The Expectant Father (Fifth Edition): The Ultimate Guide for Dads-to-Be

by Armin A. Brott, Jennifer Ash Rudick

The Expectant Father is the best-selling pregnancy guide for men, trusted by millions of dads-to-be and their partners.

This reassuring month-by-month overview gives you the facts and advice you need to understand your baby’s development, support your partner, and prepare for the joys and challenges of fatherhood. It concludes with two special one on labor and delivery, and the other covering the first few months after your baby’s arrival.

The fifth edition of this New York Times best seller is updated with the latest information about fertility, prenatal care, and delivery; work-life balance (including the lessons learned from COVID-19); financial planning; and much more. It incorporates the expertise of leading OB-GYNs and researchers and the real-life experiences of hundreds of dads and moms.

The Expectant Father is a friendly, listenable, and inclusive companion for all dads-to-be. (Moms will love it, too!)

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: Parenting, Fatherhood, Nonfiction, Self Help

Audible Audio

Published May 24, 2021

Reviews

[Nic Bushman]

Literally had to check multiple times if this was written sarcastically as a parody book. The amount of condescension and out of touch tone is laughable throughout the entirety.

The author continuously belittles any woman’s role or feelings, while absurdly trying to state how underappreciated and tough her pregnancy is for a male.

Only continue to read the last 3/4 for entertainment with my wife on the Ludacris opinions and stances of the author.

[Daniel Konikoff]

[laughs nervously] I’m in danger.

[John Charette]

This book does a good job prompting expecting dads to think through a wide range of action items and conversations before the baby arrives. The beginning is especially useful if you are in the U.S., as it highlights insurance, hospital billing, and other financial items you should get in motion early to avoid getting blindsided by delivery costs. As a checklist and conversation starter with your partner, it provides solid value.

That said, much of the middle of the book feels generic and overly broad. It tries to address too many potential situations, which makes the advice feel shallow rather than practical. From roughly months three through eight, I did not find much that went beyond common sense or added meaningful guidance.

The book becomes much more tactical again toward the end. From month eight onward, it focuses on due-date preparation and what to have ready at home for the new baby, which is genuinely helpful. I would not recommend reading this cover to cover, but the beginning and final sections are worth skimming for practical preparation.

[Kevin Hinman]

Well, I am now the father of a week-old baby boy and I couldn't be more thrilled. While my wife was pregnant, I read along with this book month by month and finished off the last bit "Fathering Today," just now. I was never super glued into the book, but I can honestly say it was helpful in getting me thinking about my son as a real, tangible object before the birth, while also showing my partner that I was ready to learn and put in work. However, the final section of the book really hammered home the toxic insecurity that underpinned a lot of the proceeding chapters. Brott seems convinced that there is some sort of cultural movement to ignore or even denigrate fathers and the male role in child rearing. I'm sorry, buddy, but that's not the case. The reason that so many kids' books from the 50s don't have male role models in them isn't because there is a culture suppression of fatherhood; it's because dads in the 50s largely weren't that interested in raising kids. He also then goes on to suggest that maybe the reason dads are so maligned in society is due to mothers "gatekeeping" parenthood? Jesus. Brott's whole argument screams "but why isn't there a *straight* pride day?"

If you want advice from a dude who doesn't have a huge chip on his shoulder about his own masculinity or the healthy and active role both he and his wife will have in raising their kid - skip this shit. Go to some classes put on by your hospital. Listen to lactation specialists (Brott seems to find it funny that these exist). Listen to your wife's OBGYN. Listen to doulas. Listen to women in general. They know what's going on, and if you respect what they have to say, and you ask questions and don't act like someone is trying to take something away from you here (again, what?), your partner will likely be more than happy to have you in the trenches with her in this beautiful, messy thing called childrearing.

Also, I haven't really slept in a week.

[Brendan Shull]

Insightful read! I wish I had started this book sooner than I did, but it was well-worth reading. I was reading the “Money, Money, Money” chapter when I discovered this song “$ (Money)” by JPEG Mafia so it was a sign of fortune to me. I was finishing this book up in the Hospital right after my first baby’s birth. A lot of the statistical information I could have done without maybe, but overall I enjoyed reading this as preparation for my first child being born.

[David Miller]

Good book to get you thinking about what steps you should be taking, or conversations to be having along the way through your partners pregnancy journey. Wish I would have listened one month at a time as I went. Seemed to be one of the few pregnancy books aimed at the father which I appreciated.

[Donny McHenry]

Now I am become father, the caretaker of baby

[Rob Montero]

I think I know everything now. Bring it on Nora!!

[Gabriel Johnston]

As the title alludes to: Read this book if you are an expectant father or plan to be soon. It is factual without being boring. It is informative with very limited bias. It covers wide ranging subjects in an easy to process format. I went back to it many times during our recent pregnancy and it honestly helped me to better understand what my partner needed from me and how I should and can help at various stages.

[Kyle]

I guess I’m ready now

[Michael Young]

This book should have been a pamphlet. There’s useful stuff in here to be sure, but it gets lost in a sea of misinterpreted research findings that at times either freak you out or give you false confidence.

Also, there’s stuff like this:

“Start a blog/vlog/TikTok channel about what you're feeling and thinking during the pregnancy. If you're producing content that you'd rather not have your partner know about, you might want to make your posts private.”

[Mitch]

Cannot relate to the fragile masculinity expressed throughout this book

[James Aponte]

Armin did his best to prepare us father or soon to be ones who are often overlooked during the pregnancy to be able to support our partners in the best way we possibly can. There is a lot we can do such as taking the initiative to schedule and participate in birthing classes, to being present in the OB/YGN appointments learning more about the pregnancy and looking into her nutrition for maximum health benefits.

The breakdown of the book is focused on the 9 months and even after the birth for a little bit. He shows us what our partners go through each month, how we feel, tips about preventing risks associated with pregnancies, disease and illness to the baby. For me my favorite part was reading about the different locations we can give birth in. Hospital, birthing centers and at home, each has its pros and con; be sure to look well into them. I ended choosing a birthing center which uses a more natural approach to labor due to the pregnancy being low risk.

The birth classes was also a nice touch, something every parent should do. All the types of birth classes they have out there, I decided to ultimately go with the Bradley method which is more focused on the husband being a coach and it focuses on nutrition quite a lot. Arman thought me to be more patient and to understand what my wife is going through more in pregnancy so I am not caught unaware of what she is going through. This book made me be more involved in the pregnancy making into a better father and husband. Becoming a father does not start when the baby is born it starts way as soon as your wife becomes pregnant, start caring the sooner you can. I rate this book a 4.5/5.

[Kieran]

I started reading this book after my partner and I found out we were expecting our first kid. I wanted to be involved, and figured reading would be a good place to start, so I picked up what most people do — What to Expect When You’re Expecting (4th edition) — thinking that was the book to read. It wasn’t. I found it too clinical, almost like a textbook, and it didn’t really speak to the partner’s experience or wellbeing.

Shortly after, I picked up this book. While it follows a somewhat similar format, the way it’s written felt like it was actually for me — the partner. It gave me a sense of reassurance that was completely missing before. I found myself constantly reading ahead each month so I could be prepared for what my partner might be going through.

I can’t say enough positive things about this book. In moments where I felt unsure or like I wasn’t being helpful, it gave me practical ways to show up and support my partner. In my opinion, it should be required reading for all expectant fathers.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this series.

[Rhys Tiivel]

Reading this book will leave any parent, not just fathers, feeling more prepared for the journey they have commenced and what to expect when the big day arrives.

The month by month breakdown was a more informative structure than the standard trimester format of these books.

I found the commentary on stigmas surrounding both motherhood and fatherhood in the closing section of the book really compelling, and a topic that needs far more public discussion and progress.

[Reader]

Great book for soon to be dads! Sometimes men have a hard time following along with pregnancy since we aren’t the ones with the baby inside us forcing us to think about, and understand the pregnancy process. I liked that this book helped keep me on track with what was going on with my changing wife and our growing baby, and providing me with the knowledge I needed to participate in our OB appointments.

[Mark Torres]

Good, easy to follow, very practical book! It combines a father’s real perspectives and experiences around pregnancy and early fatherhood with examples from primary literature. I found the narrative concise and easy to follow. It’s a good beginner’s manual for starting to learn more about what to expect during pregnancy (and childhood in general) as a new father. Would read again!

[Stephen]

Excellent book for fathers to be. Some of the info I didn’t find quite as helpful (outdated, even though this was the version from only five years ago), but a very good overall hit and gave me lots to think about.

A lot of info I had already gotten in other books/podcasts. But it was nice to get one specifically for me as a guy (all others I’ve seen have been specifically for the woman).

[Patrick Huff]

A pretty simple book that may be better for some Americans but for Canadians a lot of the points about insurance are wasted.

What's more is that the guide, while it may be interesting in some ways for months 5-9 could have easily condensed those chapters to focus more on the events of the birth and after care.

While I did appreciate the chapters on parenting, dad post pardom, and birth complications more information and resources would have made for a better guide.

Sadly it is also extremely American, which views their experiences as a universal one.

[Micaela Clauson]

I wanted to read this since I made my husband read it. There’s a few helpful tidbits but this book tried to cover too much and there’s a lot of babbling and unnecessary information. I would have preferred this to be shorter and more straightforward.

[Brian]

Not bad. Really good at teaching you how to be a good partner and father, but think lots of the science is outdated. Puts some pressure on for things like breastfeeding that is maybe a little excessive.

[Shane]

Comprehensive but poorly formatted. Well-meaning but often insensitively off the mark in tone.

[Sirpease]

This is an informative read mostly on the time from conception to birth with some tips geared towards dad.

[Matthew Griffin]

This book was such a helpful guide through pregnancy. Lots of great, actionable advice. I would recommend this to anyone who is preparing to become a father.

[Ingolf]

Way too many specifics about health insurance in the US

[Gianni Hickerson]

Helpful🤷🏻‍♂️

[Marcus Evans]

Had to get prepared for pregnancy and Theo!

Book did a great job of doing this.

[bookreader]

Not too much NEED to know info that you probably don't already know but still good collection of knowledge.

[Sam Warchol]

Prepared me as much as possible, which in the task of fatherhood is inherently impossible.

Within the numerous “oh my god get out of my head moments” there were still some “that seems outdated” things from the older edition.

Regardless, still very helpful. Looking forward to hanging off to my fellow expectant dudes.