|
This is the revised third edition of a pregnancy manual that first entered the world twenty-one years ago. In that time the book has sold millions upon millions of copies and has become a popular choice for expectant mums. But does the most recent edition live up to expectations?
What to Expect is broadly organised month-by-month, starting with the first pregnancy test and ending with the first six weeks post birth. It covers prenatal diagnosis, exercise, childbirth options, multiple pregnancies, second pregnancies, sex and pregnancy, birthing options (including sections on having a cesarean and alternative birthing methods), and coping with common and not-so-common pregnancy symptoms.
There's no denying that there's a wealth of interesting and important information for expectant mums in this guide, and it's particularly good at highlighting concerns that you may not feel comfortable with raising with your doctor, but on which you'd nevertheless like some guidance, for example, why you might develop acne during pregnancy or advice on sex during pregnancy.
However, there's a lot of information here about pregnancy complications, and because it's fairly well mixed in with the general information, you'll probably find yourself reading a lot of it even if it's not at all relevant to you. The language the book uses here isn't always helpful either, outlining what could go wrong in the worst-case scenario and then attempting to reassure with a statement about how rare that is. For some mums-to-be, particularly those disposed to worry, this may needlessly introduce anxiety about potential pregnancy problems that will probably never affect them.
We would be far quicker to recommend the book if there were some distinctions here between what mothers need to know, what will reassure them about common problems and worries and the kind of information about pregnancy problems that mums only need to know about when the problems arise. A separate section for complications or more detailed information on certain worrying topics would make clear that these need not worry every mum-to-be. If you are using the book then we'd suggest you try to pick and choose what parts you read and try to keep a sense of perspective on the less common problems described.
In certain areas the book does come across as over-cautious and sometimes dated. For example, in relation to pregnancy exercise cycling is only recommended 'with extreme caution'. Of course you should cycle carefully, but the inclusion of 'extreme' is superfluous at best, and at worst will put women off the exercise. Jogging 'more than two miles per day' is also not recommended except for 'a few very fit women' when you don't have to be Paula Radcliffe to enjoy the benefits of continuing to run in accordance to your running experience and how you're feeling. As long as you have the ok from your doctor and keep your heart rate below about 145bpm you can make the most of it, and there are plenty of women who wouldn't think it worth putting their trainers on for two miles.
Another example of overstatement is the advice on oral sex performed on women during pregnancy, where men are cautioned not to cause an embolism that could prove fatal to mother and baby! Likewise with the advice to steer clear of herbal teas - because herbs 'are powerful'. True enough, herbs can be powerful things, but several can be a powerful help in pregnancy to ward off morning sickness, such as fennel, peppermint and ginger-based teas. They can also offer a palatable alternative to caffeine and sugar-laden drinks. Better advice would be to check a particular herb is safe for use in pregnancy before drinking it as a tea.
What to eat?
Perhaps where the rigidity of the book is most obvious is in the section on pregnancy nutrition. Here mums-to-be are told to think before every forkful 'Is this a bite that will benefit my baby?' before being impressed up to scorn a wide array of nutritiously deficient foods and embrace a rigid diet of the daily dozen. Later the authors recommend that if you're struggling to eat at all then it's best to just eat that you can, but any mum struggling to keep down food would probably be thoroughly deflated and convinced they were mistreating their unborn by that page anyhow.
Perhaps this is designed as shock therapy for mums who have hitherto existed on a diet of pizza, sausage and doughnuts, but anyone with a sensible approach to balancing their diet will probably find the daily dozen rather overdone, and many will find its tone preachy. On a more positive note, the nutrition section is useful for identifying which foods contribute to more than one dietary need, and there are some nice-sounding recipes to cook up.
Organisation
While the question and answer format is good for browsing, it's not that great if you're after a specific piece of information quickly. As we mentioned earlier, the book could benefit from being broken down more into common experiences and less common complications.
The month-by-month format is good for presenting some of the information given, but for other information it falls short. Some common symptoms of pregnancy are repeated every month, others not repeated in every month they might occur. Trouble sleeping, for example, is dealt with in month four, when it could occur at any time during pregnancy. This kind of shortcoming could be helped by better cross-referencing, or ideally a different format.
 |
The ThinkBaby verdict
|
 |
|
If it seems like we're lukewarm about this book it's because we are. There's unquestionably a whole lot if information about pregnancy and childbirth here and a lot of very valuable advice, but some of it you'll want to take with a pinch or two of salt. If you're a more nervous type try to pick and choose what you read from it, you don't need to know the details of every pregnancy complication going. It's a useful resource to have to hand, but we wouldn't recommend that you treat this as your pregnancy bible: You may find that experts you speak to have different ideas about some of the topics covered.
|
|
Performance: | 4/5
| 
| |
Value: | 4/5 |
|
| 
