Customer Reviews

Your Pregnancy Month by Month

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The book was boring, slow, and full of a alot of WRONG info.

- The section on episiotomys is not factual. I have the updated version of this book, so there is no reason for it to have such old information. It has been proven that episiotomys are needed in only extreme cases when a baby needs to get out right away. This section in this boosk makes them out to be the norm, and says very little about the importance of natural tears.

Not only does it heal better, faster and more natrually, but your body knows how much to tear in order to get the baby out. Often times a doctor will cut you too much..meaning you have more to heal, or they don't cut long enough..and then you end up tearing ontop of the cut.

-Dr. Gillespie is not very accepting of homebirth's, and he fails to mention that the the 20% of normal pregnancis that have 'births gone bad' are caused by hospital interventions. He also seems to think that the reason home births are popular in other countries is because women can't afford to go to a hospital. Nice try doc. Could it be that other countires are just smarter? Yep!

He also forgets to mention that the home birth popular countries have a much higher 'live brth' rate compared to the united States.

I am not against hospitla births. I have had one myself..as well as a homebirth. It seems to me though that the doc is only putting his personal opinion rather than fact and helpful info.

He only mentions midwives in passing which is very unfair to women who will read only this pregnancy book. He does very little to empower women and makes pregnancy into a big medical mishap, that only doctors can be a part of.

He does not get into delivery except to talk a lot of nonsence. FOr instance. His only mentino of position during delivery is a short blurb about where squatting, and hands and knees adapted from.

Not a book for a smart women who actually wants to learn factual information and how to have a wonderful pregnancy and birth. My fear is that some young girl will pic up this book, believe what it says and then make all the wrong choices (although the author believes any and all choices during pregnancy and birth are the dr.'s and not the mothers). I hope most women are smarter than that though

Unless, of course, you are married, straight, "responsible," financially-okay, hospital-birth-advocating and you don't mind being patronised by a doctor who will NEVER be able to give birth himself, I'd suggest that you avoid this book like the plague. I don't really have issues with Dr. C telling readers about every slight problem that could happen, nor with the layout or anything else- but the patronising manner in which he speaks to women who are pregnant.

The book only addresses issues which Dr. C deems "proper," and at the same time alienates women who may not have [male or existant] partners, financial security, or anything else people assume you're meant to have when you fall pregnant. He ignores issues which many women may want information about- such as homebirth and alternatives to pain relief, and advocates the "don't ask any questions, just obey doctor" line of dealing with patients which I've become all too used to.

On a lighter side, the pictures are interesting and detailed, however they may send you into freak-out land if your ultrasound doesn't look like the ones in the book.

If you don't mind doctors assuming you're stupid, or you are, this is all you'll need to read- how to ignore what your body may be telling you, how to give up your autonomy, and place your life, your baby's and your dignity right into the hands of a doctor.

Do yourself a favour- get Sheila Kitzinger, the "What to Expect..." series, or Ariel Gore's "HipMama: A survival guide."

This book, while "thorough" is so fear inducing that any pregnant woman with a low-risk pregnancy shoud steer clear at all costs. The author, month-by-month, lists typical discomforts alongside extremely rare complications thus alarming the pregnant woman that this could likely be her fate. He does not inform her that the likelihood of having one of these problems is very rare. I would have rather have seen a listing somewhere else in the book of such possibilities and the symptoms to watch for. Rather than have this book at all, I recommend Gentle Birth Choices, Birthing From Within or anything by Sheila Kitzinger. All were written by women with the approach that birth is a normal, natural physiologic state for the pregnant woman. While they discuss complications, they are not assumed to be lurking at every corner so the woman must be hyper vigilant for such problems.

With so many books regarding childbirth overflowing with extremely liberal ideas and information, I found Dr. Gillespie's conservative approach a nice balance to many other popular childbirth books.

I did not find his discussion of the many ailments possible during pregnancy frightening. Instead, I was happy to find medical issues discussed in his book that I had not found in any other!

I especially enjoyed the journal sections of the book, and I recommend this book to anyone seeking information from an informed doctor with many years of expereince.

I have bought several pregnancy books, and this one is the most useless. The writing is choppy and a little awkward, and the tone is condescending toward women. This book is definitely not recommended.

Having read a number of pregnancy books, this is one of my two favourites (the other being What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Eisenberg Hathaway). I did not read the book all in one go, but halfway through one month I would read the chapter as to what to expect the next month, and I did this for both my pregnancies. There was a lot of information about what could go wrong, but pregnancy, though natural, is fraught with dangers and I thought that it was good to include some of those situations. I did not think these parts detracted from the book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Any woman who finds this book frightening or condescending to women doesn't want information; she wants to be comforted. This book is extremely thorough and useful for anyone who wants real medical facts and straight talk. I have read a number of fact-based books about pregnancy and found this to be a good no-nonsense guide including some information which can't be found in any of the other common resources.

When a woman embarks upon a pregnancy, it's important to know all of the facts rather than cling to a sugar-coated view of how an "ideal" pregnancy should shape up. Armed with information, a rational, informed woman can intelligently manage her pregnancy and know how to recognize true problems if they arise. If you are such a woman, this book is for you. If not, may I recommend "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" -- it's suitably giggly and comfortingly devoid of medical fact.

Went through what felt like a hundred books, this one had everything, month-by-month just when i needed it. It wasn't frightening like most others. Baby picture for each of the ten lunar month, with cute facts and expert answers to questions you just dont want to ask your doctor or friends. It's the only book I took out for my second pregnancy!

This book is a good reference book for pregnant women. My niece, Anslie Henderson, is the baby that the sonagram pictured on the second page of the "Tenth Lunar Month" shows, so I'm a little biased!