Rhythma Kaul picks her favourite read of 2025

A guide to pregnancy by a doctor, who is also mother to four children, is useful because it presents a mix of two perspectives and avoids heavy medical jargon allowing its content to be widely accessible

For me, this year has been largely about reading pregnancy books. However, it is a fact that no matter how many books you read and notes you make, nothing can prepare you for impending motherhood, especially the attention that a newborn needs during the night. Having said that, it is not entirely a useless idea to pick up a thing or two from other people’s experience. I must have gone through at least half-a-dozen books on the subject in a span of 36 weeks. One particular book stood out for me — Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy by Myra J Wick, a specialist at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology and the department of clinical genomics at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA. In the introduction, her bio says, “As a mother of four children, Dr Wick can relate to pregnancy from both a doctor’s and a mother’s perspective.” Perhaps this book worked for me better than others precisely because of the mix of these two distinct perspectives. The book also uses no heavy medical jargon and its content can be understood and appreciated by a wide readership.

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancyby Myra J Wick (Mayo Clinic Press)

Rhythma Kaul (Courtesy the subject)

It begins with a page telling the reader ‘How to use this book’ that is divided in six chapters. The first part, Enjoying a Healthy Pregnancy, deals with the process of conception, eating and exercise. Part two, titled Pregnancy Month by Month, focuses on the baby’s development during the months of pregnancy and the physical and emotional changes that a mother goes through. The next chapter, Baby Is Finally Here, helps navigate through the process of caring for the newborn, while chapter four, Important Decisions of Pregnancy, deals with key questions such as prenatal testing, elective Caesarean or natural birth, breast- feeding, and post-delivery contraception, among other matters. The following chapter is a guide that tells you how to manage symptoms related to pregnancy that can really affect the quality of life during those months. These include fatigue, backache, heartburn, leg cramps and swelling. Lastly, the section titled Complications of Pregnancy and Childbirth handles all those dreadful thoughts that can give you sleepless nights (as if you weren’t losing sleep already).