Which pregnancy book would you recommend?

[VegasVicky]

Hello
Apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place but i'm new :)
I not pregnant but we're hoping the TTC soon. Can anyone recommend a good, comprehensive guide to pregnancy book? Ideally i'd like a book that takes you from TTC all the way through the the first few months as a mummy.
Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance

The Miriam Stoppard 'Conception, Pregnancy and Birth' was quite useful, as long as you're prepared to ignore the condescending bits

None of them

Your baby can't read them....

I got given the "What to Expect" book but I don't think it covers the "how to do it" bit before the pregnancy bit.

I like it because it's quite matter of fact and doesn't waffle. No pretty pictures though.

Lesley Regan's book is very good although I've forgoten the name of it now she is a gynae and obstetrician and has also given birth to twins herself. I really like her warm tone and professional, clear well thought out advice and it's the book I turn to most with each pregnancy. Lots of good pictures and tonnes of useful information.

agree with picklesarnie -i thought the "what to expect" book was one of the better ones, although there are loads to choose from,
as mentioned, it is good at giving straight facts without the opinions that come with some of the others,
no pictures but easy to read, good to dip into,
i also have the "what to expect" for the first year and this is really good...

I've found What to Expect When You're Expecting invaluable - more a reference book than a guide though. I've flicked through it every time I've experienced something new and it's given me peace of mind.

A lot of people will say pregnancy books are a load of crap - but I really didn't know what to expect and don't have many friends with children, so I've found books really helpful personally (a friend bought me the Mumsnet guide to pregnancy when she heard my news - and I'm not just saying it because I feel I ought to on here - and it was a gentle and fun intro to this unknown world!!)

I also have the Miriam Stoppard book, but from my mum and the 1970-something edition - hilarious and hugely patronising, but she knows her stuff!

I hated WTE, on the ground that I have all my faculties and am not ten years old. Neither am I an American.

Honestly, it's impossible challenging to find a book that isn't soooo patronising you will end up flinging the book across the room or so basic you won't scream. I got a midwifery textbook. So did another poster here.

"Misconceptions" by Naomi Wolf is brilliant though, if not exactly a reference book.

Try 'Your Pregnancy Bible' by Dr Anne Deans, ISBN 9781904760641. I found it invaluable to have this by my bed all throughout the nine months, and I also purchased it for a close friend of mine who also found likewise. You can get it for around £13-14 (at places like Amazon) although the RRP is £22.99.

I like Miriam Stoppard's Conception, Pregnancy and Birth though it's not completely up-to-date in all areas. Lesley Regan's book is quite similar I think so I didn't buy both, but hers might be a bit better, I don't know. At least with both of those you know you'll be reading info from a respected medical expert so it shouldn't contradict what info you get from the doctors.

Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant is another favourite of mine.

I join the recommendations for the Lesley Regan Pregnancy book (it is called "Your Pregnancy Week by Week). I found it helpful and informative and with a good level of scientific detail and clarity. Really excellent. But, it's not the book for TTC IMO. I got it towards the end of my first trimester of pregnancy which was a good moment to get into it.

For TTC, I recommend "Taking Charge of your Fertility" which I thought was excellent, even though I never actually went down the road of charting temps. I thought it was really informative and well worth investing in.

I would seconf 'your pregnancy bible'. I'm pretty sure it has conception in it, then it has week by week stuff for you and the baby. It also has a lot of reference information, including baby care stuff for after the birth, which i found useful as a first time mum. I'm using this time round too as a refresher!

I'd "third" Your Pregnancy Bible - lots of information and set out in an easy to digest way. There's also a section about baby's development week by week - we grab the book every saturday morning before we get up and have a read at what's developed over the last week and what's coming up in the week ahead - was great - particularly for DP who found it difficult in early days to actually believe that we were having a baby!

I also got the rough guide to pregnancy and birth - its a bit more of a chatty one and has diary entries etc. It's a bit OTT but was a nice, informal, contract to the more formal reference book. More like a how a friend would discuss pregnancy than a midwife. My DP had to stop reading that one - he found it a bit frank and open about the various changes which happen to our bodies when we're pregnant - Wimp - how is he going to cope with the birth!

oophs - not sure that your pregnancy bible has too much on TTC - only a couple of pages.

Go and have a browse in a bookshop - they buy online - almost always cheaper.

Someone gave me the Miriam Stoppard book mentioned above, which has all the info but I found it a tad po-faced and made me feel like I wasn't taking the whole thing seriously enough.

Then at the weekend another friend gave me the Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth by Kaz Cooke which is GREAT, and I wish I'd had it from the beginning - really down to earth but has all the info, plus signposting to specialist advice and support where needed. It also has a section on ttc. It also has a sense of humour, which I found a huge relief.

Happy reading!

I also really enjoyed Kaz Cooke's "Rough Guide....."

Yes I have Kaz Cooke's 'Rough Guide' and am finding it light hearted but informative. I would definitely recommend it.

I also have 'What to Expect' but intend to only really use it as a manual (after getting advice from a fellow pregnant lady in Waterstones)

Your pregnancy bible is the best I've come across.

There are a few pages of the technicalities of TTC but to be honest I wouldn't worry about that bit too much as I'm guessing its the bit you've had the most practice at previously???!

Seriously, all you need to do is make sure you and DP have lots of 'alone time' and, assuming you are healthy, nature tends to take its course.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the suggestions :) Think i'll head down to Waterstones and have a browse through the one's you've suggested.
Thanks again

If you're not having sex every 2-3 days, you do ideally need to learn enough about your cycle to make the most of your fertile window each month. All the experts say that many people who struggle to conceive are just not having enough sex at the right time of the month. So unless you're already up on when you ovulate and when it's best to have sex to conceive, I would get a book with fertility/TTC info.

'Your body your baby your birth' by Jenny Smith
i got out all the pregnancy books in the library and bought this one as it was fantastic.She is a midwife and writes about birth in a very natural way, gives you lots of preparation for your labour but also explains very clearly what happens with the medical side of things should you need an induction, c section etc but not in a dramatic style and there are some very positive birth stories in there even in labours that dont go to plan.

If you have a WH Smith near you, they are doing 'Buy 1 get 1 half price' on all the health/baby books :)

tesco ere also doing buy one get one free on pregnancy books though their range isn't great.

I enjoyed the girlfriends guide to pregnancy.

I also have what to expect when expecting, but find that one very dense, worse case scenario.

Whereas girlfriends was very down to earth and relatable.