Best book on pregnancy and baby?

[claresp]

Hi everyone, I'm finding the amount of (sometimes contradictory) information on the web a bit overwhelming. Can anybody recommend a recent book that covers everything they feel is essential? Eg birth, development, what a baby needs in first few weeks, milestones etc. Thank you.

Hi OP,
I also found all of the information online so overwheming!!! I have a 4 month old and was gifted multiple books during my pregnancy. I’ve only ended up using three:

‘What to expect - the first year’ by Heidi Murkoff

‘Let’s talk about the first year of parenting’ by Ann Brown

‘The positive birth book’ by Milli Hill (amazing for labour information!)

Hope that’s useful

I really enjoyed:

• your no guilt pregnancy plan by Rebecca Schiller (I used this to make my own birth preferences list as it lays out all of your ‘choices’ in one section which was really handy)

• expecting better by Emily Oster (this one is a little controversial and should definitely be taken with a pinch of salt but contains some super interesting studies and statistics which can help with decision making)

My baby week by week is good for the post natal stuff.

This is great everyone, thank you very much.
Will check these out x

The Science of Parenting

I second Expecting Better by Emily Oster- cuts through the fluff and allows you to make your own mind up through logical processes. It is sub-divided into sections, which makes the information really accessible.

I liked What to Expect When You're Expecting. It doesn't try to push any sort of agenda unlike some books. It just takes you up to the first 6 weeks post parturition. I think there's a second book for the first year, although I haven't read that.

The Why It Matters series (Why your baby's sleep matters, Why breastfeeding matters... Whatever topic interests you)

Are you in Scotland? The Ready Steady Baby book you get at booking in is brilliant. It's online too.

www.nhsinform.scot/readysteadybaby

Thank you everyone. I'm not in Scotland but the website looks good. I'll check these out and try and pick from the selection :)