It's not a Medically based or even Pcych based book (the author has no background and admits it) but it has more impact on emotionally settling concerns than ANY medically written book yet.
No other book I've found actually lakes you feel like you are not alone, explains why your spouce feels the way they do and has reacted to having a baby the way they did. And it opens your eyes to where you probably got the foundations that led to how you react to a baby's birth.

I really wish i had gotten this book when my baby was about 2 months old (before PPD set in and I ran out of energy or time to read) because simply reading it was like a cloud lifted. Every paragraph of this book was like lightbulbs going off! Share it with your spouce too!

This is an excellent book for expecting mothers. It has a space for your thoughts for each week of pregnancy. Fourty to fourty-five weeks is a long time to be carrying a child, and sometimes you wonder what's happening inside you from day to day. Well this journal tells you weekly the changes that your body and baby are undergoing. Iloved it because it left space for phtographs to be attached showing just how differently you look once you start growing. It asks thought provoking questions like "How did you tell your husband you were expecting"? and "Why did you suspect you were pregnant"? It also has a place for you to record your weight, blood sugar, fundal height, and etc. for each time you have a doctor's visit. There's also room for questions and names you might be considering. There's so much more that this book has to offer, but last but not least, it has space for you to write about the labor and delivery and once you've taken baby home. The only thing I don't like about the book is that it's in black and white.

I used this journal to record my thoughts, expectations and worries with my first pregnancy. My daughter is now 2 - how time flys. I love referring back to what I wrote and I thank God that none of my worries were necessary. This book was a great way to record my physical growth (literally) and capture my feelings on paper because believe me you think you will remember but it goes by much too fast and it's easy to forget all the details. I'm so glad I've got this momento.

Two of my daughters are having a baby this year and I couldn't have chosen a more perfect gift! I gave one to each of them at the very beginning of their pregnancy and they have religously filled in the pages as the weeks have gone by. This diary is not only informative but is also sentimental and humorous. They have phoned me several times just to tell me about something in their book. The book takes them all the way through the pregnancy and continues for a short while after the birth. It's the perfect gift from a mother to a daughter.

I found this book to be incomplete, contridictory and very poorly written. The only slightly redeeming quality is the entire chapter on homebirth which covers a lot of precautionary information one might otherwise disregard. The sections on nutrition and choices in childbirth are poorly organized much like a high school essay. The rest of the book is also disorganized, it's difficult to find information, and the information that is there is scant. Don't even think of wasting time with the index, because important topics such as gestational diabetes and preterm labor (among many others) are just not there (although it may be touched on in the book). The amount of contridictory information is frightening, especially if this is the only book you read; for example, the author flatly states that if anyone tells you that any labor pain relief exists that doesn't effect your baby, they are either misinformed OR LYING. Two pages later, she writes that epidural anesthesia is the only pain relief that will not effect the baby (is she misinformed or lying?). The book is unfortunately full of these... another time she states do not drink alcohol beverages at any time for any reason, then she says that red wine with help false labor pains.

I loved this book. It was full of lots of detailed information, much more detailed than other books of similar subject. It has an excellent section that tracks the development of the fetus so the mother-to-be can follow along, and in the early weeks of pregnancy, it even breaks it down day by day in some cases! I had at least a dozen books that I read cover to cover, but this is the one I kept going back to, because it was the one that consistently had the information I needed. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is really "into" their pregnancy experience!

I read Tracy Hotchner's previous edition of "Pregnancy & Childbirth" and found that she covers every, and I mean every, topic that pertains to pregnancy, labor and delivery. For each and every topic presented, she first explains the topic and then presents its' pros and cons. Ms. Hotchner occasionally allows a little bit of a personal bias be evident in her presentation of a subject. I, however, always found that I appreciated her biases and tended to concur with her cautions, etc. I agree that "Pregnancy & Childbirth" is the "bible" of pregnancy books. It is so informative and I found tidbits of information in Ms. Hotchner's book that I have not found in many, many of the other popular and technical books I have read on the subject. Stacy McCullough, RN, BSN, PHN, ACCE, FACCE (labor & delivery RN, and certified Lamaze educator)

Outdated, misguided, simplistic, condescending. Does this appeal? Then go ahead and buy the book.

Hotchner has never had a baby! She has made a name for herself as an "expert" in this field but this is a dated book filled with second-hand information and advice. The author of the screenplay for "Mommie Dearest" -- what does this tell you? -- should stick to movies.

This book told me exactly what I wanted to know! I was interested in what was happening inside me. What was developing? What could the baby do? How big was he? Etc., etc. There is also other useful, factual info. in it. It's great! I've recommended it to all my pregnant friends.