The best pregnancy books for future working moms: pink / white / pink / multicolored
I read a ton of books during my first pregnancy, and thought I’d shout out a few of my favorites here…
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The Best Pregnancy Books for Future Working Moms
What To Expect When You’re Expecting: For some reason, I considered this book the “duh, everyone gets that book for pregnancy,” and so it took me by surprise when I realized how hated this book is by many in the pregnancy industry. As near as I can understand it, the first edition of the book may have had harsh advice, and I’ve often heard people describe the book as “fear-mongering.”
That said, I loved the fourth edition. Far from fear mongering, I thought it was a gentle warning of what I might expect each month, or a reassuring explanation of what I was already experiencing. I only read one month at a time up until about 32 weeks, when a little scare made me think I should at least skim the final chapters to see what to expect of the labor/postpartum experience.
Balance is a Crock, Sleep is for the Weak: I only found this one by my second pregnancy, but: this book is a gold mine — tons of great information for pregnancy, maternity leave, and beyond, all written in an informative but funny tone. It should be required reading for any working mother.
From the Hips: This book has advice for both your pregnancy and your parenting. I didn’t start reading this book until my son was born, but I really found it refreshing. The book has a lot of anonymous anecdotes, and there is an abundance of intelligent voices. I also liked that the book talked about things that I hadn’t seen elsewhere. (Example: the difference between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis, which have different symptoms that other books lumped together in a scary way.)
Let’s Panic About Babies!: This book is hilarious, and I’m not just saying that because it was written by bloggers. Again, this is one that has satirical advice for the pregnancy and the fun first year of parenting, and I didn’t start reading it until about my 8th month. Many nights while reading this, I woke my husband up because I was laughing so hard. That’s how good it is.
Bonus Hesitant Mention:
Belly Laughs: I really hesitate to recommend this one because the author (Jenny McCarthy) has become associated with so many things I disagree with. So: maybe check this book out of the library instead of buying it. I really did find it to be a funny and genuine take on pregnancy, though, so if you can put other opinions out of your mind…
A few additional pregnancy books to consider…
Psst: we’ve also rounded up great books for new working moms to read and put on your registry for baby:
Pictured above, great books for new working moms: pink / white / white/ green
We’ve also rounded up great books for working mothers, full of tips and tricks from women who’ve balanced career and family:
Readers, which other books have you found invaluable to you during your pregnancy? Which ones did you throw down in disgust? (Don’t forget to check out our roundup of the best maternity blogs and newsletters!)
Famouscait says
I am using the Mayo Clinic’s Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. It goes week by week for symptoms, baby’s development, etc. I also have the corresponding app on my phone; it has snippets of the same info as the book, but I mainly use it to remind me what week I’m currently in (you enter your due date at set-up).
TBK says
Love the Mayo Clinic book! Famouscait, so glad to hear you’re currently enjoying it! ;)
R says
Not a book, but the website Pregnant Chicken was my big resource for the dos/don’ts of pregnancy. It feels like everything has a warning against it, and most websites are full of people saying “why take the risk?”But I wanted to make my decisions based on actual knowledge of the risks and benefits, and PC helped sort through all nonsense.
I’ve heard that the book “Expecting Better” is similar, but I didn’t read it during my pregnancy. I was too tired to do much but read an article or blog post here and there.
Tunnel says
+1 for pregnant chicken. I like to school people with the knowledge I’ve learned from there when they gasp at me eating cheese (pasteurized, yo).
TBK says
Expecting Better by Emily Oster. LOVE this book. Oster is an Econ professor at Chicago (yes, she’s a full prof of Econ at Chicago and she’s in her 30s – impressive lady). She was tired of being told don’t do x or y without any information about why. She went through the studies and presents an analysis of, for example, why doctors advise women to limit caffeine and what levels of caffeine intake were tested, how, and with what results. It was exactly the kind of information I needed and what’s often sorely lacking in this area.
just Karen says
Thanks to people on this website who recommended Expecting Better I started it while we were TTC and just got back to it to finish – have already recommended it to other moms who want more info to make their own informed decisions.
anon says
+1
Watermelon says
+1
(former) preg 3L says
AlphaMom’s pregnancy calendar was the most hilarious, useful, interesting pregnancy reading I did! I think Balance is A Crock shouldn’t be required reading until *after* getting pregnant — it definitely made me nervous about balancing everything!
Deckled Edges says
I returned What to Expect after my physician husband found multiple medical inaccuracies in his five minute scan of the book. The Mayo Clinic Guide got his seal of approval and I referenced it from time to time.
I really enjoyed Origins by Annie Murphy Paul.
hoola hoopa says
What to Expect was a terrible book. I agree with your husband.
Mayo is good, but I wasn’t a fan of the week-by-week format in general. My hands down favorite was The Mother of All Pregnancy Books. Organized by topic instead of week with great tables, it was an ideal reference book for me. It also had the best post-partum coverage of any of the pregnancy books I read.
I got my timeline fill with My Pregnancy Journal which has a factoid per day and was fun to follow along.
I also enjoyed The Expectant Father as much as my husband.
For laughs, Just Let Me Lie Down cracked me up. I already had two kids when it came out, and it may not be as much fun for a first-time mom-to-be, but I highly recommend as a ‘pregnancy read’ for 2nd+ time moms.
anonmama says
Fully agree with The Expectant Father (and The New Father) – they are as great for moms as for dads. My husband loved them, and they are much less scary than books written for moms. (Why is that??)
Just Let Me Lie Down is one of my perpetual favorites too!
Kate says
Ditto. What to Expect definitely leans more toward inciting panic (although, I had an anterior placenta, and it was the ONLY pregnancy book that addressed that at all–even the Mayo Clinic book was mum).
I also really loved Origins! Such a great book, full of well-researched information, and a good read, even for the non-scientifically inclined. I wish Anne Murphy Paul would write an update, though–it was published in 2008, and is getting a bit dated.
Tunnel says
I think I am the only person who doesn’t find What to Expect panic inciting (at least not yet). I like the breadth of information in there.
Tunnel says
Double post, nothing to see here!
Anon S says
Is it weird/bad that I’m not reading any pregnancy books (9 weeks pregnant)? I started reading What to Expect, but I just couldn’t get into it. I have a baby bump app on my phone which gives me daily information, but other than that I’m not reading any books on pregnancy.
pockets says
I found pregnancy books to be really boring and kind of useless. Oooh, my fetus-baby-blob has fingernails! Interesting for about 3 seconds and that’s it. Truth is that aside from getting bigger and more irritable, nothing much really happens for the 6 months between getting pregnant/being sick (if you’re even sick) and the last month of being super uncomfortable and Braxton Hicks contractions. Maybe they were more useful in the days before the internet?
FVNC says
Nope, I don’t think it’s weird. I bought the Mayo Clinic book and read it for reference, but not regularly. My sister, who was pregnant at the same time as me, was shocked that I hadn’t downloaded twenty apps and joined various FB groups for expectant mothers. I very much love my baby but I wasn’t interested in pregnancy beyond the basic do’s and don’ts. Of course, I’m also the genius who didn’t know she was pregnant the first three months, so, maybe be a little more interested/aware than I was? :-)
FBB says
Bringing up Bebe! Not really a pregnancy book, but it really helped me to take more relaxed (non-“What to Expect”) approach to my first pregnancy. I’m rereading it now with #2 :)
KJ says
+1
JJ says
I was prepared to hate Bringing Up Bebe, but I actually enjoyed it a lot (I read it during nighttime nursing sessions). I couldn’t make myself read Belly Laughs because of the author, but I did enjoy the Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy, etc. books. The folksy casual tone got a little annoying, but there was pretty solid advice in there for pregnancy, babies, and toddlers.
Balance is a Crock is SUCH a good book for working moms. It opened my eyes to what to expect. Loved the Mayo Clinic Guide and I may actually read Expecting Better soon (even though I am not and probably will not be expecting anytime soon). It came out after my pregnancy with my second and I wish I had the opportunity to read and use that information.
hoola hoopa says
+1 I was also prepared to hate it (assumed it would be “French women don’t get fat” for moms), but it was really great food for thought. I had small children at the time I read it, so it felt very timely. I’m hoping she writes an update around the tween/teen years!
I had also lived in France for a short time before having children and noticed how different French children seemed to be, so I was intrigued by the topic and had some good chuckles (in agreement) over her observations of the French in general.
anonmama says
+1. Read this while nursing late into the night in the first few weeks after #1 was born. Loved it. Helped me take a more relaxed approach to parenting, and helped me learn the all-important “pause” before rushing in to baby.
Jmds says
Loved the Mayo clinic book, hated what to expect. I just thought it treated everything as life threatening and unnatural. Also used the what to expect and webmd apps, which were fun to read. My husband and I would wake up together every Sunday and get excited to check the what to expect app to see what fruit the baby would be that week. Someone also bought me that Dr. Oz book which is awful.
For labor, I read natural hospital birth and the birth partner. Really recommend both. Even if you aren’t planning a drug-free birth (and I did not have one) still helpful
for giving you the pros and cons of everything.
Lawmom says
Balance is a Crock sounds like it would really resonate with me, as I am looking for some ideas about how to get out of permanent survival mode. However, my children are 1 and 3. Is this book only geared toward those with itty bitty babies?
(former) preg 3L says
Nope. I’d say read it!
ETA: there are portions about maternity leave, but I feel like it’s useful even with young kids.
mascot says
I thought From the Hips was really good. Approachable in the same way as Girlfriend’s Guide, but felt slightly more modern and more technical (later publication date).
I also liked Good Enough is the New Perfect as a guide to working motherhood. I have re-visited it a few times in the past couple of years as my career has grown.
Nonny says
I read What to Expect. I agree with a poster above who didn’t find it that interesting at 9 weeks….I found I referred to it more and more as time went on. But I took everything it said with a bushel of salt because I took the “everything in moderation” approach to pregnancy, and that book seems to rely an awful lot on scare tactics.
However, what I really want to say is that while it is all well and good to read about pregnancy, I found it much more useful to read about baby care during my last trimester. Sooner or later you are going to be faced with a little being who totally relies on you for everything and doesn’t come with a manual. You won’t have time to read anything at that point, so better do so before said little being arrives. In that vein, I read “The Happiest Baby on the Block”, a bre@stfeeding book, and started on (but then had to put down for about three months) one of the Baby Whisperer books.
sfg says
Yep. We bought the American Academy of Pediatrics book on infant care and The Baby Owner’s Manual (which seems like it has the humor that my spouse and I desperately need). Also planning to get one of the breastfeeding books – not sure which, but have appreciated all the recommendations here so far. :)
Meg Murry says
+1 for Happiest Baby and switching the focus from pregnancy books to books about babies, because you won’t have the time or brainpower for heavy reading when you are mid-sleep regression.
anonmama says
I just wanted to add a few –
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth was hands-down my favorite. Geared towards natural birth, but great information in there on interventions, and wonderful, confidence-inspiring birth stories.
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer saved our lives. That is not an exaggeration.
I really liked One Year to an Organized Life with Baby. Not at all about pregnancy but designed to help you organize your life during your pregnancy. So glad I did (most) of what the book recommends before baby came, because finding important things like medical records and birth certificates is much easier now.
Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding was excellent.
And Baby Makes Three is a wonderful book for preparing your marriage for baby. We go back to this book often. Can’t recommend it enough.
Birthing from Within was a book that I loved, although a lot of the “art” stuff was lost on me. Geared toward natural births but primarily focuses on getting rid of fear associated with childbirth. Helpful for me, I just skimmed the chapters on “birth art” :)
The Working Gal’s Guide to Babyville was good.
That’s all I can remember.
KLR says
Honestly, the most helpful book I read was the Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians. I’m straight, but got the book from a lesbian friend. The info was medically accurate and the tone was perfect: factual, honest, down-to-earth but somehow inspiring confidence. Not patronizing AT ALL, and none of the cutesy “your little peanut has fingernails!” business found throughout What to Expect. I loved it.
I also found Baby 411 and Toddler 411 to be really good as well. Matter-of-fact, evidence-based, well-organised.