There are lots of pregnancy guidebooks out there, and I have read many of them. During my first pregnancy, I could not get enough of reading everything I could, like some kind of insatiable pregnant knowledge beast: Feed me! Feed me! All the books shared certain elements like fetal development by age, how much weight you probably have gained (HA), your own body’s development, questions you likely have, etc.

Even during my second pregnancy, I whipped out a couple of those books (the ones I hadn’t already lent donated to friends) for a refresher. But, by the third pregnancy, I was far too busy and tired to care much about knowing when baby sprouted arm buds or whether my uterus was the size of a small cabbage yet.

Recently, I was given a copy of a new pregnancy guidebook, The Pregnancy Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey to Motherhood by Jessica Wolstenholm and Dr. Heather Rupe. While it contains some of those same basic elements of the other books, there are some notable differences.

First, it is, indeed Faith-Filled. This means that if you are the anti-religious type (and certainly all you Pagans out there), it may be a bit much for you.  It’s a matter of personal belief and preference, but for the right gal, the sections in every chapter with “faith-filled words of wisdom” may be comforting and nurturing for the soul. The authors, in the Foreword, say they sought a balance of information and inspiration. I think this is about right.

It is surprisingly funny in parts. One of my favorite passages: (Read more…)