Though there are plenty of other books with more information on your pregnancy, this book is by far the best childbirth guide and preparation I've yet to come across. Wonderful tips to follow in readying yourself for birth.

I really love this book!

I'm 4 months pregnant with my first child and I'm alternately scared to death and excited beyond belief. I've been soaking up information like crazy--getting books from the library, buying whatever looks good in the bookstore, and my midwife has given me a number of books to read, this being the most recent. Out of all of them, I think this one is the best.

It is extremely thorough, not just with clinical information, but also descriptions of how you might feel, both physically and emotionally as you progress through pregnancy, labor, and post-partum. It covers everything I've been asking myself about what's happening to me, the baby, and what I can expect. Most importantly it covers what you do with the baby once you give birth and take them home, enough to get you over the "What do I do?!" fear and allowing you to get settled in as a parent.

I also really like the focus on the birth partner as well as the pregnant woman; it's important to understand what both partners are going through during this highly confusing and magical time. I'm giving this book to my husband as soon as I'm finished reading it for the second time, as I want him to know what's going on with me and also let him know that I understand what might be going on with him. It's a great book for anyone who is involved in pregnancy in any way. After he's done with it, I plan to pass it on to our families to read.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the way it was organized, to me some of the chapters seemed out of order. It may have been the way I was approaching it, or that I was looking for specific information that was different from the flow. However, the chapters are very well laid out and titled, so it was easy to flip through the headers at the top of the page and find exactly the section I wanted, when I wanted it.

Overall, a very thoroughly researched and produced book. Laid out in a manner that's easy to read and navigate, not at all intimidating and also not sentimental or biased. I would highly recommend this book to ANYONE who is pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant, related to or friends with someone who is pregnant, anyone who is curious about how it works, generally everybody.

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We all dream of the perfect birth. For me it included no epidural, quick birth, and no tearing. This, however, was not the case. Eventhough things didn't go as planned I was prepared for everything that happened and the experience, none the less, was wonderful. This book, which was recommended by my doula, gave me many insights into what was going on with my body and baby during my pregnancy, delivery and post partom. My mother in-law told me I knew too much going in to my delivery (referring to the knowledge I gained from all my reading). But I firmly believe there is empowerment through education. I think it is much better knowing than to go in not knowing like they did years ago. We are of a generation of educated and empowered women. This book will assist you in taking control of your birth and pregnancy. I recommend reading as much as possible, it's good to get different perspectives but if you were to read only one book this would be the one!