Baby basics
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* Lisa Graves

Canadian Medical Association Complete Book of Mother & Baby Care ( 3rd ed.).  Dr. Anne Biringer, Editor. Dorling Kindersley; 2011

This well-documented resource is a welcome addition to the repertoire of books available to young families. Its practical, commonsense guidance on everything from planning for pregnancy to removing a splinter, with wonderfully informative photographs, will make it especially valuable for parents who are new to caring for children and the health care providers who advise them.

This book presents some of the most up-to-date evidence on caring for women during pregnancy and on parenting children during the first three years of life. The quality of the illustrations presents a visual document that is unique in the Canadian baby book market. Parents and caregivers will readily identify with the families pictured in this book. Medical readers will be pleased to see simple and straightforward writing that follows medically sensible recommendations.

The section on ”Pregnancy and birth” includes a photo documentary of the changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy and practical information on prenatal nutrition, what to expect during labour and birth and how to care for the newly born. The second section, “Caring for your baby” addresses practical concerns from feeding babies, such as good advice on breastfeeding and formula feeding, to changing a diaper, all covered in step-by-step photographs. A brief but targeted conclusion to this section explores normal child development to the age of three years. The final section, “Your child’s health,” represents a quick medical guide to common problems (both benign and serious) that can occur during a child’s first three years.

![Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/184/1/70/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/1/70/F1)

The Canadian Medical Association

This book is compiled with expert input from Canadian and other sources. Some readers may find the book lacking the level of detail they might desire. In covering the prenatal period to the age of three years, the book does not give in-depth treatment to every topic. Controversial issues related to birth and the discourse around these are not present; although some readers will miss these topics, they are clearly not within the intended practical scope of this book. However, the practical, common-sense advice of this accessible book makes it a very useful resource.