The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby

by Ann Douglas, John R. Sussman

Over 11,000 babies are delivered in the United States every day. Pregnancy, especially when going through it for the first time, can be overwhelming without the Unofficial Guide. Conflicting news reports, jargon-speaking doctors, and a lack of candid information on the nitty-gritty facts on what will happen over the next nine months can get the best of any Mom-to-be. Our author is a fourth-time Mom who's been through it all, and she is able to give expectant mothers the lowdown on choosing among the prenatal care options available; the truth about bodily changes from the perspective of someone who has first-hand experience; and the proper guidance through the maze of procedures, treatments, therapies, and medicines needed to help the reader find out what will work best for her without the wasted time, energy, and money. Thoughtful, authoritative, and unbiased, The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby

Genres: Parenting, Self Help, Nonfiction

818 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Ann Douglas sparks conversations that matter about parenting and mental health. She is a bestselling parenting book author and the former parenting columnist for The Toronto Star and CBC Radio. Her most recent book -- Navigating the Messy Middle: A Fiercely Honest and Wildly Encouraging Guide for Midlife Women -- has just been published in Canada, the US, and the UK.

Ann is also the author of Happy Parents Happy Kids, Parenting Through the Storm: How to Handle the Highs, the Lows, and Everything in Between, and the creator of The Mother of All Books series: The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Baby Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books and The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers.

A passionate and inspiring speaker, Ann delivers keynote addresses and leads small-group workshops at health and parenting conferences. If you've already met Ann via one her books, you know what you can expect from one of her presentations: to be inspired, informed, and entertained. Not only will she shift your thinking about parenting: she’ll move you to action as well—and in a way that leaves you feeling confident and capable as opposed to anxious, guilty, or overwhelmed.

You can connect with Ann on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Reviews

[Sean Sexton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby is part of a series of "unofficial guide" books whose purpose is to present the most unbiased, complete and useful set of information on a particular topic. The idea is to go beyond the official information that most sources give and tell you, instead, what you really want to know.

The Having a Baby guide definitely lives up to the philosophy of this series. It's over 800 pages long and provides a great deal of information on pregnancy and childbirth. This book really does go beyond a lot of the books out there, in that it presents large amounts of information that you won't see elsewhere, in a very readable format. As an example, the chapter that talks about healthy lifestyles during pregnancy includes a very long list of every prescription drug imaginable, with the FDA rating for risk and short description of possible problems.

The format and readability also make this book a winner. It often presents information in the format of answers to typical questions that potential parents might have. In this way, it addresses topics that people really care about and presents the information in a way that's easy to find and easy to read.

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an amazingly wonderful reference book throughout all of my pregnancies. It's very down-to-earth and not prone to exaggeration. It has short, funny quotes from mothers and fathers to keep it all on the light side.
Helpful (not gross, a necessity for my husband) illustrations and easy to read charts for a variety of subjects.
It also deals with infant loss, fertility (or in-), post-partum issues, multiples, high-risk pregnancies, etc.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how much there was to learn from this book. It's chocked full of facts, percentages, timelines, and studies, but also has a comfortable feeling from personal messages from moms in the margins. I especially appreciated the week-by-week charts of how the baby is changing and growing, and the comprehensive list of OTC medications and their effects during pregnancy.

[Jaimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very thorough and well written book. I enjoyed the "unofficially..." bits of information as well as the quotes from mothers along the margins. However, I found this book to contain largely the same information as The Mother of All Pregnancy Books also by Ann Douglas, which I preferred. So don't bother to read both.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, what can I say, this guide actually worked for me. I read it before we decided to start our family, just so I would be prepared. I now consult it every week to see what I should expect and what I should or shouldn't be doing.

[Jeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, clear-eyed resource for everything from infertility to how to tell if you're pregnant to choosing a childbirth class to when to go to the hospital during labor to handling your first few weeks with the baby. Invaluable resource for my first child.

[Eve · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, not great, albeit useful.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book told me almost everything I needed to know about having a baby. Almost.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way more helpful than those stupid "What to Expect..." books. Those just make you paranoid.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite pregnancy resource.

[quail]

I'm not pregnant.

[Marissa Covarrubias · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. answered all my questions. I like that it gives you the facts. Not some doctors ideas