  A few days ago I shared the fantastic news that friends urlLink Neal and Amy Locke are pregnant, almost through their miserable first trimester. As a welcome to my club present, I sent them Dr. and Mrs. Sears' urlLink The Pregnancy Book , which is the gateway book into the Sears' urlLink fantastic series . This morning I got a nice email from the Lockes thanking me for buying them this book instead of yet another copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting . I can't tell you how much this warmed my heart! I personally thought What to Expect was hideous. In my book reviews articles, I actually did a set on worst pregnancy books, in which this book tied for top with Iovene's Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy . At first, I thought What to Expect was not that bad, but rather purely encyclopedic instead of the narrative tone I preferred to guide me through the pregnancies.
After delving into it more deeply,however, I have to say this book is a propaganda tool of medical practitioners everywhere who want to encourage the whole woman as victim identity through this otherwise most natural (rather than medical) life event. All the advice could boil down to if this, this, or this happens, call your doctor or go see them asap. I prefer a book that encourages women to feel comfortable and curious about the big changes they feel and see. Pregnancy is a wild ride, a great adventure, not a medical procedure! This huge experience should empower women to believe in themselves and trust their body. America's medical profession is slowly warming up to this idea. UNM Hospital offers a dula to every women that gives birth there. My cousin Bridgette was taught the hip dance in her prenatal class, whereas I'd only read about it in Sheila Kitzinger's books. The old school doctors don't want to see women up and dancing, but rather laying down and saying yes sir.
Know that I had both my babies in hospitals, and am grateful for modern medicine. But let's be honest, doctors and nurses could stand to err a little on the trust your body side of things. What to Expect was written by a nurse who clearly never questioned the system even once. Questioning the system, or in parenting terms, developing your reflective sense of self, has proven to be a pretty important key for development of the individual.
What should we think then about professions that don't value this skill? That aren't willing to put their paradigm on the sacrificial stone, if you will, and see how it looks? Lacking. If What to Expect When You're Expecting is truly being honest, upon opening the first page one would read "expect to want to throw this book in the trash. " That's exactly what parents should do upon receiving it from their doctor or friend or well-meaning parent who saw the book on the morning show and thought it would make a good gift.
Don't give it away, it's more a disservice than charity. Just throw it in recycling. Finally, so I'm not being too narrow minded toward Dr. Sears, other great intro to parenting books include What's Going on in There by urlLink Lise Eliot , Rediscovering Birth by urlLink Sheila Kitzinger (I haven't yet read her newest, but this was great), and the Natural Baby by Janet Balaskas. 
