Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul: Stories to Inspire and Warm the Hearts of Soon-to-Be Mothers

by Jack Canfield

Every year, millions of women wait with anticipation as they watch their test strip change from white to pink, thus beginning the awesome adventure of becoming a mother. This Chicken Soup book will find a place in the loving hearts and anxious minds of expectant mothers (and some fathers, too!). Written by expectant mothers, veteran moms, and fathers-to-be, these stories relate the physical, emotional, and spiritual joys and challenges of each stage of motherhood, from “barely showing” to the awkward last months, from labor and delivery to watching and caring for Baby.Some stories offer hope when the pregnancy isn’t medically perfect; others offer light-hearted humor to cope with weight gain, morning sickness, and other pregnancy woes; and still others offer words of wisdom for the seemingly daunting responsibilities of choosing a name, going through labor, and bringing a new life into the world. By relaying the insecurities and triumphs of a variety of moms and moms-to-be—including multiple births, premature births, adoptions, and single-parent families—this book will tug at the heartstrings and ease the fears of any expectant mother, regardless of her situation. Chapters Special Moments, Delivery Day, Challenges, On Adoption, Advice from Others, For Expectant Fathers, and The First Few Years. 
Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother’s Soul will be a must-have on every baby-shower gift list, and an essential requirement for every birthing bag.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Inspirational, Self Help, Short Stories, Ebooks, Psychology

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Jack Canfield is an American motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series, which currently has over 124 titles and 100 million copies in print in over 47 languages. According to USA Today, Canfield and his writing partner, Mark Victor Hansen, were the top-selling authors in the United States in 1997.

Canfield received a BA in Chinese History from Harvard University and a Masters from University of Massachusetts. He has worked as a teacher, a workshop facilitator, and a psychotherapist.

Canfield is the founder of "Self Esteem Seminars" in Santa Barbara, and "The Foundation for Self Esteem" in Culver City, California. The stated mission of Self Esteem Seminars is to train entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and employees to achieve their personal and professional goals. The focus of The Foundation for Self Esteem is to train social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals.

In 1990,he shared with author Mark Victor Hansen his idea for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. After three years, the two had compiled sixty-eight stories.

Canfield has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Eye to Eye, CNN's Talk Back Live, PBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Montel Williams Show, Larry King Live and the BBC.

Canfield's most recent book, The Success Principles (2005), shares 64 principles that he claims can make people more successful. In 2006, he appeared in the DVD, "The Secret," and shared his insights on the Law of Attraction and tips for achieving success in personal and professional life.

Jack Canfield was born on August 19, 1944, in Fort Worth, TX. He is the son of Elmer and Ellen (a homemaker; maiden name, Taylor). He attended high school at Linsly Military Institute, Wheeling, WV, 1962. He went to college at Harvard University, B.A., 1966; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, M.Ed., 1973. Canfield married Judith Ohlbaum in 1971 (divorced, November 1976); he married Georgia Lee Noble on September 9, 1978 (divorced, December 1999); he married Inga Marie Mahoney on July 4, 2001; children: (first marriage) Oran, David, Kyle, Dania; (second marriage) Christopher Noble. He is a Democrat and a Christian, and his hobbies include tennis, travel, skiing, running, billiards, reading, and guitar.

Reviews

[Sarah-Julie Charron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quelques histoires étaient intéressantes mais j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait beaucoup de religion d'impliquée et de miracle de Dieu.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an expectant mother, many of these stories were relatable and interesting! I’m not too sure when this came out but it seemed kinda outdated at times (everyone was in Lamaze class). Still good though! Always love hearing about different people’s experiences.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

thanks to my friend who gave me this
actually when i read it, it's a little bit too late cause i've already gave birth^_^
anyway, what i like most was the poetry in the beginning of pages

Baby's Choice

Did you ever think, dear Mother,
As the seeds of me you sowed,
As you breathed new life inside of me
And slowly watched me grow,
In all your dreams about me
When you planned me out so well,
When you couldn't wait to have me there
Inside your heart to dwell,

Did you ever think that maybe,
I was planning for you, too,
And choosing for my very own
A mother just like you?
A mother who smelled sweet and who
had hands so creamy white,
A tender, loving creature
Who would soothe me in the night?

Did you ever think in all those days
While you were coming due,
That as you planned a life for me
I sought a life with you?
And now as I lay in your arms,
I wonder if you knew
While you were busy making me,
I was choosing you!

~ Colleen M. Story ~

[Maria Shuffit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice, easy read with a collection of stories and a few comical illustrations about motherhood and parenthood. I really liked the fact that it covered several different situations - couples who are adopting, ones who struggled with conception, single parents, etc. It made for excellent light reading, with entries that were pretty brief so you could pick it up on a whim whenever you were in the mood for a sweet story of someone's experience with pregnancy or parenthood. My mother-in-law got me this as a gift and mentioned how she wanted to get an Expectant Father's version for my husband, but it didn't exist - it was nice to see that this book also included stories for and from fathers at different stages of parenthood.

[Charissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book while I was expecting my second baby and had a lot of downtime towards the end. I hadn’t read a Chicken Soup book for years, but thought it might be a nice change.

Wrong - I remembered why I dislike them and stopped reading them. The short stories are too short, and because they’re shared personal experiences they are often poorly written.

[Norhan Rafat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended to any expectant mother. Touching stories connecting mothers together and some of them are pretty sarcastic and these are the best.

[Aarthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, short personal stories from moms and to-be-moms on their personal experience and you quickly can relate to yourself in at-least 1 of the 100 situations. Good positive thought overall.

[BARBARA A MITTLESTEAD · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of interesting points on child raising and being a parent! Enjoyed the non-judgemental.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outdated.

[Mariana Paradisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

es simplemente hermoso, te hace emocionar

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't love all of the stories in this collection, there were enough that I found moving and/or inspiring to make for a good experience. Many of these were calming and peaceful, making it a good read for early in the morning, or when I needed to just take a minute to myself to ponder my upcoming adventure. Some of them were even fairly funny. The only section I would express caution about to new mothers would be the final one: "On Motherhood." While most of the stories in this part of the book were meant to be funny or insightful pieces on the actual craziness or unpredictability of motherhood/parenthood, reading them so close to my own impending labor made me feel fairly stressed and a little anxious. I would suggest reading that section early enough so it still seems funny and not negative or cautionary. For the most part, however, sweet and exactly what the doctor ordered if you need something uplifting or tear-inducing.

[Jatining Siti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya merasa beruntung telah membeli buku ini 2 tahun lalu dengan harga miring di Jakarta Book Fair. Meskipun saat itu belinya sekedar iseng karena harganya sedang diskon, ternyata buku ini berguna juga saat sedang benar-benar menjadi 'expectant mother'.

Kalau boleh, saya ingin merekomendasikan buku ini untuk para calon orang tua (calon ibu dan calon ayah), para orang tua baru, dan orang tua lama :)

Membaca buku ini seperti naik roller coaster. Saya bisa tertawa terbahak-bahak sampai menitikkan air mata. Membaca buku ini menyadarkan saya betapa tidak mudahnya menjadi orang tua--baik orang tua kandung maupun angkat. Butuh kesabaran, tenaga, dan duit ekstra. Namun, meski tidak mudah, menjadi orang tua ternyata membahagiakan jika menjalaninya dengan tulus ikhlas dan penuh kasih sayang...

[Steph Hundt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being that I am a true blue fan of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, I was excited to reach the milestone of being pregnant so I could enjoy these stories. As usual this book did not disappoint. The stories were touching and poignant. I loved that there were stories from a new dad's point of view, an adoptive parent's point of view and of course a mother's point of view. This was the perfect book to read on lunch at work even though more often than not I came back to work with a blotchy face after having cried through a particularly good story! All moms-to-be should indulge in this book!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I thought this book was okay. I have read others in the chicken soup series that I have enjoyed more. I had higher expectations for this one, since I am so excited about my pregnancy. However, a number of the stories I thought were just so-so. I don't know I guess I thought that I would have been laughing or crying with each story and honestly I was really only touched by a handful of them. The rest were either amusing or just kinda there. I wanted to like them more and kept hoping, but I don't know....

[Siti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini berkisah mengenai pengalaman-pengalaman kontributornya pada masa-masa kehamilan, prakehamilan, atau pada masa-masa susahnya mendapatkan keturunan yang akhirnya memutuskan untuk mengadopsi anak. Dari buku ini kita bisa mendapatkan bagaimana keluarga-keluarga (yang saya pikir saling menyayangi) dalam usaha mereka mendapatkan buah hati.

[Elysse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of these stories, however most of them were cliche parenting stories. I did like that the writers also chose stories from adoptive parents and other complications during pregnancy, although I didn't really learn anything new about pregnancy, I did gain some appreciation that I am and it seems to be going smoothly.

[Khyati Gulati Tewari · Rating 5 out of 5]

it makes you laugh, it makes you cry...
it makes you feel proud...
it makes you worry, it builds your confidence...
it warns you of the future!

a complete book - in a way, to help you deal with "when you are pregnant"
thoroughly enjoyed reading it - it brought out in me all the right emotions - there were instances which I could relate to - that made the reading all the more fun!

[Charity · Rating 1 out of 5]

Given to me and read during my pregnancy. Most stories were pretty lame. However, I adored the Erma Bombeck story. I never would have picked this book up on my own and this will be the last of the Chicken Soup books I read. Not my style.

[Mrs. Shafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

buku ini memberi inspirasi buat para gadis, calon ibu, ibu-ibu, yg pengen hamil, yg lagi hamil, yg mau melahirkan, yg lagi punya baby..pokoknya yg berhubungan dengan yg namanya ibu.
Be a mother is a great adventure!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a very strong lean toward people who have had lots of trouble getting to be parents. So, very inspirational in that way. All the stories were adorable. It was neat to have them written from new and 'well seasoned' mothers. The stories brought tears to my eyes more than once.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from my sister-in-law when I was pregnant with my first child. It was also the first Chicken Soup book I read! Absolutely loved the stories of anticipation, waiting for your child to be born!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Have fun reading this with a box of tissues :)

[Sondang · Rating 3 out of 5]

and because of the hormones I guess (yeah, keep blaming on them, girl!), most of the stories brought tears in my eyes.

[Andiana Moedasir · Rating 5 out of 5]

cerita perjuangan beberapa calon ibu...hmm..mengharukan!

[Amanda Pfeifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely group of heart warming short stories. Each story brings a smile to your face, as you realize you are slowly being able to relate to the "motherhood" stories.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had some good stories that get you even more excited about having a baby. I loved the funny comics in there too.

[Lisa]

So far, so good. There's even some good stories for my husband.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

CAUTION: Do NOT Read When Pregnant!
Will cause multiple tears to fall due to raging hormones!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet book. I love all the stories in it.

[Jasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to pick up every once in a while and read a story before going to bed throughout pregnancy