tell me about the best pregnancy books

[mamapickle]

My younger sis just found out she is pregnant with her first. I am soooo excited, and I want to buy her a couple of books about pregnancy and birth. I loved Dr. Sears pregnancy and birth books when I was pg with my first, but that series was published in the 90s, so I am wondering if anyone has any more recently published favorites. Can you recommend a pregnancy book that would be good for a first time mom? Thanks so much!

[Goddess_Heather]

Girlfriends guide to pregnancy. Hands down. Tells you all about what to expect and all the ewwy things too without sounding like a medical journal. I laughed a few times too. Good luck mama and congrats to the sis!

[AnnaG01]

I liked the What to Expect When you're Expecting book and I like those week by week progress update books that show you size of baby, and new deatails each week. Congrats on being a new aunt!

[bgjmhg03]

I still think the Dr. Sears books are great! Also The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (Henci Gouer), Gentle Birth Choices (Barbara Harper, I think), and Birthing From Within (Pam England).

[alexandme]

Originally Posted by bgjmhg03 I still think the Dr. Sears books are great! Also The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (Henci Gouer), Gentle Birth Choices (Barbara Harper, I think), and Birthing From Within (Pam England).

I agree, Dr. Sears and Birthing from Within for sure.

It really will depend on her personality and philosophy about pregnancy and birth though.
Some people love the "What to Expect..." book. I thought it was ok, I worked in the medical field so all of the "what if" or "this could happen" or "that could happen" stuff didn't phase me a bit. But for some people it is very alarmist and spends way too much time on all this stuff that could or might happen but in all reality isn't likely at all.
The above mentioned books are much more in line with the philosophy that pregnancy and birth are normal and natural processes that don't need to be treated as a medical condition.

[HollyS]

I love The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. It's a very fun book to read.

[ChurchPunkMom]

Originally Posted by bgjmhg03 I still think the Dr. Sears books are great! Also The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (Henci Gouer), Gentle Birth Choices (Barbara Harper, I think), and Birthing From Within (Pam England).

Henci Goer, Ina May Gaskin, Pam England, and Dr. Sears are all fabulous!

AFA the "What to Expect.." series, I agree with the pp. I read it in my first pregnancy and really wasn't bothered by it, but I know some people get a little freaked out by it and end up being very much for the intervention filled hospital birth that it seems to recommend rather than feeling comfortable going natural.

[fishermanswife]

Girlfriend's Guide to PRegnancy for sure... then Girlfriends guide to the first year of motherhood, and then surviving toddlerhood or something like that! Awesome books.
FW

[flobee76]

Yes, even though the series is "dated", I still fall back on Dr. Sears. In fact, I recently gave a copy of The Pregnancy Book to a friend of mine who is pregnant, and of all the books she has, that one is her favorite.

[MatildasMum]

Girlfriends Guide

while you're buying books, get her The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding