Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide Paperback – September 18, 2018

I really liked this book. I was planning on my first unmedicated birth and this book was phenomenal. It’s along the lines of an easy read informative text almost like a textbook. It is much easier to read and more interesting than a textbook though. It presents all aspects of pregnancy and birth from complications to normality. I found it to be comforting to get the information up front without a hidden agenda , just facts. It also addresses how a partner can be supportive and the things they may be going through. It covers pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. I think this book is better than a lot on the market.

Bought this book when I was taking my doula courses and it was very helpful. I still use it as a reference today

For my first pregnancy, I read The Mayo Clinic Pregnancy Book, What to Expect, The Husband-Coached Childbirth, and this Penny Simkin book, Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn. This book had the best balance of stats based on evidenced based medicine but also real life anecdotal vignettes from mothers. Throughout the book, there are quotes from mothers sharing their expectations and experiences - these voices put into perspective that there is no one right way, just a few different options that might work for me.For full disclosure, I approached this first pregnancy considering a natural childbirth but open to using drugs if needed. Since I come from a family of physicians I was skeptical of going too far off the holistic deep-end. I wanted to stay within a comfort zone that balanced following my body and practicing the best evidence-based medicine. After reading many Amazon reviews, I bought this book and was very very happy in its approach to preparing for and giving birth. The book does a great job of showing the range of options. For example, The book provides at least 3 sample birth plans ranging from mothers who wanted and epidural to mothers who wanted to give birth in a birthing center.A potential con is if you're interested in week by week drawings of your little fetus and getting updates on what fruit or vegetable s/he is, then you'll need to augment this book with the Mayo Clinic Pregnancy Book or sign up for Baby Center's week by week email. Penny Simkin's book will cover general fetus development and what you can expect in each phase of your pregnancy but invests much more in the types of proactive exercises you can be doing to prepare for the birthing process. There is also a section at the end on how to prepare for the newborn, breastfeed and other aspects of basic newborn care.The book has simple pictures to illustrate techniques. My husband and I started about 2 months before our due date by spending 5-30 minutes each night practicing some of the suggested natural birthing management techniques. There were so many different techniques but the book did a great job of suggesting short routines so that we could work on a few techniques each night. It was great "us" time too!In addition, there are also sections on possible interventions such as a c-section, different drug options, membrane stripping, etc. It was great to be exposed to these possibilities early on so that I could make the appropriate decision and refer back to the book as needed.I highly recommend this book for people that are looking for a little more information on what you can do proactively as you're preparing for your childbirth. The book is supportive of both drug-assisted and drug-free deliveries. We lucked out and had a drug-free delivery - I really surprised myself! It was a fantastic experience and this book really helped me prepare.

While I was expecting my first, I read Penny Simkin's Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide. It was by far my favorite pregnancy book. I bought it at first in Nook format, but quickly decided I wanted the paper version. The diagrams and charts didn't show up well in digital format.This book is a great overview of pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn - just as you would expect from the title. This book begins with information on interviewing doctors, evaluating hospitals, and choosing a doula. I printed many of the handouts on http://www.pcnguide.com/ to help me with this process.The sections on pregnancy and fetal development were not as detailed as other books. I supplemented with reading from other books and pregnancy aps on my iphone. This book doesn't have a weekly summary of fetal changes, but instead features a more of an overview of developments each trimester. I found the exercises and stretches useful.The real value of this book lies in the labor and delivery section. Admittedly, it is a little biased toward natural delivery, but does include information on interventions. I was considering a natural birth when reading this book, but I was also open to intervention if I got in over my head. I printed the chart of coping techniques featured in this book, studied them, and included them in the documents I brought to the hospital. This book was also very helpful in writing my birth plan and featured a few examples of plans (from mothers with different goals). I used many of the strategies in this book to have the natural, in-hospital birth I wanted. Luckily for me, I had a normal, uncomplicated labor. Even if it had gone differently, this book gave an overview of interventions: why they might be recommended, what happens, and potential side effects.Overall, I highly recommend this book especially if you are considering a natural birth or if you want a different view than the typical hospital birthing class.