The Evidence-Based Pregnancy?

July 10, 2009 1:43 PM

What's a good, evidence-based pregnancy book?

I have a dear friend who recently got the good news, and she is very frustrated by the 'old wives' tales' that seem to make up the bulk of pregnancy advice. Likewise, neither she, the baby daddy, nor I have time to read through hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles to get to the science behind pregnancy advice.

We're looking for something that pertains more to nutrition, restrictions and remedies for the various discomforts that go along with pregnancy, rather than a book detailing 'just' fetal progression.

You get the idea - help a glowing, happy scientific mama-to-be out!

posted by palindromic to health & fitness (20 comments total)

What to Expect When You're Expecting is sort of canonical. She may get several copies from different sources (doctor, friends, etc). We seemed to acquire 3 or 4 of them. Forewarned: people seem to either love this book or hate it. After the first child, most people are indifferent to it, since you sort of know the ropes by then.
posted by jquinby at 1:46 PM on July 10

Henci Goer's The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.
posted by cocoagirl at 1:47 PM on July 10

A New York Times article about What to Expect...
posted by cocoagirl at 1:51 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

Dr. Sears' The Pregnancy Book
posted by krudiger at 1:53 PM on July 10

The Henci Goer book is good, but it's specifically about giving birth, not pregnancy.

I didn't mind What to Expect. But if the couple is prone to anxiety I wouldn't give it. It goes through pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong. If they are they types of people to take what they need and leave the rest (I ignored probably 50 % of the book, for example, because I thought it was overwrought) then go ahead and give it. It's comprehensive.
posted by gaspode at 1:53 PM on July 10

Your Pregnancy & Birth is published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. That's science enough for me. I hated WTEWYE - it's all one long How To Freak Out When You're Expecting. Blech.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:56 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

For the Baby Daddy, I recommend The Bloke's Guide to Pregnancy. My wife had Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy which she liked a lot and a bunch of others, including What to Expect. Every single one of them managed to freak me out a few chapters in. Bloke's Guide was exactly what I needed.
posted by IanMorr at 1:59 PM on July 10

I liked Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
posted by leahwrenn at 1:59 PM on July 10

As a supplement, she may enjoy some of these blogs: Mainstream Parenting, Rational Moms, Science-Based Parenting, The Skeptical OB.

I had, and liked, the ACOG book.

I have not read Dr. Sears' work, but given the advocacy of his son and business partner, "Dr. Bob," against CDC childhood immunization guidelines, I would be cautious about it.
posted by lakeroon at 2:06 PM on July 10 [2 favorites has favorites]

We're looking for something that pertains more to nutrition, restrictions and remedies for the various discomforts that go along with pregnancy, rather than a book detailing 'just' fetal progression.

You know, from an evidence-based, scientific viewpoint, most of these issues are just great big question marks. The simple fact is that the research is hard-to-impossible to do, and most advice is just a collection of best guesses.

So, not only does the book you're looking for not exist, even if you were to go to the primary literature, you wouldn't find satisfactory answers to many of your questions. I think what I'm trying to say here is that "the science behind pregnancy advice" is a bit of an oxymoron, and looking for evidence-based medicine when it comes to things like nutrition (my god, nutritional epidemiology is a mess) is an awfully tall order.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:17 PM on July 10

We were given Your Pregnancy and Birth at the hospital during the first prenatal appointment and also liked it.

The Girlfriends' Guide is extremely fluffy, written by a record industry mogul's wife. I read it during the long waits in the doctor's office during my pregnancy, but it got on my nerves a LOT.
posted by pinky at 2:24 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

For nutrition, how about Real Food For Mother and Baby by Nina Planck? I'm not expecting [nor am I planning to embrace the condition anytime soon], but I read the book cover to cover and quite enjoyed it. Lots of useful stuff in there.
posted by alynnk at 2:31 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

I know some moms who really liked Panic-Free Pregnancy.
posted by scody at 2:32 PM on July 10

When I was pregnant I read both The Girlfriend's Guide and The Hip Mama Survival Book. I feel they balanced each other out. I ignored the Girlfriend's Guides stuff on over 35 moms and ignored the deadbeat dad stuff in The Hip Mama book.

My most favorite books about having children are The Kid by Dan Savage and Ann Lamont's Operating Instructions.
posted by vespabelle at 3:07 PM on July 10

I came in to Nth the Henci Goer book. What to Expect is the opposite of what you are looking for... Your friend may enjoy this.
posted by kmennie at 4:37 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

Evidence based? Since I am Brainwashed by Western Medicine, I liked the Mayo Clinic guide.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:53 PM on July 10 [2 favorites has favorites]

Oh my god! Don't read anything in the What to Expect series!

It's more like What to Scare You with During Pregnancy/Babies First Year, etc!

Sears and Goer are good.

Ina May Gaskin is awesome, but probably not based in what you're looking for.
posted by zizzle at 6:37 PM on July 10 [1 favorite has favorites]

I can't personally vouch for either of these, but I've gotten them for like-minded friends. Both seem pretty grounded and agenda-free.

The Panic-Free Pregnancy: An OB-GYN Separates Fact from Fiction on Food, Exercise, Travel, Pets, Coffee, Medications, and Concerns You Have When You Are Expecting

The Pregnancy Bible: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Early Parenthood
posted by for_serious at 7:00 PM on July 10

I swear, this is exactly what you are looking for:
Richard Feinbloom, _Pregnancy, Birth, and the Early Months: The Thinking Woman's Guide_


And related, also excellent for actual birth processes:
Ina May Gaskin, _Ina May's Guide to Childbirth_ (look past the 70s photos for the content)
Adrienne Lieberman, _Easing Labor Pain : The Complete Guide to a More Comfortable and Rewarding Birth_

s.
posted by rexruff at 10:31 PM on July 10

Thanks, everyone - I've passed along your suggestions.
posted by palindromic at 5:13 AM on July 13