[.ca] The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth (Revised) (ISBN 0375710477)

Best one out there...:
This book makes "What To Expect When You're Expecting" look like a cookbook. During my first prenatal appointment, my midwife suggested this book to me and I thought it would be another pregnancy book in the library of childbirth; but it truly stands out. Oddly enough, I, my sister and 3 good friends are pregnant at the same time. I've looked through their books with lots of questions, they looked through this one and couldn't believe how informative it is! I found that other books are very scary when it comes to little things that happen during pregnancy, but this book helps you realize that EVERYTHING that is happening to you is natural, wondering, can be expected and what to do about it (except the truly serious subjects i.e. miscarriage). It conquers everything from conception to reinstating sex after birth, even grieving processes if you've lost a pregnancy or gone through still birth. If you truly want to have a pregnancy book that doesn't stir a panic with every symptom, a book that allows and encourages you to enjoy every minute of this wonderful time, this is the book for you.

hopeful midwife in training:
I ordered this book on accident but after I got it and started reading everything is so easy to referance. Good description of positions for pregnancy labor and delivery- not to mention helpful post pregnancy advice too. I wish I had known about this book when I was prenant with my last baby. I will be adding this book to my lending library (after I get another one that is). Very impressive material. It is easily understood by someone who has little to no medical experiance and is informative enough to keep the attention of those with medical experiance.

Great Book for Expectant Moms-Very Informative and Complete:
I loved reading this book as a mother and an in-training doula. I wish I would have had this book when I was pregnant with my first baby. It covers questions that I wanted answers to, but I didn't know what to ask. I felt like the author prefers a home birth over a hospital birth, although she did a great job of giving a hospital vs. home birth atmosphere without making me feel like one way was the right way. Sheila Kitzinger gave healthy options in both atmospheres so I could choose what would work for me. She was very informative and gave enough information to make me feel like I didn't need more.

One-sided and leading:
I haven' actually finished reading this book. I was caught by language this is blatently biased and a lack of information on comman, current, MEDICAL techniques and practices. While the actual medical diagrams and descriptions are helpful and informative, they do not outweigh my uneasiness with 95% of this book's information. On the very small section on circumsicion the author takes a completely one-sided approach using loaded words like "mutilation". She does not go into the religious history or even the possibly medically relevant reasons for circumsicion. I'm sorry I wasted my money on this and while I never get rid of books, this is one for the trash heap.

A must have for expectant mothers ....... could save a life!:
That is 5+++++++++ ...... I purchased this book as an informative book to help me with my first pregnancy .... it is a very detailed, thorough book and I felt it a great help during my pregnancy as my partner and I followed the week by week pictures and information so that we knew (how or rather) what our baby was up to! Pregnancy should be a straightforward process but unfortunately it is not always that way and you definitely need to be able to refer to information that can help you in an emergency. When I had spot bleeding in my 7 month of pregnancy I went straight to the section in the book that talks about spotting and what could be happening and it encouraged me to go to my local hospital which was very, very, very fortunate because I was actually in labour and my baby was coming!!!!!!!!!! Without this book for guidance I may have had my 3 month premature baby at home and she would never have survived! I thank this book for it's existence and wonderful advice! For this very reason, I recommend this book to any first time mums .... or any expecting mums out there .... just so you know, I chose not to read the section on "things that can go wrong" in your pregnancy but thank goodness it was there because I really needed it in the end! Goodluck in your pregnancy and good reading, Kristina