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What to Expect When You’re Expecting: (Updated in 2026)
Health, Fitness & Dieting, Personal Health, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Women's Health
What should you eat, avoid, expect, or worry about during pregnancy? This practical guide answers the everyday questions that come with pregnancy, from morning sickness, exercise, food safety, and changing skin to work, travel, sex, and preparing for labor. It also covers prenatal screenings, medication safety, birthing options, pregnancy symptoms, and what to expect when carrying multiples. With straightforward information, practical tips, and plenty of reassurance, this book helps make sense of the physical and lifestyle changes that come with pregnancy—for both expecting mothers and fathers.
- Release Date
- 1984
- Publisher
- Workman Publishing
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Our Review
About the book
This long-running pregnancy guide, now led by Heidi Murkoff, walks expectant parents through pregnancy month by month. It covers fetal development, physical and emotional changes, nutrition, prenatal tests, common symptoms and concerns, labor and delivery, and the early postpartum period.
Our review
The pregnancy reference many parents keep on the nightstand, thorough to a fault and organized for anxious late-night lookups.
The book’s month-by-month structure is its greatest strength. Each chapter explains what is happening with the baby, what you may be feeling, and then answers a long list of common questions in a reassuring, practical tone. Newer editions have broadened their language to include different family structures and updated medical guidance. For first-time parents who want an organized reference to consult as each question arises, it covers an impressive range of topics in one place.
That comprehensiveness has a downside. The question-and-answer format can surface worst-case scenarios a nervous reader never thought to worry about, and earlier editions were criticized for an anxious, prescriptive tone around diet. It is a general guide, so it cannot replace advice from your own doctor or midwife, and some readers prefer more evidence-focused or less exhaustive alternatives. Used as a reference rather than read cover to cover, it remains a helpful companion.
What we loved
- Clear month-by-month organization
- Answers a huge range of common questions
- Updated editions are more inclusive and current
Keep in mind
- Exhaustive detail can heighten anxiety for some readers
- General advice is no substitute for personal medical care
Read it if you like
Expecting Better by Emily Oster, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, first-time expectant parents
The verdict
A dependable, comprehensive pregnancy reference best dipped into as needed, alongside your own care team.
