Any time one of my friends gets pregnant with her first baby, I have plenty of advice to give her (whether she likes it or not), but one of the first things I tell her is to throw away any baby books or manuals she's been given and just do what feels right for her during and after her pregnancy. Well, every single book except for What to Expect When You're Expecting. Because it's really the only book any pregnant gal needs -- and it definitely served as my lifeline while I was expecting my son.
I know, I know -- there are plenty of you who aren't exactly thrilled with this book, though I'm not really sure why. (Yes, haters, I'm talking to YOU.) What's so evil about a book that gives you solid information about things that happen to your body during pregnancy without telling you exactly what & what not to do?
Out of all of the magical "do this but definitely don't do that" piece of junk books I went out and bought when I got pregnant with my son -- this is the only one that made sense. It's the only one that gave me a good overview of the changes that were happening to me emotionally and physically without making me feel like some sort of freak or like I was setting myself up for failure as a mother.
Ok, ok, so maybe it didn't exactly have all the answers to some of the more embarrassing questions I had like whether or not I would poop on the delivery table or whether my husband would ever want to have sex with me again after seeing a human head come out of my nether regions. (FYI -- Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs took care of all that. SUCH a great read.)
But all in all, I really felt like What to Expect When You're Expecting really gave me a good foundation for navigating my pregnancy, and being somewhat prepared when I brought my newborn son home from the hospital. (Even though about two days into the whole mom thing, I realized I had no clue.)
Of course, women who are pregnant right now are super lucky, because the book has been made into a movie, which I'm assuming is a lot more entertaining. I would've much rather gotten pregnancy tips from Jennifer Lopez & Cameron Diaz while sitting and chowing down on a bucket of popcorn than sitting at home reading a paperback book. Wouldn't you?
Do you have a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting? Have you found it to be helpful during your pregnancy?
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Comments 37
I never read this book.. I figured it cant be that hard.. women have been raising kids since God knows when
I never read it but wanted to....my friend swore by it when she had her first baby. I didnt realize there was so many against this book.
I think I read it as a teenager, when I was fascinated (obsessed? lol) with pregnancy, birth, babies, etc. but I didn't get pregnant until I was 32. Most of my friends had been pregnant by then, and I was having twins, so I just read a couple of books on multiples. I don't remember anything being horrible, or life-changing. I know pregnant women are hormonal and slightly nuts, but we really just need to use common sense.
i hate that book because its pun-tastic.
I thought it was a great book, especially before I had my 1st child. By number 4, I didn't really need it. It never freaked me out. It made me more comfortable as I was clueless the first time through.
I didn''t like it at all, although I read the weekly updates and those were kinda nice. I like the Pregnancy Bible, very imformative less crazy medicalized birth.