Good Pregnancy Books

[Seabright]

Can anyone recommend a good book on pregnancy/childbirth? And any that I should avoid wasting my money on. I am off to the bookshop tomorrow to get one, so all recommendations gratefully received.

I found Jo Frost's book informative and Myleene Klass' new book is quite funny and very honest too.

do not spend any money till you have looked in the library - I got out about seven and they were all rubbish so was pleased I hadn't bought any.

The free NHS one and Libby Purves' How Not To Be A Perfect Mother were the only two I actually liked - Naomi Klein's Misconceptions was useful but a bit scary. See if you can get hold of Bestfeeding too - probably best borrowed from friend/lib/NCT though.

Yes, I borrows Misconceptions from the library, I know what you mean about "scary". Still very glad I read it though, a lot of straight talking about the medical profession making pregnancy an illness rather than a natural condition.

Ina May Gaskin's books, spiritual midwifery and ina may;s guide to childbirth are great, when you get past the hippy stuff, about how childbirth is not an event to be managed and to fit into a timescale.. and to give you faith in your body

also anything by sheila kitzinger, penny simkin, michel odent, janet balaskas good to

get from teh library and then buy the ones that you like from amazon

Not a general book, but if you're thinking natural, not keen on drugs, might consider birthing pool, then Hypnobirthing by Marie Mongan is a 'system' (she also suggests NOT finding about all the scary stuff that can go wrong!) that you do classes with. I'm still pg but done the classes and got the book, but if I'd read the book first I'd've done it with DD!
General book I liked is The Pregnancy Bible, but did find the NHS freebie quite good too.

As well as Ina May Gaskin I would recommend books by Sheila Kitzinger 'The New Experience of Childbirth' is a good one and Active Birth by Janet Balaskas

Hi - I just borrowed Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Lesley Regan from my local library and I'm finding it very useful.