What to Expect When You're Expecting [Paperback]

Heidi Murkoff (Author), Arlene Eisenberg (Author), Sandee Hathaway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Introducing a completely Revised & Updated Third Edition of America's bestselling pregnancy book, What to Expect When You're Expecting. Two years in the making, it's a cover-to-cover, chapter-by-chapter, line-by-line revision and update.

Incorporating the most recent developments in medicine, and responding to the many queries and letters received from readers, the book contains both the most accurate information available, and the most reader-friendly. The Third Edition includes more information on working while pregnant. It offers more in-depth coverage of complementary and alternative birthing. Greater attention is paid to pre-conception, alternative families, second pregnancies, HMOs, the role of the father, and lifestyle. There's a completely new look at the Best-Odds diet, which is better suited to the needs of busier women with less time. An updated cover and all-new black-and-white illustrations give the classic a fresher look.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Eighteen years after it first hit the shelves and having sold more than 10 million copies, What to Expect When You're Expecting is still on nearly every mother-to-be's reading list. This completely revised and updated edition is packed with answers to hundreds of questions and worries expectant parents may have. The information is presented in a month-by-month format starting with planning a pregnancy and choosing a practitioner, and follows through to six weeks after delivery. Each chapter begins with an explanation of what to expect at a particular month's prenatal visit and a brief description of how mom and baby are growing and changing before getting to the heart of the matter: What You May Be Concerned About. Topics are presented as questions ranging from "Should I be taking vitamins?" to "What if I forget everything I learn in childbirth education class?" to "Will I be able to breastfeed?" The answers are generally reassuring and provide enough information to soothe a worried mom between prenatal visits. Despite the reassuring answers, however, the sheer volume of worries discussed may alarm an otherwise calm mom-to-be.

The book also features a complete nutrition plan (though many women may find it difficult to follow), a special chapter just for expectant dads, and extensive information about dealing with minor illnesses, chronic conditions, and pregnancy complications. What to Expect has guided countless women through their pregnancies and makes an informative addition to the mainstream pregnancy and childbirth bookshelf. --Jennifer Lindsay

From Publishers Weekly

This revised third edition of the popular pregnancy guide offers the authoritative yet reassuring advice that parents have come to rely on from all the titles in the What to Expect series. The book is arranged by month, from pregnancy test through labor and delivery. Each section offers answers to frequently asked questions, along with features such as "What You May Be Feeling" and "What You May Be Concerned About." Every imaginable issue is addressed, including the small but nagging subjects that women may not want to discuss with their doctors, such as how their bodies will look at seven months, or why some pregnant women "glow" while others have acne. While readers who already own this book won't have to rush to buy the new edition, the revised volume does offer a number of excellent expanded sections and illustrations, including a more detailed discussion of postpartum depression. There are also new illustrations and more text on breast-feeding, with diagrams showing different feeding positions. The travel section offers specific suggestions for "jettisoning jet lag" in addition to standard advice on traveling while pregnant. This book remains an indispensable guide for pregnant women and their partners.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 3rd edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761121323
• ISBN-13: 978-0761121329
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,083 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Women's Health > Pregnancy & Childbirth

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

221 of 229 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but there are better. July 23, 2006

By Steven R. McEvoy TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

The drawback for this book is it clearly explains almost every possible complication. With the monthly format it is a lot to read at a time. The list of complications and possible symptoms each moth can be very daunting. Yet with all of that the book is also a great resource. It gives you many things to consider that you may never have thought of. It is much more comprehensive than many other pregnancy books. It has some nice charts in the back to help you keep track of weight, size and other notes for the Doctor's or Midwives. It also has a section for coping with pregnancy loss and also preparing for the next child. A good resource for any couple expecting a child. With over 12 Million copies sold this book now, in it's 3rd edition has been trusted by many people. The authors have also written:
What to Expect the First Year
What to Expect the Toddler Years
What to Expect Eating Well When You're Expecting
The What to Expect When You're Expecting Pregnancy Organizer

93 of 96 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best pregnancy guide October 7, 2000

By Kelly TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This was "THE BOOK" everyone told me to get when I got pregnant for the first time. So, of course, I ran out and bought it the moment my pregnancy test was positive! But, honestly, I didn't think it was that helpful.

The second chapter is titled "Now that you are Pregnant" and most of that chapter deals with "what you may be concerned about" which could also be titled "everything that could possibly go horribly wrong with your pregnancy" and it scared me half to death. I think it increased the amount of worrying I was doing exponentially [which couldn't have been a good thing!].

I also thought the diet portion was pretty ridiculous. I agree that we need to eat very healthily, especially during pregnancy. I eat very well and I ate especially well when pregnant. However, no human being I've ever met could [or would] stick to this diet plan. It was so strict as to be useless, in my opinion. I think people do much better with a "eat well 90% of the time and let yourself fudge a little the other 10%" kind of plan. But the diet stuff DID succeed in making me feel really, really guilty for the duration of my pregnancy if I ate anything that was not whole grain, organic, and laced with a heaping spoonful of Wheat Germ.

I also didn't think this was a very good guide to the "labor and delivery" part of the pregnancy, which was a big concern for me. This book was very "medical" in its outlook on labor and delivery and didn't go into very much detail about the process, really. I found "A Good Birth, A Safe Birth" to be much more useful, as well as "The Birth Book" by Sears....

All in all, this would be a good book to have on hand as a reference, just in case there were problems with the pregnancy, but I wouldn't buy it as your primary guide to pregnancy. For my second pregnancy, a friend recommended "The Pregnancy Book" by Sears and I found that MUCH more helpful honestly. Read more ›

578 of 649 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete + Professional + Non-Judgemental = All You Need April 9, 2003

By 718 Session

Format:Paperback

When we decided to get pregnant, we read something like 25 books. One year and one baby later, I kind of feel like an expert in baby books. So let me say that this book is far and away the best pregnancy book and it is no surprise that it has been a bestseller for many years.

This book is a complete, professional, non-judgemental reference. A lot of books try too hard to be funny or cute. WTE is not humorless, but it deals with subject matter in a refreshingly straightforward way. The advice and help given echoes what our doctors have said and answered most of our questions before we even saw our Obstetritian (no, it's not a substitute).

This book covered EVERYTHING. It answered all our questions about diet, medication, flu shots, cat ownership, false labor, vitamin supplements, cramps, ultrasound, breastfeeding or how to judge your OB/GYN. All the answers were in here, along with tons of other stuff we didn't think about until we came across it here.

Most importantly, this book isn't judgemental. There are a ton of controversial issues associated with pregnancy (medication, breast feeding, circumcision). Lots of books out make a lot of assumptions about religion, single parents, "modern times" or they just avoid some issues entirely. This book assumes you can make up your own mind once you're presented with all the information. This book wasn't a replacement for our doctors, but it gave us a lot of really useful information without taking a side.

If the book has a flaw, it is the diet section. Do yourself a favor and skip that section. In all fairness, this is a flaw of a lot of the books we read (some of them reading like 1950s "Keep Young And Beautiful" rants). Our doctor gave us a 10 page handout that gave us all the information we needed....

Like I say, we read a lot of pregnancy books. It's pretty shocking how many we found to be completly WORTHLESS! I don't want to name names, and I've already written a couple of negative reviews, but I'm thinking particularly of the ones full of Erma Bombeck-esque anecdotes about La Maz classes, the "staying chic while you're pregnant" fashion mag type, the old-fashioned preachy church-lady books, or--worst of all--the "nutrition" books that focused almost entirely on weight. Some of these books are written by people with no medical qualifications at all!

A good rule of thumb: if the author has no medical qualifications, the book will be useless from a medical standpoint. Would you allow a fashion magazine editor to make up your mind about having an epidural?

Just about every pregnancy book uses the "What Nobody Will Tell You" tagline. Once you've read this book, there will be very few surprises left. There isn't a topic that isn't touched on and just about everything you need is covered in depth. That's not to say this is the only book you need, but it goes a long, long way.

I'm only harping on this because I was pretty shocked to read some of the negative reviews that complained about WTE containing a lot of information on rare pregnancy situations, saying that such information was "scary" and "unnecessary". WTE gives plenty of information on what is serious as opposed to what is a false alarm. Nobody PLANS on having a troubled pregnancy! Aren't you better off knowing what's involved and how to detect and prevent such things? I suppose for some people ignorance is bliss, but we were MUCH happier being prepared. When we went into labor 5 weeks early, we felt at least somewhat prepared for it because it was extensively covered in the book!

If you're looking for entertainment, pick up something else or rent a movie. But if you're looking for a complete, professional, and useful reference book, What To Expect While You're Expecting is THE BEST and it will be the standard for years to come. Read more ›

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Condescending. Bossy. Causes unnecessary panic and guilt. September 14, 2004

By Winifred

Format:Paperback

Like so many women, I started with this book. I wish I had never seen it.

Minor quibble: I hated the bossy and condescending tone.

Major problem: You will never be able to live up to this book. It made me feel like a complete failure, at only 6 weeks along! I suffer from terrible morning sickness, and sometimes I am lucky if I can keep food down at all. I could not live up to this book's constant hectoring to think about "baby" and follow the recommended diet no matter how I feel. But there is no way I can eat 75 grams of protein a day in my current state; there aren't enough saltines in the world. There certainly aren't any whole-wheat saltines at all, but according to this book, you are abusing "baby" if you let refined flour pass your lips. After several days of throwing up the approved whole-wheat crackers, I decided to listen to my body instead of this stupid book.

This book almost ruined my pleasure at being pregnant. Luckily I found Ann Douglas's Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, and Sheila Katzinger's Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth. They are straightforward, written for adults not imbeciles. And neither suggests you force-feed yourself 75 grams of protein a day at any time during the pregnancy, let alone while suffering from morningsickness. Judging from a quick survey of pregnancy books at the bookstore "What to Expect" is a radical outlier in some of its nutrition recommendations.

I almost threw this book out, but in the end, I put it in our donation bag for the charity shop. I guess it is better than nothing - but I would steer clear.