book.    I am already overweight and older which has its own worries while pregnant and I was petrified of putting more in my head, but it sounds like you all have a couple that would be great.

My sister sent me the Good Housekeeping book on babies and it isn't so bad.  It is older, but has a lot of good information on illness and babies when first home through their first year.  I'd be interested in something like WTE though since it goes bit by bit or Mayo since it covers birth and whatnot.

You ladies are the best, I appreciate the insight.