Customer Reviews

Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a 32-year-old woman planning to get pregnant. When I looked at other pregnancy books, I found them too cutesy for my taste. I'd rather have a book that provides solid and comprehensive information in a straight-forward and unsentimental manner. This book was the closest I could find in matching that criteria, and of course, the Mayo is well-respected as a healthcare institution. Perhaps because this book is not so cutesy is why it can appeal to fathers.

I found the book to be a bargain since it also offers information on the baby's first year. Very well-priced for a large hard-cover reference book.

As a person of color, I appreciated that the photos and drawings of parents and babies were diverse in ethnic/racial representation (seemed to be proportionate to the population).

I am a mother of a two-year old. While I was pregnant with her I had countless questions and so I searched for the ultimate preganancy book; this is it. This book continued to help me after delivery and through her first year. I still use it now occasionally! I am never parting with this book! Who knows? I may just need it a second time!

Below are all the chapters which are catagorized into four parts: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Living With and Understanding Your Baby, and From Partners to Parents: A Family Is Born. I found 95% of the book very helpful. One asterisk (*) means I found it somewhat helpful, two (**) means I found the chapter very helpful and three (***) means I found the chapter extremely helpful. This book is simply a must-own for pregnant women especially but even if you have already given birth, Parts Two through Four will be invaluable to you. Make sure you have a highlighter while reading for future reference. This book is extremely well organized and enjoyable to read, plus the Glossary and Index are fantastic!

PART ONE--PREGNANCY: 1) *You're Planning to Start a Family 2) ***Your Body During Pregnancy 3) ***How Your Baby Develops: The Inside Story 4) * Selecting an Obstetrical Caregiver 5) *Prenatal Care: Your First Visit 6) ***Prenatal Tests: Why They Are Used and How They Are Done 7) ***Nutrition During Pregnancy 8) ***Lifestyle During Pregancy 9) **Pregnancy and Work 10) ***The First Trimester: First 12 Weeks 11) ***The Second Trimester: 13 to 27 Weeks 12) ***The Third Trimester: 28-40 Weeks and Beyond 13) Expecting Twins, Triplets or More 14) ***Pregnancy and Ongoing Medical Conditions 15) Stopping or Delaying Preterm Birth. ***ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.

PART TWO--CHILDBIRTH: 16) ***Preparing for Childbirth 17) ***Labor 18) ***Birth 19) * Complications of Childbirth 20) Cesarean Birth 21) *Your Baby's First Hours 22) If Your Baby Arrives Early 23) When a Baby Arrives With Problems 24) Adoption: One Way to Build a Family 25) ***Your Physical and Emotional Health: The First Year After Childbirth

PART THREE--LIVING WITH AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR BABY: 26) ***Your Newborn Baby 27) ***The Basics of Baby Care 28) ***Feeding Your Baby: Getting Started 29) ***Your Baby's First Two Weeks 30) ***Baby From Two Weeks to Two Months 31) ***Baby from Two Months to Four Months 32) ***Baby From Four to Six Months 33) ***Baby From Six to Nine Months 34) ***Baby From Nine to Twelve Months 35) Returning to Work 36) ***Common Illnesses, Medical Problems and Emergencies.

PART FOUR--FROM PARTNERS TO PARENTS: A BABY IS BORN: 37) ***Motherhood 38) **Becoming a Father 39) ***Couples and New Parenthood 40) Grandparenting 41) Sisters and Brothers (not ready for those last two there! Ha!) EPILOGUE, ***GLOSSARY, APPENDIX, and ***INDEX.

So reading all this you can understand my title! Buy this book now! Especially if you are in early pregancy!

This is my favorite of all the popular pregnancy books because it is scientifically based. It is written by a panel of doctors, and that means a lot.
When you start cramping, aching or bleeding, you won't care about the sense of humor of some woman obsessed with her manicure and her hair color. You'll want the best medical information.
Highlights of this book:
- A table of dates shows you when you're due and when you'll reach the first, second and third-trimester milestones.
- Illustrations and photos show you what baby looks like at various points.
- A chapter on breastfeeding offers great tips and advice. Did you know, for example, that your breasts will be ready to make milk by the fifth or sixth month?
- Guidelines for when to call the doctor and when not to worry.
- Useful tips on coping with morning sickness, exercising, nutrition, etc.
My only advice to the publishers: Please make this in a soft-cover edition with lighter-weight paper. In hard cover, it easily weighs 5 pounds, and cannot realistically be read while you lie back and put your feet up. It won't even rest on your belly while you sit up. You'll need to sit at a desk to go through it, which is inconvenient.
A minor complaint.

State Farm Insurance will send you one for FREE!

I agree with everyone else--this book contains all you need to know about pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care/concerns. I wish I had read through the entire book before giving birth 1 week ago. Then I wouldn't have so much catching up to do. Instead I focused too much on the various pregnancy and childbirth books, when my time would have been better spent reading this guide. It is a great overview, with enough details for all your many questions. So don't make the same mistake I did--get a copy and start reading it today. It will make the time in the hospital right after birth not so bewildering.

I was very excited to receive this book, and started reading it immediately. It is a large hard-cover edition, certainly making it feel as though it has all the information you'll ever need. I'm sure this book has tons of good information, but when I got to the nutrition section, I knew that the food pyramid they showed was out of date. I hadn't checked the copyright when I ordered the book and was disappointed to see that it was published in 1994! 12 years old is pretty old when it comes to any medical/health information, and so I'm returning it for the more updated "Mayo Clinic Guide to a healthy Pregnancy". I would have liked the new version to also cover the first year of life like this book, but I need up-to-date information, or I won't trust it.

In preparation for the arrival of our twin boys we purchased over 20 books covering a wide range of pregnancy, infant care, and infant development topics. Sadly many are subjective, largely anecdotal, or have axes to grind.

This book on the other hand is comprehensive and objective. Our boys are 4 months old now -- over the last year this book has provided easy to find and uncolored information covering our many questions. If we were to do it again and could only have one book, this would be it.

I have had two children in the last three years, both pregnancies were totally different. This is the only book out of the four I have that didn't talk "around" the issues - the authors take a position on each issue and clarify what other books made more confusing. It helped me through many anxious nights!

We just had our first baby and this book was given to us as a gift. My husband and I find it to be very informative for first time parents. We referred to it throughout my pregnancy and much now during our daughter's first year.

Many of my concerns were put at ease and questions answered during pregnancy from this book and I feel it really prepared me for what to expect with labor and delivery.

It is a fabulous gift for expectant parents!

This is my fifth pregnancy, I have had two children and two miscarriages. This time I found this book and have gotten it from the library so many times that I have finally purchased it! It has answered all of the concerns that I have had and covers every topic of question that I have thought of. It has many illustrations and my children 7 &10, have even been through it on occasion. I also have "What to expect when expecting" and "The pregnancy Book" both also good but not near as informative as this book! It is well worth the money.