Average Rating: 
Rating: - It's All Right, But...
There are better books out there. I personally recommend the Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, which is not nearly as doctor-centered. The authors seem to imply that no educated woman would have a home birth, use a midwife, or do a lot of other things that are known as "alternative" choices. Instead of presenting real facts, they quickly dismiss these options and definitely try to scare the reader into feeling an ob/gyn and hospital birth is the only way to go.I did enjoy the section at the beginning of each chapter that showed what the baby looked like and listed its development for that month. You can also get a newsletter detailing these developments from many baby websites, though, so to me that didn't make it worthwhile to buy the book. I didn't feel particularly guilty after reading the sections on diet (which, by the way, are outrageously difficult to follow and seemed designed for women who can sit at home and make marks on a dietary checklist). However, the part that scared me was reading the "baby roulette" section. I had a migraine for three days and didn't take anything for it because I was afraid it would hurt my baby. Now, looking back, I think the huge amounts of stress hormones that were released in my bloodstream from the pain were probably just as bad as a few Excedrin would've been. In short, this information is available in far more friendly formats in The Unofficial Guide To Having a Baby and The Pregnancy Book by the Sears. I recommend them.
Rating:  - An excellent resource in my pregnancy library!
I received WTEWYE as a gift from a friend. All my friends had enjoyed it to one degree or another, plus my OB recommended it. (She did tell me not to read the chapter "When Something Goes Wrong" unless she actually told me I had something going wrong.) So I did not read that chapter and refrained from giving into the temptation to do so.I'll be a first-time mom in 12/99 at age 37 and find the book easy to read, full of answers to common questions and not the least bit condescending. I've been reading each chapter as I enter the corresponding month and like having an idea of what I *may* expect, what my body *may* look like and what my baby looks like. Having common sense, I take what I think will work (some of the Best Odds recipes, not the whole Best Odds diet)and ignore what does not apply to me. No book can be a be-all end-all to me, and that's why this is just ONE of my resources. (I also love V. Iovine's Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, The Everything Guide to Pregnancy and The Nursing Mother's Companion.) I also like the chapter for fathers. My husband is not one to read an entire book, but he got a lot out of that chapter and has been moved to read shorter books like "She's Having a Baby and I'm Having a Meltdown" as a result. He feels more informed and included during the time when the focus has mostly been on me and the baby. Quite frankly, if someone tells me NOT to read a book, I *want* to read it to find out what the freak-out is all about. I must say I don't quite understand the vociferous opposition to this book. As many books do, it has its good points and its weaknesses; if there was something I questioned or felt strange about, I would ask my OB (doula/midwife/healthcare practitioner), check other medical resources and apply my own common sense. If this book doesn't suit your philosophy, that's FINE...don't apply it to your family. But trashing the book doesn't automatically make it worthless to others who may find it--as I have--to be a good source of information, help and reassurance.
Rating:  - a great book to read if you like to be frightned
I am a mother of six children, I read this book with baby number three. I was scared out of my wits. I didn't need the hassle. I think that educating your self about chidbirth is a good thing, but, it gets to the point in this book that you are afraid of EVERYTHING. I was worried about every test I didn't have, I was worried about every test I DID have. I think this book should have focused on basic need to know details, especially for first time mothers who really worry to begin with. There is such a thing as too much info to take in and digest.
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