ParentDish's Top 10 Picks for Pregnancy Reading
Categories: Pregnancy & Birth, Breast-Feeding, Books
Catch up on your pregnancy reading with these top titles. Credit: Betsssssy, Flickr
Like birth plans, a pregnant woman's pick is very personal, so we don't expect you to buy all 10 titles. But, we think we've found at least one for every family -- even the Corleones:
1. The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger. If you're looking for a woman-centered approach to pregnancy books, this is it. A natural childbirth advocate who campaigns for women's rights to make their own choices in childbirth, Kitzinger offers the same approach in her books.
2. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. This is the book to pick up for information --we're talking lots of information. Set up as a step-by-step through the months and trimesters, it covers prenatal to the early days after the baby's born. It's one of the best-known pregnancy books, but it's not for everyone.
3. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. Want to know what to take to the hospital or why you're feeling randy when you're four months in? This is the book that takes a "we're all girls here" approach to pregnancy and puts out information with a touch of spunk.
4. Your Pregnancy Week By Week by Glade Curtis. Written by an OB/GYN, this is a very specific path through pregnancy. As the title suggests, Curtis lets you in on what's going to be happening week by week for the 40 weeks of gestation, making this the pick for women who want to know what's going on right now.
5. Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide by Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley and Ann Keppler. Let's face it -- having a baby is an emotional time, and not just because of hormones. With information on the physical and psychological pregnancy, this is a thorough trip from early pregnancy to early infancy.
6. Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. Don't let the celeb's name on the cover fool you into thinking this is fluff. Full of real information on taking charge of the birth, it's got a light, conversational tone, but it delves into deep issues on the options women face.
7. The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins. In-depth details on everything from nursing after a C-section to breastfeeding when you've adopted a child makes this a go-to for first-time nursers.
8. The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas and All Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin. The rare pregnancy book written not for the mother, but for the people who will be present at the birth, this has earned a reputation as the "birth partner's bible."
9. The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month, Everything You Need to Know From America's Baby Experts by William and Martha Sears. From advocates of the attachment parenting movement, this overview of pregnancy includes not just the month-to-month physical symptoms and development, but tips on home birth, avoiding the episiotomy and more to make this mom-centric.
10. Fathering Right from the Start: Straight Talk About Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond by Jack Heinowitz. Written by a psychologist, it's no surprise this book approaches dad's path through pregnancy through his emotions. Heinowitz makes clear a man's role begins at conception -- not when he has to change his first diaper.
Related: Pregnancy, Pregnancy: Week by Week
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karen 1-30-2010 @ 7:36PM
What to Expect books should be stricken from the list. This book is nightmare.
Each topic has an anxious question to address it - just swell for already-worried pregnant moms. Those books seem to suggest potential tragedy at each twist & turn instead of addressing pregnancy as the normal event that it usually is.
The advice they give on breastfeeding is awful, the diet is enough to drive you crazy, the weight gain "guidelines" are just plain stupid, and they basically advise a crying-it-out strategy for helpless little babies. Oh, and just restrain the baby boys in a padded chair - that will deaden the pain of having part of their penis removed. Ugh, no thanks!!
Do the world a favor and recycle each and every copy of that atrocious book you come in contact with!
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Sandyone 1-31-2010 @ 7:44PM
My sister once said of WTEWYE book, "It's a great book....if you actually *need* to be told to stop smoking crack while you're pregnant!"
Julia 2-11-2010 @ 6:12AM
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Heather 2-01-2010 @ 8:58AM
Agree with the comments about What to Expect....Worst book a pregnant woman can read!
Please add "Birthing From Within" by Pam England to the top ten instead. Give yourself confidence in birth, not fear.
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pcmckenna6 2-11-2010 @ 7:05AM
Here's a parenting book that goes from childbirth through teen years - it tells you everything that the other books don't! A humorous (and touching) book about the realities of parenting, Caution: Children Should Come With Warning Labels prepares moms and dads for the unpredictable ups and downs of being a parent. Get it at amazon or Urban Edge Publishing.
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Allison 2-11-2010 @ 8:08AM
Here's an idea- stop reading all these crap books and just raise your kids. Somehow I have managed to raise great kids without reading a parenting book....
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Susan 2-11-2010 @ 8:25AM
As this is titled "Top 10 Pregnancy Reading", and NOT "Top 10 Ways to Raise your Child", I feel your comment is way off. Many women enjoy having what is going on inside their bodies during this time explained to them, as it is comforting.
vlynnieg 2-11-2010 @ 8:25AM
WTEWYE was my secondary resource when I was pregnant the first time. I found the Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy and Baby's First Year a lot more helpful.
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Angiebaby 2-11-2010 @ 9:51AM
Interesting. Decades ago there were no pregnancy and/or parenting books and the women had more sense and the kids grew up so much better. These days, a pregnant woman calls the doctor to make sure a gas bubble isn't a contraction and we treat the pregnancy like a 9-month illness which requires special attention, provides a good excuse for not doing things we don't want to do and start counting the tax deductions or government checks before we think about what we should be planning as good parents.
I like the What to Expect books because they gave indepth info on a month by month basis of how my son was developing. If it didn't have that science part, I most likely wouldn't have bothered.
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Barbara Smith 2-11-2010 @ 7:29PM
the most important book to read before, & during pregnancy & while parents is -The Bible--it's got it all
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TheFeministBreeder 2-22-2010 @ 1:42AM
Oh - pregnant mothers - please do NOT NOT NOT read "Girlfriend's Guide" or "What to Expect". Those books talked me making horribly uninformed choices that ruined my first birth.
PLEASE read "Your Best Birth." It's a great intro to the smart information. Then, read "Birthing from Within." Also a huge fan of "Nursing Mother's Companion Guide." Those books have great info. Stay away from those others on the list. You'll thank me later.
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