The Mother of All Pregnancy Books: An All-Canadian Guide to Conception, Birth and Everything in Between

If I were to buy ONE pregnancy book (I bought about 8 or 9) this would be it. The MOST informative, all-encompassing, Canadian book out there. All you need is this book and the weekly emails from sites like thebump or babycenter and you are SET for your pregnancy. Very non-judgemental, but full of facts. Only downside: a few too many mentions of infant death -- something no pregnant mommy ever wants to think about. However, if you have suffered from miscarriage and/or loss, or want to know EVERYTHING this is the book for you.

I found this to be a great book. informative with out getting into too many details and the gross stuff. its my go to guide to look up what to do about certain symptoms, check what medications are ok to take, and what to avoid and at what times. It was also great to have a book with a Canadian perspective. so many things in american books just dont apply to us.

This book was informative in some areas. However the book seemed to give you the dark side of pregnancy. I found the book too negative. Not very up-lifting. The focus was all the things that can go wrong. It left me more stressed than informed. Gave away my other pregnancy books, not this one. Didn't want to scare first time mothers.

This book covers everything, right from trying to decided when to start "trying" to the child being born and much more! All the Canadian facts are so helpful, because many books quote american facts. I would strongly reccommend this book to any couple look for some comfort and simple english terminology.

I am your typical type A personality. I need to know everything about everything and want to be prepared for any scenario I may face. Some people told me that I wouldn't want to get pregnant if I read this book. That it can scare people trying to get pregnant for the first time. If you are a person who wants all the facts you will love this book. Yes it talks about the not so sunny-side of pregnancy. But I for one would rather be prepared to face the less than happy situations that can occur when you are trying to get pregnant and are pregnant than be completely overwhelmed and prepared. I love that it has suggestions from people who have been there and is a book for Canadians.

I really enjoyed this book! I chose this one because it included discussions on preconception and is for Canadians - nice to have the references to Canadian health care and options. I found it very easy to read, but still had a lot of useful information in it. I also got a book that was more 'scientific' to refer to as needed, but would highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book over other pregnancy books because it is written by a Canadian and it was easy to read. It had lots of references that were Canadian, which have been very useful. I liked this book better than What to Expect When Expecting.

Being a first time mom, I had many questions and concerns. I found this book reassured me on many aspects from discovering I was pregnant to what to expect when delivering to what will change in my life after the baby is born. The book gives excellent advice and suggestions for all aspects of pregnancy, suggestions on maternity wear, your relationship with your spouse or significant other, clothing for the baby, breastfeeding or bottle feeding. It also talks about many symptoms, problems, general knowledge and what is nomal and what isn't that I hadn't been able to find out anywhere. This is a great book for Canadian Mom's!!!

I found this book to be very helpful. I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me some great tips and ideas.

I am someone who is thinking of starting a family and found this book rather interesting, resourceful, informative and more. I am the type of person who likes to know as much as she can before diving into something as important as this and found this book to be great. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who is pregnant, trying to get pregnant or thinking about it. It covers lots of different topics without causing worry or scaring the reader. Good choice!

I guess just like no two pregnancies are alike, no two pregnant women will see this book the same way! I'm very surprised by the negative comments by other reviewers. I'm known to be a bit of a worrier and I found this book relieved my fears and reassured me that my pregnancy was on track.

I felt that this book presented all aspects of pregnancy (yes, including miscarriage and other sad possibilities), but in my mind, it wasn't presented in a way which scared me or made me live in fear of what could happen. It simply made me feel I was well informed, and gave me confidence in the decisions I made.

I recommend this book to anyone planning a pregnancy, or already expecting. One friend I gave this book to, unfortunately did miscarry, but said this book was a Godsend. (happily, she is expecting once again)

The Mother of All Pregnancy Books is the only book I needed through my pregnancies (2 miscarriages, 1 thriving daughter), it is so comprehensive, and all Canadian!

Our prenatal class instructor recommended this book to us over a bestselling American title, and every other couple we know who has recently given birth told us this is the one to get. Now that we've read it, we understand why there's so much buzz around this book. It's fun to read and it tells you what you need to know, plain and simple. It's a bonus it's Canadian, too.

I purchased this book because of the canadian slant however I was extremely disappointed to learn the extent of its canadianism was a list of resources in the back.

This book is not well laid out, nor is it very informative. Take a pass on this one if you're looking for a good reference book; spend your money on something a lot more useful like a sexy new bra!

We purchased two pregnancy books when we found out we were expecting. With this pregnancy almost finished, I have found that I didn't like this book as much as the other one. This book is not for those who worry a lot, and let's be honest, pregnancy doesn't come without worrying. It really focused on negative things and didn't help ease my mind on things that I was questioning. It is great that there is a Canadian book, but perhaps there should be some following on some of the US books and focus not only on the negative but also the positive. I enjoyed knowing what was happening inside of me on a week to week basis and this book didn't do that.

I love this book - with trying to conceive and being my first time this book really helped me understand alot and taught me alot. Made me more comfortable too that it is a Canadian book.

We are first time parents, both biologists and realists and are not easily frightened by possibilities or straight talk. However, we find that this book actually dwells on the negative and organizes itself around a theme of oh no, something is wrong . Most of the time in fact we are just interested in what can be expected at certain times during the pregnancy. We usually had to refer to other books to find this out.

I would say: use this book like the trouble-shooting guide at the end of an appliance manual. Find something else to give you the information.

After having read many pregnancy
books, this is the one I kept on my
coffee table, on-hand, ready and
available for whenever any questions
came up during my pregnancy,
especially when we were faced with
the possibility of having a sick baby.
This is the most comprehensive and
complete Canadian pregnancy book
I have found. Plus, Ann Douglas
gives tons of information on how to
prepare for pregnancy, a topic which
is only briefly discussed by other
authors. This IS my pregnancy
Bible!!!

This book was fantastic. As a first time mother, I bought approx. 10 books of this nature, but found this best for Canadaians. It was up-to-date, and realistic with Canandian health care. Ann Douglas puts pregnancy-related topics into an easy to read, full of facts book. I especially like how she draws on from experts, but also from real people. I still have a few weeks to go, but my book looks like it may have gone through many pregnancies. I write in it, highlight things, and pick it up everyday. I highly reccomend this! Good luck with your pregnancies!

I have been recommending this book to my clients for the past two years. It is comprehensive, well-written, and based on the best health advice to be had from such leading Canadian health authorities as the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, Health Canada, the Canadian Association of Family Physicians, and the Canadian Paediatric Society. My clients like the book because it's written with humour and delivers a lot of mom to mom insider information on coping with pregnancy and postpartum aches and pains. The book makes a terrific alternative to the truly dreadful What to Expect When You're Expecting.

While I appreciated the uniquely Canadian information included in this book, I would have to say that the author's contribution to the subject area ends there.
I found that this book was for the most part uninformative and frankly scary. For example, when dealing with every woman's fears about alcohol consumed before she knew she was pregnant, the author simply shares a story about another pregnant woman with the same fears, who prepared herself for the prospect of having a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. While this may be comforting to some, I would have preferred to see some actual information on FAS.
In general, I felt that the tone of this book was rather negative (huge focus on the negative aspects of pregnancy and what might go wrong), especially considering that most doctors agree that stress and worry should be avoided by pregnant women.
For a more balanced, less preachy, and more helpful pregnancy guide, I would recommend 'What to expect when you're expecting'. For in