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Whether you read this book from cover to cover or you simply use it as a reference, this is the best resource for anyone who’s pregnant. The first part of the book discusses topics such as figuring out whether you’re pregnant or not, choosing a practitioner, and what you need to eat in order to stay healthy—complete with recipes.
Part 2 is probably the most valuable part of the book. It breaks everything down by month—what you can expect from your prenatal visits, what you may be feeling, and what you may be concerned about. This section gives you straightforward answers to questions pertaining to each month of pregnancy—everything from whether it’s safe to colour your hair to what fifths disease is and the potential risk to your baby. It also discusses what exercises are safe for each month—complete with instructions and diagrams for doing exercises that will help you during pregnancy and labour.
But it doesn’t stop there because getting through pregnancy, labour, and delivery is just the beginning. This book also covers what happens in the first six weeks after you bring the baby home. It discusses postpartum depression, breastfeeding, and getting back in shape. It also has a section on what fathers may be experiencing in these first six weeks.
I started off reading this book cover to cover, but I soon found this to be too daunting of a task. Now I peek at the beginning of each section for what’s about to happen for the month; then I use the index whenever I have questions. I haven’t had one question that I couldn’t get a satisfactory answer to. This book has been my main resource for everything related to my pregnancy. I also appreciate the fact that the answers are sensible. They’re not influenced by old wives’ tales or information that’s outdated. The authors don’t overstep any boundaries, either. They give you the information but advise you to speak to your practitioner further in certain situations.
If you’re pregnant or planning on getting pregnant, What to Expect When You’re Expecting is the best resource you can buy.
