Customer Reviews

Pregnancy and Childbirth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I read Tracy Hotchner's previous edition of "Pregnancy & Childbirth" and found that she covers every, and I mean every, topic that pertains to pregnancy, labor and delivery. For each and every topic presented, she first explains the topic and then presents its' pros and cons. Ms. Hotchner occasionally allows a little bit of a personal bias be evident in her presentation of a subject. I, however, always found that I appreciated her biases and tended to concur with her cautions, etc. I agree that "Pregnancy & Childbirth" is the "bible" of pregnancy books. It is so informative and I found tidbits of information in Ms. Hotchner's book that I have not found in many, many of the other popular and technical books I have read on the subject. Stacy McCullough, RN, BSN, PHN, ACCE, FACCE (labor & delivery RN, and certified Lamaze educator)

Overall, I felt that this book was ok. I really liked the Homebirth and Choices in Childbirth sections. However, some of the book's information contradicts standard advice, such as what makes breasts sag, and how to prepare breasts for breastfeeding, and the author makes no effort to cite this advice. Also, if you have a low-carb lifestyle, or make any effort at all to watch your carb intake, you'll have to ignore all the advice on nutrition. Drinking regular soda, full of high fructose corn syrup, is actually advised as being rich in carbohydrates! I suppose it is, but not the kind that you want to be consuming.

Also, the advice on medication during pregnancy was not useful. I'm sure that every pregnant woman would prefer not to take any medications, but unfortunately, many otherwise healthy women do have issues that require treatment. For instance, I would be in very bad health without any allergy medicine, and although the book leads you to believe that all antihistimines are extremely dangerous, that is simply not true. My midwife approved a mild nose spray for my allergies that is condsidered safe.

I would use this book as a supplement to other information, but I think it is not accurate enough to be used as your ONLY book for pregnancy. And, please, check out any information that sounds strange.

I loved this book. It was full of lots of detailed information, much more detailed than other books of similar subject. It has an excellent section that tracks the development of the fetus so the mother-to-be can follow along, and in the early weeks of pregnancy, it even breaks it down day by day in some cases! I had at least a dozen books that I read cover to cover, but this is the one I kept going back to, because it was the one that consistently had the information I needed. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is really "into" their pregnancy experience!

After having several miscarriages I am constantly looking up information. The reviews that were bad were most likely from people whose pregnancy had no problems. I work in one of the highest rated educational hospitals, and see the top High Risk OB/Gyn, any question I have I can find in this book.

My friends have all recommended the books that are popular, all of which I have - these are all for perfect pregnancy people whose questions consist of 'why am I having slight cramping'; and 'why do I have a blue line going from my belly button'. That can be answered from the more popular books - none of which have helped me like Pregnancy and Childbirth has helped.

The book Pregnancy & Childbirth is a factual book that explains what you are going through, how to ask the right questions and gets you a bit more informed so that if there is a problem you have the ability to understand why it is happening and what the doctor is telling you. Often most doctors speak in medical terms that need to be explained, this book helps.

I think that if you are an older mother and even if you aren't it covers, Rh Neg-blood type; Leukocyte transfusions; Antibodies in you blood that can kill your embryo/fetus and what can be done to change that in your system. It coveres a large number of vitamins and what the effect of taking it can be.

Pick up the book and flip through it, go in the index and come up with questions that you have - see if your questions can be answered just by doing that. Then you will know if this is the book for you.

But, this IS a good book - and a factual one, and one with more intellectual reading. Best of luck on your pregnancies.

and I read them all!! Seriously, I hated this book. The one thing that most offended me about this book is the part where she suggests that women should be prepared for the fact that their husbands might cheat on them while they're pregnant. Given that I had toxemia and was swelled up like the Stay-Puft marshmallow woman, that was the last thing I wanted to hear! I don't think it's especially true, and is certainly unsupportive. The book also induced some moments of paranoia in me, particularly the section on which drugs are safe/unsafe in pregnancy. She lists sulfa drugs as unsafe, and I was prescribed one of them for a UTI in the beginning of my third trimester. You can imagine the panicked call to my OB after I read that. Pass this book by. Almost any book out there is better. "What to Expect" is just as comprehensive, if not more so (though it too has some paranoia-inducing moments). "The Pregnancy Book" by Wm. Sears is also good. Anything but this book!

I found this book to be incomplete, contridictory and very poorly written. The only slightly redeeming quality is the entire chapter on homebirth which covers a lot of precautionary information one might otherwise disregard. The sections on nutrition and choices in childbirth are poorly organized much like a high school essay. The rest of the book is also disorganized, it's difficult to find information, and the information that is there is scant. Don't even think of wasting time with the index, because important topics such as gestational diabetes and preterm labor (among many others) are just not there (although it may be touched on in the book). The amount of contridictory information is frightening, especially if this is the only book you read; for example, the author flatly states that if anyone tells you that any labor pain relief exists that doesn't effect your baby, they are either misinformed OR LYING. Two pages later, she writes that epidural anesthesia is the only pain relief that will not effect the baby (is she misinformed or lying?). The book is unfortunately full of these... another time she states do not drink alcohol beverages at any time for any reason, then she says that red wine with help false labor pains.

This is THE book I buy for all my newly pregnant friends and family. It is FULL of information that is helpful in understanding what is going on with your body during pregancy. She gets down and dirty about things you would never want to ask anyone such as more comfortable sex positions, feelings, and those fluids you're not sure about. It is a wonderful guide to all sorts of questions including how to write a birth plan so that it truly reflects your needs. It is a very readable and well organized book. Absolutely my favorite pregnancy and childbirth book because of its sound and practical advice from pre-conception to birth.

I got this book because it seemed to offer a lot of information, which it does. However, I quickly found myself disappointed and incredulous at the many, many contradictions presented in its pages. For example, on one page the author writes that flounder and sole are the only two freshwater fish found to be contaminant-free. Later in the book, she admonishes the reader to stay away from freshwater fish- "like flounder and sole". I realized, after encountering several of these contradictions that I had little faith in the author's words, and decided to put down the book before picking up any more misinformation.

Hotchner may as well tell women to remain under house arrest. We can't pump our own gas? We should be wary of even DECAF tea? C'mon! After reading this book, I felt paralyzed--and thorougly depressed.

In addition, much of the information was contradictory or even false, especially concerning foods to eat. One minute she says salmon's O.K.; the next, it's not. And her mantra "pregnant women should drink only WHOLE milk" is suspicious. I've read in other books that pregnant women should stick with skim or low-fat b/c of blood-pressure risks, not to mention all the fat!

I am throwing my copy out . . .

Hi I read this book during my first two pregnancies and HATED it so much I finally threw it away! First off Hotchner has never had a baby!!! And yet she has so many preconceived ideas about pain relief during childbirth, breastfeeding etc. She is insulting and condescending throughout. I marked many particularly obnoxious passages and read them aloud to my husband and he was as shocked as I was. She says things like "some women are too mentally weak to handle the pain of childbirth without medication" or "some women are uncomfortable breastfeeding due to mental illness or unresolved issues from childhood." Ok these may be slight exaggerations but they capture her tone accurately. Plus as another reviewer mentioned, Hotchner discusses how your husband might cheat on you when you are pregnant--shocking and ridiculous to be included in a pregnancy book! She also goes into WAY too much gleeful detail about what can go wrong in a pregnancy, in a VERY dire tone. Please do not buy or read or support in any way this horrible book!!