From Library Journal Spencer， a contributing editor of Parenting magazine， has written what she hopes will be "a real person's guide to having a baby，" drawing on recent medical research， old wives' tales， her own pregnancies (she wrote this during her third)， and the experiences of many other mothers. Attempting to look at the whole person during pregnancy， she gives first-time mothers some idea of what to expect. Spencer covers each week of pregnancy and the common problems or issues that arise， also discussing labor， delivery， recovery， and newborn care. Spencer's writing style is very readable， and the chapters progress quite logically. This will be a complementary addition to such books as Nancy Evans's The A to Z of Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Concise Encyclopedia (Hunter House， 1993). For consumer health/patient education collections.?Mary J. Jarvis， Methodist Hosp. Medical Lib.， Lubbock， Tex.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist No detail of the compelling story of human reproduction was too trivial to exclude from this upbeat， reassuring guide to the "four trimesters" of pregnancy， childbirth， and the first weeks of life. Organized to address "what real women really want to know，" the sourcebook covers everything from fetal development， exercise， nutrition， bodily changes， emotional issues， labor， and special situations to maternity clothing， sex， leaves from work， and the basics of newborn care--all in a lively， down-to-earth， and savvy manner. Spencer， who was， appropriately， pregnant throughout the book's gestation， anticipates the questions that anxious first-time parents have and answers them with just the right amount of information， clearly presented. Photos and other illustrations and the personal accounts of new mothers add to the user-friendly handbook's appeal and help it compare favorably with Antonia Van der Meer's excellent Great Expectations (1993). Kathryn Carpenter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews