Getting in Shape for Baby Day

Pregnancy and Sports Fitness, by Dr. Lynne Pirie in consultation with Dr. Lindsay Curtis (Fisher Books: $9.95).

Sports-medicine specialist, body builder and author Dr. Lynne Pirie--who was pregnant when she posed for the photographs in this book--has produced a thorough guide to staying in shape pre- and postpartum.

The bulk of the book is given over to chapters describing how a pregnant woman should approach each of the various types of popular sports, and the text is supplemented by charts and illustrations advising what to do when.

It’s got a bit of flab, to be sure. Certain advice is repeated, well, ad nauseam; some citations of doctors or studies are maddeningly incomplete, and the opening chapters ramble before information is presented more succinctly. And why belabor obvious points with question-and-answer sections?

Nevertheless, this book would be a good resource for almost any pregnant woman--even someone who has been inactive and is now just looking for exercises that might make pregnancy less uncomfortable and delivery less difficult.