Customer Reviews

The Anxious Parent's Guide to Pregnancy

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I already have two children and have read about every pregnancy book out there. I was looking for something new to talk me through number 3 and make the information fresh again, and was thrilled to find Dr. DiLeo's book. The information is complete, understandable, and up to date, and the style is light-hearted and soothing. I appreciate that in addition to giving information on options and variations, he shares his personal opinion, based on years of experience in the delivery room, on what he would want for someone in his family. He also shares his frustration with the interference of insurance companies into medical decisions.

Dr. DiLeo is only dogmatic about one thing: he wants you to pick your provider carefully, and then TRUST them. If you don't trust your doctor, get a new one. I've read several books that encourage women to question and doubt their careprovider every step of the way, which seems to me to increase women's anxiety. Both you and your doctor want the same result--a healthy baby and mother. This book will give you the information you need to work with your care provider toward that goal.

Where has this author been? I've been looking for someone to explain pregnancy like this for 2 babies now. It's like you're all alone in a consultation room--just you and your doctor. The conversational tone is so warm and reassuring, even my biggest worries were put into a worry-free perspective. And funny! Every page has a smile and a laugh, like little time-bombs throughout the book. Dr. DiLeo's not afraid to tell it like it is about insurance companies, doctors, nurses, and alternate birthing "experiences."

His chapter on controversies in obstetrics has material I've never seen in any other pregnancy book. It's like they don't have a clue about some of these things. I highly recommend this book. Incredible information and great fun by someone who takes care of you like a friend.

It seems like 5 stars are not nearly enough for this! I have looked for many sources on pregnancy and this one sums it into one fun to read, informative, reasurring, and honest book. Who would have thought a book about pregnancy would be such a page-turner? The author captures your heart as well as your mind making it difficult to close the book and put it down. In fact, I'm buying it for all of my pregnant friends (and my "trying to get pregnant" friends). It is such a pleasure to read. My husband has even read a few of the chapters. The format is very convenient and the "frequently asked question" section is a great quick reference. This is the one and only book you will need. I highly recommend this book to any pregnant woman or anyone currently trying to get pregnant. A great buy.

I had no idea of the silent controversies going on in the field of obstetrics. Besides this book being an excellent pregnancy book--and so much more fun than those dreary others--Dr. DiLeo's information on the controversies being waged in the background while women go on their way having babies was very enlightening. Because of Dr. DiLeo's privileged position of actually being in the profession, he provides insights into subjects that ended up being very important to me. I haven't seen any other book talk about the great herpes hypocrisy in pregnancy, pregnancy after having been sexually abused, or what should be the women's rights position on maternal choice C-section. His section on miscarriage and threatened miscarriage, besides finally putting a perspective on ALL of the causes of first trimester bleeding, is the most compassionate treatment on the tragedy of miscarriage I've ever seen. Obviously this guy cares about ALL babies, large and very small. His "Pregnancy Rules for Husbands" are hysterical. This book sets a new standard for pregnancy books for intelligent women.

This is by far one of the best, most-entertaining books I've read on pregnancy and childbirth. Dr. DiLeo offers an abundance of helpful information, yet does it with great style. I laughed at many points throughout this book, and really felt I was getting my information from a friend -- someone who is very knowledgable about the field of obstetrics yet sensitive to a woman's needs.

To those saying he is all about episiotomies and the like, I disagree. He is very clear about saying he does not do automatic episiotomies, his patients have a right to refuse them if they wish, and that he certainly wouldn't do one if a patient didn't seem like she was going to tear.

Additionally, I saw NOTHING in the book discussing the low-cost of home birth versus caring for a vegetable (as mentioned in another review). DiLeo is honest in saying that when life threatening complications occur, the best situation for mother and child is to be in a hospital. I have a friend who had extremely little to no intervention during birth yet ran into complications so dire she and her daughter would have died without the care of the hospital staff. Maybe this is a rare situation, but I think this is what DiLeo is addressing -- that IF there is a problem, the hospital is the place to be. Hard to argue with that. I'd hate to see somebody not read this wonderful book simply because they disagree on this one point. There is much more to pregnancy than where a woman gives birth.

This is a wonderful book on pregnancy. My niece is 19, and I'm 38, and we're both using it for our pregnancies. It covers everything, and it's so easy to read. If I didn't know what I was getting into getting pregnant at this point, now I know--and everything is explained in a way where I'm not even worried. I can deal with it now. This author definitely wins your heart.

As a first time expectant mother living far from friends and family, I have had to rely on many a resource book to guide me through the many questions that come to mind during pregnancy. Many books on the market read like stereo instructions. However, I found Dr. Dileo's book simple to understand and an absolute joy to read. What I enjoyed most about this book was the simple fact that not only does Dr. DiLeo provide the reader with the most useful and honest information available, but he presnts the information in a straight foward, often hilarious approach. I highly reccomend this book as a "must read" for both expectant mothers and fathers, as Dr. DiLeo's "Rules for Husbands" provides a hilarious, yet wise guide for the dad to be.

I loved this book!! This is my second pregnancy, so I had most of the typical pregnancy books. I bought this book when I was 6 months pregnant and started reading in the middle - the part that I thought applied to me. I found that I couldn't put it down. I was laying in bed cracking up laughing to myself as I read it. This book gives a wealth of information and is a great reference, but most pregnancy books do that. This book, however, does it in a way that is entertaining and easy to read.

This author is as close to knowing how it feels to be pregnant as a man can be. His compassion and humor for the experience is refreshing because most men just don't get it. This one does. I'm sure going through all those pregnancies with his wife gave him great insight into this experience other than his practice alone. I loved the husbands tips and read them to my husband often. I have also told everyone about this book who has ever been pregnant or plans to be pregnant. I even told my mother (who has six children) that she would thoroughly enjoy this book. Thank you for this book-It has given me laughter during some miserable pregnant moments.
Nicol Rabalais - 34 weeks and waiting

As a woman certified nurse practioner in a woman obstetrician's office, I've seen the gamut of pregnant patients, from the frightened adolescent to the experienced woman who's had many babies, and "The Anxious Parent's Guide to Pregnancy," by Dr. DiLeo, is the only book I recommend. In fact, I make it required reading in my practice. It's amazing how well-informed my patients become during this very trying time in their lives. This book has made such a difference in how well their pregnancies have gone, even when they've experienced complications. High-risk and routine pregnancy patients alike have been able to partner with me in an intelligent, thoughtful search for the birthing experience that's just right for each one of them.

Dr. DiLeo chats with the reader--such an easy read! No wonder he gets such important and complicated information to his readers in such a relaxing and cheerful way. And this author never forgets why we get pregnant in the first place. Without spouting morality, he remembers with each subject that you are not only a woman getting pregnant, but a wife, lover, expectant mother, and expectant parent--all rolled together into a thing of beauty that is more than all of these things. Being a woman practioner in a woman doctor's practice, I am especially wary of any men who claim to be experts in how women feel, but any doubts here are laid to rest immediately. Dr. DiLeo need not be a "woman author"--all he needs to be is a "women's author," because there is no gender liability here. I only hope that he writes other books in women's health.

All of the most popular books have clever titles that are the best part of the book, catching your eye on the bookshelves of bookstores only to disappoint by being like all of the others on the inside. But here is a book in which the content keeps delivering the promise, page after page. I whole-heartedly endorse and recommend this fine book.

This book is perfect! The format makes it easy to read, and the author's sense of humor makes it a joy to read. Buy it for yourself and a copy for anyone you know who is planning to have a baby. You'll have all your questions about pregnancy answered.