The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month, Everything You Need to Know From America's Baby Experts (Paperback)

by Martha Sears (Author), William (Author), Linda Hughey Holt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Pregnancy Book is an excellent all-in-one guide to pregnancy from William and Martha Sears, creators of the concept of "attachment parenting." Each of the book's chapters represents a month, and deals with physical and emotional changes, describes the growth of the fetus, and discusses common concerns. The authors also focus on nutrition, exercise, information and support for home births and birthing centers, traveling while pregnant, how to avoid episiotomy, and so on. The approach is gentle, thorough, and includes more information than some month-by-month guides, which makes The Pregnancy Book an excellent choice for pregnant couples.

From Library Journal
The Searses, popular childcare experts and authors (e.g., Parenting the Fussy Baby and High-Need Child, LJ 8/96), have teamed up with obstetrician Holt to give us this work. Using a month-by-month format with nice illustrations that show normal fetal development, they discuss a wide range of pregnancy options without judgmental bias. Scattered throughout are helpful hints and stories from other pregnant mothers that give the book a comfortable feel. Unfortunately, adequate information on possible problems is missing from the text itself, though the preface does note that rare conditions are covered in an appendix (not available for review). A nice supplement to Arlene Eisenberg and Heidi Merkoff's What To Expect When You're Expecting (Workman, 1995. rev. ed.) and The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year (LJ 1/95). Given the popularity of the authors, expect requests.?KellyJo Houtz Griffin, Auburn, Wash.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316779148
• ISBN-13: 978-0316779142
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,376 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MUCH Better Than "What to Expect" & Other "Standards", June 3, 2001

By	Kelly "kelly-lcce" (Kennesaw, GA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This pregnancy book is *much* better than the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book that is so often recommended to every pregnant woman out there. It is also much better than the other 'standard' pregnancy books you'll find.

This book is a complete and joyful guide to what happens during pregnancy - mentally, emotionally, and physically - to mom and baby. It has a great index; so if a specific symptom doesn't crop up in the exact month they cover it, you can easily look it up in the back and read about it. I found this guide very informative and supportive of everything I'm going through with my second pregnancy. [I wish I'd had this book for my first pregnancy, instead of that wretched "what to expect" book].

My one criticism of this book: the Sears' gloss over the pain that most women experience during labor. I didn't find the segment on labor very helpful or realistic. As a Childbirth Educator myself, I don't feel that anyone is doing pregnant women a favor by convicing them that labor doesn't hurt - that it is just 'pressure' or 'discomfort'. The reality is that for most women, labor IS painful - often extremely so. Women who seek an unmedicated birth need to prepare themselves to cope with and overcome this pain. And regardless of whether a woman expects to use medication or not, nobody is doing her any favors by misleading her about labor pain - she's not going to thank them when it hits her full on.

For preparing for labor and delivery, I *highly* recommend "Birthing From Within" by Pam England. It is much more realistic in preparing you for the "Real Thing" - and it is geared to help every woman work through her own issues and concerns about birthing. It is by far the most excellent book out there on labor and delivery.

Other than that small complaint - I think this is a *wonderful* guide to pregnancy - very supportive and comforting while being very honest.

112 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great alternative to What To Expect, April 11, 2000

By	Book Lover (Chicago) - See all my reviews

If you're looking for a book that will treat you like an intelligent woman who deserves to be armed with the facts on important pregnancy-related issues, this is the book for you. Like The Unofficial Guide to Having A Baby (another book that I heartily recommend), it believes that pregnant women and their partners are capable of making their own decisions about breastfeeding and working, nutrition during pregnancy, and other issues that the authors of What To Expect tend to get very preachy about. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the month-by-month structure. Not all of the problems that the authors describe handily crop up during the month that they've arbitrarily slotted the topic into. Also, the coverage of certain topics is very sketchy: you won't find much helpful advice on coping with a urinary tract infection, for example. (The Unofficial Guide to Having A Baby, on the other hand, offers you a number of potential remedies: everything from drinking lots of cranberry juice to urinating right after intercourse to prevent your UTI from recurring.) Still, these are minor quibbles about an otherwise excellent book.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful, Affirming Book!, December 15, 2000

By	scducharme (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is the ONLY one I needed, although I had others including the terrible "What to Expect" book. This book is a treat to read. Dr. Sears takes a positive approach so there's none of that alarmist tone that tends to find its way into so many books and conversations around the pregnant woman.

By the time it was "D-Day" for me, I truly believed that my delivery would go well and that I was ready for it. As a first time mom, I needed the affirmations found throughout this book that my body would do what it was supposed to do, and that I would be strong enough to go with whatever the day brought. The emphasis is on non-intervention and "natural" childbirth, but all of the possible interventions are discussed as well. Dr. Sears also writes about how interventions happen to the unsuspecting mom, and how to avoid them. I found it very empowering to have some information to bring to my doctor when discussing issues such as epidurals and episiotomy. I felt my positions regarding these personal choices were more respected because I had the information to back up my feelings.

The monthly format of the book is great. It's one of the few books I've found which treats the ninth month as the 8 week "month" it really can be.

I highly recommend this book to others and think it would make a great gift, too, since it's not preachy.