The Couples' Pregnancy Guide: How to Navigate Pregnancy and Childbirth as a Team

by D'Anthony Ward, Rachel Ward

Practical strategies, checklists, and planning tools to help couples navigate the pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn stages together

Preparing for the birth of your child is a life-changing experience, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. Couples can tackle everything that needs to get done if they work together as a team, all while setting the foundation for a strong partnership that carries them through the next stage as first-time parents. The Couples' Pregnancy Guide offers supportive advice, strategies, and checklists couples need to create a plan that works for their unique relationship. There’s no script for how things will go in pregnancy, but you can get through it with confidence and optimism when you do it together.  

The Couples' Pregnancy Guide  

• A month-by-month breakdown of discussion-worthy topics, from prenatal screenings and parental leave to childcare options and birth plans 

• Guidance on how to support your partner to improve communication, strengthen emotional attunement, and lay the groundwork for a strong parenting team  

•Checklists and worksheets to share responsibilities and empower non-birthing partners, and brainstorm solutions when joint decisions are particularly tricky 

•Practical advice for challenges like easing tight finances, moving past communication impasses, and advocating for yourself in medical settings

Genres: Parenting

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2023

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of these books begin to kind of blur together, but I found this one particularly helpful because of the input of the woman. I think the hardest thing of becoming a dad is not knowing how a woman feels or what she wants/needs and even a little input is useful in that regard.

[Asya · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind the book is very nice: to give first-time parents some tips and comfort. The authors are not medical professionals but a couple who have experienced pregnancy and childbirth and want to share their experiences, which may help others. I liked the to-do lists and the emphasis on emotional well-being and communication.

However, the book quickly became quite annoying. It turned out to be repetitive and not very informative. The authors highlight important issues, such as postpartum depression, that might come following pregnancy, but the words 'mother' or even 'woman' are never used, not once throughout the book. How can one claim to advocate for women’s rights while replacing 'mother' with 'birthing partner' (as opposed to 'non-birthing partner') or using terms like 'chestfeeding' (?!). I understand this reflects a certain strain of American political correctness, a way of signaling progressive credentials, but I find it deeply inappropriate in a book about pregnancy and maternal health.

[Isabella Conroy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author got annoying and there wasn’t much new I learned. The only thing I liked and appreciated was the list of to-dos at the end of each chapter!