Claiming to cover "the scary parts, the funny parts and your private parts", this is another of those alternative guides aimed at terrified first-timers that purports to tell it like it is. Australian-born Kaz Cooke has structured her book into a useful week-by-week countdown that explains what's happening to you and the baby, exploring common health complaints, suggesting remedies and looking at what will happen at antenatal visits. Interspersed with these sections is an entertaining semi-fictitious weekly diary, providing a subjective counterpoint to all the practical advice.

Well-illustrated with witty cartoons and covering such diverse topics as weeing and working, blokes, bosoms and busybodies and how to be rude to complete strangers, Cooke's voice is friendly and funny that does its best to reassure you that you're not alone. Yet although it presents itself as a definitive guide, when it comes to technical information it can't really compete with the 'classics' by the likes of Miriam Stoppard and Sheila Kitzinger. Use this as a complementary read instead, especially if you have any concerns about a particular aspect of your pregnancy.