If you are expecting a baby, you will want to read as much as you can to help you from bump to birthing pool with as little stress as possible. Whether you're a first-time mum or you're gearing up to welcome your second child, it can't hurt to be well informed.
We have drawn together a lovely selection including pregnancy nutrition cookbooks, memory journals, hynobirthing, pregnancy manuals for first time dads and day-by-day guides for your nine months with a bun in the oven. We've linked our favourite publications from best selling writers like Rebecca Schiller, Emily Oster and Heidi Murkoff, all available for purchase in the UK on budget-friendly sites like eBay and Amazon.
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Table of Contents
Many of the books in our top ten countdown are standard manuals with broad approaches to becoming a mother. These kinds of books can be really helpful, whether you're anxious about the process or just want to be armed with the facts.
Many are packed with info on how to conceive, what to eat while pregnant, and the various limitations and challenges your body will face. This type of book is often illustrated, perhaps demonstrating the size and attributes of your baby as it develops in the womb, or showing different birthing positions and their relative benefits.
Very often they will also include a personalised perspective from a midwife or mother, so they feel relatable and help you understand your own experience by depicting what others have gone through before you.
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To feel effectively supported from conception to birth and beyond, look out for a book which takes you through the process week by week, or even day by day. This type of book can be especially useful for mums-to-be with a tendency to worry and overthink, as they reassure the reader of what to expect and how to solve problems.
Another benefit of this kind of step-by-step guide is that it can be integrated into your pregnancy routine; perhaps to be read at breakfast or bedtime, giving the reader a heads-up of what to expect in the coming days and weeks.
If having proper nutrition during pregnancy is what you want to learn, get yourself a manual for expectant mothers that centres around food and cooking. You may choose to buy this as a guide to supplement a more general book, or you might feel that a book devoted especially to pregnancy nutrition is simply going to provide more in-depth information than a brief chapter or two.
Either way, when choosing a guide to nourish yourself and your unborn child, take care to ensure that the author is reputable and bases their theory in science and thorough research. There are plenty of myths around food during pregnancy, just as with every other aspect of this hallowed time, so do a little background research to find out how the author reached the conclusions they have.
Though it may not be the kind of pregnancy book that first springs to mind, another option commonly searched for by soon-to-be mamas is a journal in which to note down the ups and downs of pregnancy, all in the name of nostalgia.
This is another kind of book that you may choose in addition to a more typical guide to pregnancy, but what a wonderful addition it will be. As well as learning from pre-existing books, you'll create your own little set of ideas and memories which could be transformed into experience-driven advice for future mums.
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Either way, when choosing a guide to nourish yourself and your unborn child, take care to ensure that the author is reputable and bases their theory in science and thorough research. There are plenty of myths around food during pregnancy, just as with every other aspect of this hallowed time, so do a little background research to find out how the author reached the conclusions they have.
We've saved you some time on this by making sure the authors of our food-focused books have qualifications that make them sources you can rely on.
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£8.99
There is a reason this book has been translated into so many languages and become a bestseller in so many countries. It's a classic, thanks in part to its all-encompassing approach to pregnancy, recently updated to include current topics of pregnancy conversation like vaping, social media pregnancies and the 'gentle caesarean'.
With advice for the co-parent interwoven throughout, the book now comes with a supplementary app so you can access info on the go and receive updates as your pregnancy goes on. There's plenty of humour and hope in this book, even when dealing with the more stressful elements of pregnancy and birth. A great read detailing every possible aspect of growing a baby.
£14.24
Loved by mothers-next-door and celebrity 'mumpreneurs' alike, Marie Louise is a midwife and hypnobirthing expert with years of experience and a knack for simplifying the most complex processes into totally accessible, jargon-free text. Her warm yet expertly-written style is a joy to read.
Endorsed by many well-known mums including mother, popstar and face of babywear Kit and Kin, Emma Bunton, this book is also loved by enthusiastic online shoppers whose reviews urge new mums (and dads!) to try this book which they say is a 'super easy read' with a 'perfect balance' of clear information, honesty and positivity.
£18.15
Starting with lifestyle advice for the preconceptual period and guiding you all the way through pregnancy and birth to your post-natal experience, this book spans all 280 (ish) days of pregnancy. As well as the traditional look at the baby's development inside the uterus, you'll also find a guide to physical and emotional changes in the mother.
This handbook is set out clearly with striking photos and infographics – ideal for a visual person – but also has bags of clear, accessible text keeping the reader informed rather than overwhelmed. There are straightforward facts about diet, sex, exercise and illness during pregnancy; a clear, calming read with bags of 5-star customer reviews to boot.
£7.37
This book helps mums to understand the roots of conventional pregnancy advice and looks at it with a discerning eye. Emily Oster has bags of respectable endorsers, from Richard and Judy to the New York Times; all of whom hail her no-nonsense breakdown of the medical myths about pregnancy (and which ones we can loosen our grip on) as vital reading.
Oster's tone is both assertive and reassuring; commanding yet convivial. Parents of all backgrounds will benefit from chapters ranging from conception to the epidural debate, via caffeine, alcohol, deli meats and gardening. It is an easy read and will truly enlighten mothers-to-be while providing cosy peace of mind.
£15.15
While it can be tricky to stick to a natural approach to pregnancy one hundred per cent, it is something more and more parents are aiming for, and in this informative manual, YouTuber Genevieve Howland coaches you through that mindset without being preachy or pressuring.
There is a plethora of nutritional advice in this book as well as week-by-week support and food-for-thought from fellow natural mothers, helping a natural pregnancy run as smoothly as possible but with a nod to the potential necessary interventions which often come up.
£9.14
Our second pregnancy is never quite the same as the first, and while many books are hives of information aimed at first-time mums, this one looks in detail at how you might experience pregnancy on take two.
This book has a wide range of useful facts and thought-provoking information that will help you consider how to include your firstborn in your second pregnancy in a healthy way. It has a very personal touch from author and mum Sarah Ockwell-Smith so you really feel like you're chatting to an honest fellow mother who just happens to know her science inside out.
£10.46
In order to support your baby mama through this beautiful but often trying time, wise up with the help of this sweet and smart book, packed with specific advice from experienced dad Adrian Kulp. The focus here is not on perfection but on being present, supportive and clued-up on the whats, the whys and the whens.
By using this friendly and unintimidating guide, you'll be able to create a pregnancy plan with your partner you feel truly confident in, set personal goals for your relationship and get comfortable with the different aspects of each trimester.
£10.58
To ensure you are nourished and healthy throughout your pregnancy, consider this nutritional guide packed with handy advice on what to eat and when as your baby grows inside you. It can be a nightmare trying to eat 'right' when you're plagued with morning-noon-and-night sickness or having cravings you can't explain.
This book allows you plenty of freedom and understands that pregnant mothers struggle just as much as anyone else when it comes to choosing and sticking to the best snacks for our body and brain. Here you'll find up-to-date pregnancy nutrition research and 100 tasty recipes, alongside alternatives for when you're feeling fussier than usual.
£12.99
If you are looking for a book to help you document your pregnancy journey, search no further. This one has tonnes of effusive customer reviews and is not only smartly bound with a decorative marker ribbon, but also has all kinds of inspiring text and prompts as well as standard science.
There is plenty of space for photos, ultrasound scans, letters and other keepsakes to be fixed in place, turning this from a journal to a precious scrapbook of your little one's early stages. Many customers mention how much they appreciated the prompts to encourage reflection on this exciting and challenging part of their lives.
£11.65
What we thoroughly appreciate about this book is the fact that it skips the standard comparisons of your baby to a grape, salt-shaker or football and rather draws attention to how a mother might be feeling physically and how pregnancy will alter her daily life and interactions.
Full of data rather than personalised advice, this book places a guide to breastfeeding side by side with facts about formula. It contains a 40-week pregnancy timeline, a list of questions to address to your midwife and the pros and potential pitfalls of various birthing positions.
Written and researched by Annie Hopkins
No. 1:Heidi Murkoff|What to Expect When You're Expecting
No. 2:Marie Louise|The Modern Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond
No. 3:Dr Maggie Blott|The Day-By-Day Pregnancy Book
No. 4:Emily Oster|Expecting Better
No. 5:Genevieve Howland|The Mama Natural Week-By-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth
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