Preggo Book Review List

Here I thought I would share my quick review about the pregnancy-related books I've been reading.
Enjoy!  (Um, if you like reading about reading - ha!)

A classic, right?  I've been wanting to read this...for ever.  So I was sooo excited when it was finally relevant for me.   But the book left me feeling a little lackluster.  The nutritional section pretty much did me in - I find it way too mainstream and outdated for me.  I would rate this book as below average.


Well.... while nice to have Canadian-specific info.... I didn't really like this book.  I know I sound shallow - but the format and lack of pictures did me in.  It is very similar to the What to Expect book.  We actually own this book for some reason (I didn't know we had it, DH brought it out - something to do with his work), so I probably will refer to it now and then when all those flashy books are back at the library.

(The amazon link is the old edition).  Well, this book is pretty much the same book as above (literally some passages are exactly the same - I think the same author was involved), but with pictures.  I loved it!  My fav is the picture of a naked lady as she goes through different stages of pregnancy - VERY interesting.  And despite being written by "the Canadian Medical Association", they say the word "cuddles" like every page.  (As in, it is important to give your baby lots of cuddles if....). I likes.

LOVED it.  5 stars!  They walk you through evidenced based results of studies.  It made me feel great about having a midwife - did you know in normal pregnancies, outcomes for Mom and baby are better with a midwife than an OB?  Would make me nervous to have an OB.  Unless my pg becomes abnormal.  This book is Canadian, which makes it very relevant to me.  I would think it would be useful for Americans too, just skip over the section on how midwives are now covered in all provinces.  I even felt the appendix on Northern Babies was quite interesting, even if not relevant for me.  The whole thing is written in a non-judgmental way, which I like.  I think if you only read one book, this is a good choice.

Well, it should be titled, "Preventing your next Miscarriage".  As I have not (yet) had one, this just wasn't the right book for me.  If I do have a miscarriage, I will pick it back up.  I did sort of skim it, and the book seems wildly disorganized.  One interesting thing I did read is that while he acknowledges that bed rest is not proven to prevent miscarriage, he is a fan of it in the first trimester.  He says your body is tired for a reason - rest.  Being super tired a lot, I would prefer that to struggling through work.  :)

Totally silly.  I'm actually not at all interested in makeup used by famous persons during their pregnancy, so this probably wasn't the book for me.  I just picked it up to have something 'lighter' to read about pregnancy.  Well, but this book wasn't just silly, it is just plain dangerous - it recommends Accutane if you're having trouble with acne during pg.  Um, no.  Accutane cause major birth defects.  Always.  I didn't finish this book.

I thought I would love this book.  In the end, I did not.  I couldn't stand the nutritional advice.  I do not believe pregnant women should be eating low-fat food.  Like skim milk?  Nah.  We can debate all we like, but it doesn't jive for me.  Again, I didn't finish it, returned it to the library early.  It did mention screening for progesterone drops in late pregnancy, and supplementing to avoid 30% of pre-term labour.  And Napro gals have an experience with this?

Still reading.

LOVED IT!  5 STARS!  If you are living in America, this is the #1 must-read preggo book.  If living in Canada, this would be #2 and  Pregnancy and Birth would be #1.  Really, it can change your whole idea about the birth experience.  I found it helped me most by calming some fears.  Ina May is the fanciest American midwife around, for reals.  She was at the forefront of the resurgence of midwifery (is?  not done yet?).  Really, really, really - read it.

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