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A definitive guide for expectant mothers, organized in month-by-month chapters covers topics ranging from the emotional effects of pregnancy and bodily changes to fetal development and what to expect during delivery. Simultaneous. 200,000 first printing."

User Reviews about The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month - Everything You Need to Know From America's Baby Experts

I love this book. I have used it now in four pregnancies, and the information is wonderful. The index is complete with lots of different places to look up common pregnancy issues - even if they're not in your particular stage of pregnancy. Easy to read, easy to follow, not dumbed down and not written to the medical community.

The thing that frustrates the heck out of me, though, is the dating in this book. I actually came over here to see if there's a new edition, hoping that there was and that they had changed it. While your doctor or midwife will date your pregnancy from the date of your last menstrual cycle, this book dates your pregnancy from the date of conception. So, if according to your doctor, your pregnancy "ticker" and the rest of the free world you are 12 weeks pregnant, in this book you are only 10 weeks pregnant (because you weren't pregnant the first two weeks of the doctor's date - that was pre-ovulation). It throws off trimester dating, "full term" dating (they say 34 weeks - which is right according to their calendar, but it's 36 weeks for the rest of the world). Honestly, I'm tired, I'm nauseous... I don't feel like doing math, too.

So, if you can get past the pregnancy dating thing, I can't recommend a better book. It beats "What to Expect" hands down. -- Wonderful book with one major (and confusing) exception

I bought this book to prepare myself emotionally to what we are going to go through when I'm pregnant. I'm not there yet, but this book already taught me so many things about my body! It is written very well and I really like the parts where they are "scolding" me for worrying about looking "fat". They have answers for everything, and they help the mother-to-be to understand and enjoy the pregnancy and this whole journey. I really really recommend this book for anyone, and especially to someone who didn't know anything about pregnancy before.

Needless to say, it is not a replacement for your doctor! But it gives you a pretty clear picture of what you are going to experience, physically and emotionally. -- Wonderful book

My husband & I are both reading this book as we prepare for the birth of our first child. It provides all the basic, practical information (physical changes in your body, how to cope with nausea, medical pain-relief options, etc.), as well as a thorough discussion of the alternatives to traditional hospital/obstetrician pregnancy & labor (e.g., non-medical pain relief, creating a birth plan, how to set up your delivery room, preventing episiotomy, etc.). I don't find the tone preachy at all -- it's more like having a leisurely doctor's appointment where the doctor (or midwife) answers all of your questions and you don't feel at all rushed, and you leave feeling excited and prepared, rather than scared and confused. :) I also recommend the Attachment Parenting Book by the Sears family -- it presents a thoughtful approach to parenting that most American parents don't even consider because the opposite (putting the baby in her own room in a crib from day one, sticking her into a stroller for transportation, etc.) is so prevalent here. Enjoy! -- Must-have book for expecting parents!

Very informative and reasonable month to month guide. Like it much more than "What to Expect When Expecting" -- very helpful

Overall this book does the trick. I am 15 weeks pregnant with my first child, and so far I find this book pretty useful. I like the way they put all the unlikely risks/ diseases in an appendix at the back, so as not to scare the vast majority of mothers who will have a healthy pregnancy and baby. On the other hand, they devote so many pages to morning sickness, it makes one believe every woman will have this. Lucky me, I don't, and I find the way they go on and on about it annoying. Even more annoying is the way they date pregnancy by gestational weeks, not the way every midwife or doctor dates it (from the first day of the last period)....this means that when you are "20 weeks" by all conventional standards, according to this book you are only 18 weeks. I find this really discouraging, especially in the first half of pregnancy when it still isn't showing and any progress is appreciated.

Also, people into Attachment Parenting might be drawn to this book, as I was. I reckon some of those people are also the types to want to give birth in a birth center or at home. Well, just know that, although AP is not exactly mainstream, the Searses are VERY mainstream in their view of birth. They basically believe the hospital is the best place to give birth, and are against home birth. They continue to perpetuate the myth that home birth is not safe. So, if you are planning or thinking about a home birth, please do not look to this book for any encouragement.

Besides my few complaints, I find this book overall to be very useful and would recommend it. -- overall satisfactory