Best pregnancy books

[VanillaIce]

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a good all-round pregnancy book for me to buy? I am 14 weeks and have so far resisted buying anything as you can get so much info on the net. But I think it would be good to have something to flick through now - and force DH to read too!

Thanks x

I bought every book going when i was pregnant first time round. The one i found most helpful was by Prof Lesley Regan, Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Lots of helpful information and easy to read.

I'd second the Lesley Regan book for a good all round covering of just about everything

Waves to annieBP, must come back to the emmsy's thread - so much chat on there I can never keep up!

The Lesley Regan one is great.

Waves back to LionstarBP,come back soon,we miss you!

if you can find it in this country (think I've seen it on Amazon?), the Best Friends Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine is a good read - it's not medical at all, but really is a guide to what other woman (friends and family of the author) have been through, so covers lots of 'symptoms' that your average pregnancy book won't mention. It's meant to be like the kind of advice your friends and family would give you if you still lived in a little village in Ye Olden Days, but obviously more up to date than that description suggests! there's also a chapter for expectant fathers IIRC. I found it very amusing, and helpful, although like I say, medically useless!

I had it in conjunction with a few proper guides from the library, the best of which was called 'Great Expectations', but it is VERY American, so not so much use over here!

I really like Birth and Beyond by Yehudi Gordon.

I bought several during pregnancy no.1 but the only one I rated was What to Expect when you're Expecting. Didn't come across Lesley Regan though.

Of all of the books I have seen/read/used, this one was the most comprehensive www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Pregnancy-Bible-Experts-Parenthood/dp/1904760643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=124999 0346&sr=8-1

Vicki Iovine book was a great read - makes you feel part of the club!

I like Kaz Cooke "The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth" - it's really funny and a good source of info, but not too in-depth. I enjoyed the weekly diary.

When I was pregnant with DC #1 I got the Vicki Iovine, Best Friends Guide to Pregnancy one (think I got it free with a magazine at the time actually!) & What to Expect When You're Expecting, found them both quite good.

What to expect whilst you're expecting.

Can't remember the author, but its really comprehensive.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I have the Lesley Regan one. For the medical bits it's great although the week-by-week title is a bit inaccurate since the weeks are grouped into 4 weeks at a time. The healthy eating section is totally unrealistic - I'd be the size of a house if I ate what she recommends every day - and the employment law bit is totally inaccurate. DK have published a new book since I got this one which is a day-by-day and looked very good when I flicked through. I also have 'Your Prenancy Bible' by Anne Deans, which I also like. That does give week by week for baby development - a paragraph for each week, but the way the rest of the book is written makes it more difficult to work out what's relevant for what stage of pregnancy. Both good books overall though.

I found charity shops seem to have lots of second hand pregnancy books for much cheaper than amazon etc. and you can browse which one you like the most or buy a selection without spending a fortune.

Lesley Regan is very good (bar for the emplyment law bit, which is inaccurate) and very balanced- if you get only one, I would suggest this one.

If you are going to get more than one, I would probably add Ina May Gaskin's guide to childbirth (quite hippy, but a different perspective and full of good birth stories- a good antidote to the horrors people recount in great detail)- though it is very American, so its description of hospital births is quite different (I understand) from what happens in the UK. Vicky Iovine is funny, but not actually that helpful in terms of practical information- I have it, had fun one afternoon reading it but have not touched it since.

What both my DH and I find very interesting is the Great Ormond Street book of baby care. It also covers pregnancy and birth (though in considerably less detail than Regan) and majors on the baby: what it does, how it learns, how it plays, lenghty discussions of feeding options, sleep etc. Really interesting, very balanced (we both think), well-written and, as a bonus, all royalties go to Great Ormond Street.

I really recommend "stand and deliver". It is short, fun and gives you a different outlook on the labour part of things. Not quite what you asked for but I cannot stop recommending and raving about this book.