Yes, there are other books for expecting and new parents, but this one is something special: Here is insight and help from an expert nurse working daily with pregnancy and baby care. Carole Kramer Arsenault, a longtime labor and delivery nurse at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and now the head of her own team of baby nurses, speaks not only to parents’ health and medical questions but also to the practical, day-to-day adjustments of having a new baby. In a reassuring voice that informs but doesn’t overwhelm with clinical detail, Arsenault covers the first trimester through baby’s first three months, offering an experienced perspective on preparing for baby’s arrival at home, what awaits in the hospital (labor, delivery, and postpartum), and how to make the most of the birth experience.

One of The Baby Nurse Bible’s four sections is devoted entirely to breastfeeding, supported by Arsenault’s gold-standard IBCLC certification (the only certification recognized by hospitals), while other chapters focus on each of the three months after birth. Arsenault also stops to “check in” with both Mom and Dad--informed by her extensive work with expectant fathers as well as moms.