PREGNANCY BOOKS
{click on the images to go to that book’s page}
The list of pregnancy, birth and parenting books I have read:
{Until I have the time to write my opinion on the books, I’ll just put a simple MUST READ or PASS next to them. In the meantime I’ll slowly try to add one review after another}
This was a great book to read BEFORE you get pregnant. If you’re looking to read a book about pregnancy before you’re pregnant or as soon as you get pregnant just to know what to expect, this is the best. First of all unlike most other books, it doesn’t break things down into months or weeks. It has specific topics that any person curious about pregnancy and birth would want to read about: pregnancy complications, symptoms and complaints, toxins and things to avoid, labor, nutrition, etc. It was so good this was the only pregnancy book I felt my husband needed to read before we got pregnant.
This is a GREAT picture book. It was actually a gift from my MIL and it’s my favorite pregnancy book. it won’t replace you traditional books, but the photography in it along with scientific information is fascinating, much more fascinating than any other book. I would definitely recommend this as a gift to yourself or your friend.
I was very excited about buying and reading this book, because it seemed that it would be the most informative book from medical standpoint. However, iw as very disappointed: the week by week chapters are extremely short and uninformative. It has lots of general sections in the back of the book, but in general the design of the information was far from what I expected. That being said, it’s not a bad book, but I’d suggest you page through it in the store before buying.
Only if your husband won’t read the normal pregnancy books. It was the best out of the “dumbed down for dads” books.
I found it too simple with too many recipes. I wanted more information on facts and statistics, pregnancy nutrition and vitamins, instead I got a list of recipes for every day.
FUNNY and easy to read. Gets you mentally prepared for all the “joys” of pregnancy
HIT OR MISS
It was interesting to read. It’s in no way “educational”, but more of a fun summer read.
Not too much useful information you won’t read in other books, but very colorful and has a page for each day of pregnancy. I really enjoyed having it on my sofa table to page through once in a while.
Not bad if you like week by week types. It had sufficient information.
Great fitness book. I exercise regularly based on this book. Has great strengthening exercises for all trimesters.
Everything Pregnancy Nutrition
This is a better book on nutrition during pregnancy. It’s worth a read if you feel you didn’t get enough information in the pre-conception books I recommended. To me, who read quite a bit on the topic of proper nutrition, this book was a little simple. I just noticed another book that I didn’t get to read but wished I did, called Vegan Pregnancy Book
What a waste of a read! I love gender specific books and was very excited to read this one thinking that it would give me SPECIFIC information on how baby girls develop. I couldn’t get through the first few chapters. It’s so simple and uninformative and had no specific emphasis on girls’ development. There was absolutely nothing I read there that I didn’t know already. I skimmed the rest of the book and didn’t see anything interesting. I guess if it were the ONLY pregnancy book you read, you might find something useful there, but it was not written to be the only book read during pregnancy, so a lot of information is missing.
PRENATAL PSYCHOLOGY/EPIGENETICS/”NEW” FETAL RESEARCH
Pre-Parenting: Nurturing Your Child from Conception
An absolutely amazing inside look at how our brains and psyche gets shaped inside our mother’s womb and based on the first 3 years of interaction. The author brings up studies that link maternal anxiety with common learning disorders and brain disfunctions and explain the process by which it happens. We get to understand why and how negative thoughts and feelings influence our unborn children ( completely mind blowing). He explains everything from the psychological and biological processes that happen in our body. He shows how parental love SHAPES our brains inside and outside the womb. This book will change the way you approach pregnancy and childbirth. It is written in a very scientific way and explain every one of his claims. His examples, obivously there to atttract those who need more real visual aid and can’t hang onto his scientific speak, are actually laughable, adn I wish he would just not try to make it so mainstream. But the logic and the explainations and the results brought up in this book are absolutely amazing.
It can’t be missed by ANYONE who’s pregnant or getting ready to be pregnant.
Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives
This was a more concise consumer-friendly version of the book above and a book below. The author has a great writing style, lots of information and studies. I would definitely recommend that anyone looking to get pregnant read this book
MUST! ( this or the book below)
Just like the two books above it talks about how much what we do as pregnant women influences our children in ways that we don’t know or will never link together. It has a wealth of information and studies on every aspect of baby’s development and how actions of a pregnant woman affect it, help it, harm it. It opens your eyes to so many things that are not even known by physicians.
MUST! (this or the book above)
BIRTH
Good overview of birth process and interventions. I read this before getting pregnant and it sort of shaped how I felt about the whole process.
I wasn’t planning on using the Bradley Method for childbirth, but I wanted to read his books for tips on how to handle birth as well as anything else useful I might find there. I thought the book was well written with relevant and VERY useful information. I used Hypnobabies technique and found that the Bradley Method did a better job at preparing you for childbirth. I feel that even if you’re not planning on skipping the epidural, you should read the book, because it demystifies the birth process, gets rid of the fear and gives great techniques on managing pain.
I thought it was going to repeat everything written in the Bradley book. However, to my surprise, this book was quite different from the Bradley method book. It has a lot of interesting examples and comparisons to animal births. I think it’d be best for the husband to read the first book, but this is an interesting read as well.