While clearly written for British expectant mothers because of the information about the NHS system, I found it really informative and helpful. Even as a second time mom, I learned more about pregnancy and childbirth. While I'm not sure I'd recommend the book to an American mom, I would recommend it overall.

I was pretty much pregnant/breastfeeding in one big blur for four years when I had my 3 children. During the first pregnancy, I cursed the fact that pregnancy books were either too hippy dippy for me - not realistic at all about the negative sides of incubating a living being - or else they were just a non-stop barrage of facts and figures and official recommendations, with no real-life or common sense input. My other complaint that it was difficult finding a book that centered around the UK in terms of antenatal/postnatal care. It is all very well getting your info from the NHS website, but reading about firsthand experience is so much more informative and useful.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is written in a very approachable conversational style and treats the reader as an adult who is perfectly capable of making informed decisions, and needs facts - not patronising. The non-judgemental, frank tone on topics such as feeding and birth method will be very helpful to expectant moms who will be subjected to enough of a barage of other people's opinions about what consitutes the "perfect" birth, etc. Simlarly, the way that miscarriage and traumatic birth is spoken about as something to be open about, is invaluable.

The information and guidance provided are clear and accurate - warts (and piles) and all. If you live in the UK, first-hand information is provided on the antenatal and postnatal care you can expect to receive. The contact information for various organisations provided at the back of the book is also very useful indeed and I liked the recommendations of further reading, such as Ina May's book, which I only discovered during pregnancy number 3.

My only criticism would be that the book could do with some graphics/pictures/illustrations as it is very text-heavy.

Thank you to the publisher, authors and netgalley for my copy. This is an honest review.

Nice read, but not all is true, or naked truth. Every pregnancy is different, as every person and every labour or every baby.

I have been reading a lot of pregnancy books lately and I found this one as a good general pregnancy book. The book is broken down into 11 Chapters; You're Pregnant, The Joys of Pregnancy, Womb With A View, Care Instructions, Office Politics, Hit and Missionary, Delivery Schedule, Ready for Take-Off, Labour Days, Birth Stories and Hey, Baby!

This book goes through a lot of general information, from finding out you are pregnant and what to expect during your prenatal care to the symptoms of pregnancy and how to manage them. There are chapters on what to avoid during pregnancy, how to adjust to working while pregnant, labor and delivery and newborn care. This book is written by a UK author, so I would probably wouldn't recommend this book for women in the US because a lot of the information presented goes along with the NHS and doesn't apply to women here. However, all the general information on pregnancy and self care is obviously useful to anyone. Overall, a good general guide for pregnancy and delivery.

I am currently 26 weeks pregnant and expecting my first baby, and its a little girl! I loved this book!!! Will definately getting a physical copy to keep and refer back too, I learnt a lot. I loved the layout, the real life experiences and comments from mums and the relaxed way it was written made me feel less pressure about the weeks ahead and the impending birth! Great book - 5 stars

If you have a friend, who is planning to get pregnant and is very anxious about whole process, this is a book to give as a present. This book describes pregnancy in simple terms, from conception to first few weeks of baby's life. All physiological changes, needed care, diet, physical activities and complex medical terms that might come up during pregnancy are carefully explained. Overall, it's a nice book for a woman, who plans and or is already experiencing first pregnancy.