We parsed the most trusted reading lists and review sites to put together our picks of the best pregnancy books, 2020 edition.
Whether you’re getting ready for your first child or you just need to brush up on the delicate art and science of having a baby, consulting a good book on the topic is always the right step. Pregnancy books provide a wealth of reliable information and valuable insights that you typically can’t find anywhere else. That’s why books are great additions to the different resources you need to have on hand at every stage of your journey.
Of course, not all pregnancy books are created equal. Some are worth keeping forever, while others simply don’t deserve to see the light of day. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of pregnancy books published each year means it can be very difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. In fact, by some estimates, around 305,000 new titles in various genres get published annually in the U.S. It’s not a huge stretch to think pregnancy books make up a decent chunk of that number.
Thankfully, a handful of mom blogs and parenting websites have already done the legwork of sifting through stacks of pregnancy books for us. In this blog post, we slice and dice these book recommendations to find out which pregnancy reads are really worth your time, your attention, and (most importantly)your trust. These book lists include:
This is an ongoing blog post. We’ll continue to update this post with fresh listings as they become available.
Best Pregnancy Books 2020: Books Recommended by Multiple Lists
Each of the following pregnancy books appears on more than one listing, which says a lot about how much trust moms put into it. You really can’t go wrong with any of these titles:
| Title |
Author(s) |
Mentions |
| Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: From Doctors Who Are Parents, Too! |
the pregnancy experts at Mayo Clinic |
6 |
| Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong–and What You Really Need to Know |
Emily Oster |
5 |
| Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth |
Ina May Gaskin |
5 |
| The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions |
Penny Simkin |
3 |
| What to Expect When You’re Expecting |
Heidi Murkoff |
3 |
| Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?: The Surprising Science of Pregnancy |
Jena Pincott |
3 |
| The Big Fat Activity Book for Pregnant People |
Jordan Reid, Erin Williams |
3 |
| What to Do When You’re Having Two: The Twins Survival Guide from Pregnancy Through the First Year |
Natalie Diaz |
3 |
| The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy |
Vicki Iovine |
3 |
| Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool |
Emily Oster |
2 |
| The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth |
Genevieve Howland |
2 |
| The Mindful Mom-To-Be: A Modern Doula’s Guide to Building a Healthy Foundation from Pregnancy Through Birth |
Lori Bregman |
2 |
| The Expectant Father: The Ultimate Guide for Dads-to-Be |
Jennifer Ash |
2 |
| The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding |
Diane Wiessinger |
2 |
| Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth |
Jenny McCarthy |
2 |
| The Panic-Free Pregnancy: An OB-GYN Separates Fact from Fiction on Food, Exercise, Travel, Pets, Coffee, Medications, and Concerns You Have When You Are Expecting |
Michael Broder |
2 |
Appearing in all six listings we reviewed, Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy takes the top spot in our 2020 best pregnancy books ranking. The book has been labeled as “best for medical information” (Verywell Family), “most reliable” (Babylist), and “best for first-time moms” (Today’s Parent) — among others.
Pregnancy Books Recommended by Only One List
Here, we’ll go over this year’s honorable mentions. These are pregnancy books that got mentioned in only one list but are highly recommended nevertheless.
| Title |
Author(s) |
| As You Grow: A Modern Memory Book for Baby |
Korie Herold |
| Debunking the Bump: A Mathematician Mom Explodes Myths About Pregnancy |
Daphne Adler |
| Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Mothers |
Karen Kleiman |
| Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother |
Beth Ann Fennelly |
| Pregnancy Day By Day: An Illustrated Daily Countdown to Motherhood, from Conception to Childbirth and |
DK, Maggie Blott |
| The Miscarriage Map: What To Expect When You Are No Longer Expecting |
Dr. Sunita Osborn |
| The Pregnant Body Book |
DK Publishing |
| A Child Is Born |
Lennart Nilsson |
| Be Prepared: Be Prepared |
Gary Greenberg |
| Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting |
Pamela Druckerman |
| Dad’s Guide To Pregnancy For Dummies |
Mathew Miller, Sharon Perkins |
| Expecting 411: The Insider’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth |
Michele Hakakha |
| LACTIVATE!: A User’s Guide To Breastfeeding |
Jill Krause, Chrisie Rosenthal |
| The Baby Owner’s Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance |
Louis Borgenicht MD, Joe Borgenicht |
| The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Success After Baby |
Lauren Smith Brody |
| Welcome to the Club: 100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming |
Raquel D’Apice |
| We’re Pregnant! The First Time Dad’s Pregnancy Handbook |
Adrian Kulp |
| 40ish Weeks: A Pregnancy Journal |
Kate Pocrass |
| Baby’s Eat, Sleep & Poop Journal, Log Book |
Sandra Kosak |
| Birth Without Fear: The Judgment-Free Guide to Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum |
January Harshe |
| Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies Has Come to Define Motherhood, and Why It Shouldn’t |
Suzanne Barston |
| Expecting You — A Keepsake Pregnancy Journal Diary |
Amelia Riedler |
| How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids |
Jancee Dunn |
| Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds |
Cynthia Gabriel |
| Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Early Motherhood—and Trusting Yourself and Your Body |
Erica Chidi |
| Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide Paperback – July 27, 2010 |
Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, Ann Keppler, Janelle Durham, April Bolding |
| The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two |
William Sears MD, Martha Sears RN, Robert W. Sears MD, James Sears MD |
| The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality |
Kimberly Ann Johnson |
| The Pregnancy Book for Men: From Dude to Dad in 40 Short Weeks |
Gerard Janssen |
| Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom’s Survival Guide To Breastfeeding And Going Back To Work |
Jessica Shortall |
| Your Pregnancy Week by Week |
Glade B. Curtis, Judith Schuler |
| 50 Things to Do Before You Deliver: The First Time Moms Pregnancy Guide |
Jill Krause |
| Honey, I Wrecked The Kids: When Yelling, Screaming, Threats, Bribes, Time-outs, Sticker Charts and Removing Privileges All Don’t Work |
Alyson Schafer |
| Strong as a Mother: How to Stay Healthy, Happy, and (Most Importantly) Sane from Pregnancy to Parenthood |
Kate Rope |
| The Belly Book: A Nine-Month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly |
Amy Krouse Rosenthal |
| The Healthy Pregnancy Book: Month by Month, Everything You Need to Know from America’s Baby Experts |
William Sears MD FRCP, Martha Sears RN, Linda Hughey Holt MD, B. J. Snell PhD CNW |
| What to Expect the First Year |
Heidi Murkoff |
| Commando Dad: New Recruits: A Guide to Pregnancy and Birth for Dads-to-Be |
Neil Sinclair |
| Dad’s Guide to Raising Twins: How to Thrive as a Father of Twins |
Joe Rawlinson |
| Here’s the Plan.: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood |
Allyson Downey |
| Mommy IQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy |
Rosie Pope |
| Pregnancy, OMG!: The First Ever Photographic Guide for Modern Mamas-to-Be |
Nancy Redd |
| The Happiest Baby on the Block |
Harvey Karp |
| You Can Two: The Essential Twins Preparation Guide |
Jennifer Bonicelli |
| Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation |
Pam England, Rob Horowitz |
| Bumpology: The Myth-Busting Pregnancy Book for Curious Parents-to-Be |
Linda Geddes |
| Dude, You’re Gonna Be a Dad!: How to Get (Both of You) Through the Next 9 Months |
John Pfeiffer |
| The Baby Bump: 100s of Secrets to Surviving Those 9 Long Months |
Carley Roney |
| The Pregnancy Instruction Manual: Essential Information, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice for Parents-to-Be |
Sarah Jordan |
| The Whole 9 Months: A Week-By-Week Pregnancy Nutrition Guide With Recipes for a Healthy Start |
Jennifer Lang MD, Dana Angelo White MS RD |
| Too Pregnant to Move: A Pregnancy Journal |
Conz Preti |
| Twelve Hours’ Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success |
Suzy Giordano |
| What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood |
Dr. Alexandra Sacks, Dr. Catherine Birndorf |
| Yeah Baby!: The Modern Mama’s Guide to Mastering Pregnancy, Having a Healthy Baby, and Bouncing Back Better Than Ever |
Jillian Michaels |
| From Dude to Dad: The Diaper Dude Guide to Pregnancy |
Chris Pegula, Frank Meyer |
| It’s Really 10 Months: Delivering the Truth About the Glow of Pregnancy and Other Blatant Lies |
Natalie Guenther, Kim Schenkelberg, Celeste Snodgrass |
| Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Improbable Grace and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family |
Catherine Newman |
| First-Time Mom’s Baby Memory Book: Record Precious Moments and Memories |
Emily Ramirez |
| Funny Little Pregnant Things: The good, the bad, and the just plain gross things about pregnancy that other books aren’t going to tell you |
Emily Doherty |
| The Essential C-Section Guide: Pain Control, Healing at Home, Getting Your Body Back, and Everything Else You Need to Know About a Cesarean Birth |
Maureen Connolly |
| The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians |
Rachel Pepper |
| Your Pregnancy for the Father-to-Be: Everything Dads Need to Know about Pregnancy, Childbirth and Getting Ready for a New Baby |
Glade B. Curtis |
| Let’s Panic About Babies!: How to Endure and Possibly Triumph Over the Adorable Tyrant Who Will Ruin Your Body, Destroy Your Life, Liquefy Your Brain, and Finally Turn You into a Worthwhile Human Being |
Alice Bradley |
| pregnancy: The BEST Pregnancy Handbook For First Time Moms And Dads |
Cassandra Paterson |
| C-Section: How to Avoid, Prepare for and Recover from Your Cesarean |
Mark Zakowski MD |
| Bro, She is Pregnant: Dad’s Week by Week Pregnancy Guide |
Darell Spice |
| Pregnancy: For The First Time Moms, What They Don’t Tell You |
Darell Spice |
Which books in the list have you read already? Which ones are you adding to your to-read list? What other pregnancy books do you recommend? We’d love to find out what you have to share, so feel free to leave a comment below.
If you have any other feedback or concern, let’s get in touch. It would also be great if we could connect on Twitter and on Facebook, too!
