Morgan Djuna Sorais's review of What to Expect When You're Expecting, Third Edition
What to Expect When You're Expecting, Third Edition by Heidi Murkoff
If you are expecting, I recommend not reading this one. Instead go for 'Spiritual Midwifery' by Ina May Gaskin;
'Babies, Breastfeeding, and Bonding' also by Ina May Gaskin; 'The Natural Pregnancy Book' by Aviva Jill Romm; 'Mother Rising: The Blessingway Journey Into Motherhood' by Yana Cortlund, Barb Lucke, and Donna Miller Watelet; and 'Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally' by Peggy O'Mara.
I also recommend getting a subscription to both 'Mothering Magazine' and 'The Mother Magazine'.
Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway create unnecessary fear in many expectant mothers. The nutritional chapters are also ridiculous. It is of course more then important to eat well and take exceptional care of yourself while pregnant. Being scared into it though, will do no good.
'Babies, Breastfeeding, and Bonding' also by Ina May Gaskin; 'The Natural Pregnancy Book' by Aviva Jill Romm; 'Mother Rising: The Blessingway Journey Into Motherhood' by Yana Cortlund, Barb Lucke, and Donna Miller Watelet; and 'Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally' by Peggy O'Mara.
I also recommend getting a subscription to both 'Mothering Magazine' and 'The Mother Magazine'.
Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway create unnecessary fear in many expectant mothers. The nutritional chapters are also ridiculous. It is of course more then important to eat well and take exceptional care of yourself while pregnant. Being scared into it though, will do no good.
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The authors recommended in this review also, in my experience, create unnecessary fear and in some cases (e.g. Mothering Magazine and Aviva Jill Romm's books) give extremely dangerous "medical" advice.
Mothering Magazine is a great idea in theory, and no magazine is perfect, but what exactly is their proven authority on medical issues? Their tips on how to wear baby slings and breastfeed in public and healthy recipes are welcome in this age of "10 top toys your baby needs" and "the $600 stroller you can't live without" magazines. But along with the loads of helpful advice Mothering contains a lot of pure garbage. How about the "medical" article claiming that marijuana use during pregnancy poses an insignificant, if any, risk to babies (it's OK according to our "research"!!) yet they imply that we are playing Russian Roulette with our kids' psychological or physical health by weaning toddlers, or not using a babysling, or getting our kids vaccinated, or letting them watch TV, or letting them eat a white flour cupcake, or sending them to public school instead of a Waldorf school, or buying a Barbie instead of a puzzle, or buying non-organic anything... talk about fear-mongering as well as guilt-tripping. I had both of my babies naturally, got sideways glances for breastfeeding my 3 year old and generally fall into the demographic of a "crunchy mama" but get fed up with the disturbing moralizing from both the WTEWYE books as well as the natural parenting crowd. I see my mainstream friends fall victim to Murkoff, et. al. at every test result or twinge in their belly AND my green-mama's express guilt that they vaccinated a child, or weaned a child when pregnant, or that they gave a dose of Tylenol to a screaming child in pain with an ear infection, or that they CONSIDERED pain med's when in labor....!!!
My fave is Dr. Sears. Sound medical advice with an understanding that pregnancy and birth are not illnesses to be unnecessarily medicalized. Also Peggy Simkin et. al. (Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide) will guide an expectant mother through the path that is best for her, not the one some worrywart nurses or a bunch of anti-medical pseudo-iconoclasts decide is best.
