What to Expect the First Year

Arlene Eisenberg, 1934-2001 Arlene Eisenberg was born June 8, 1934 in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, daughter to the Head of the Sanitation Department. She is best known for her instructional books on pregnancy and the early years of childhood, "What to Expect When You're Expecting", as well as the"What to Expect Foundation", an organization which prints lower literacy manuals for disadvantaged women.

At the tender age of 18 she dropped out of Queens College, opting for babies and marriage to Howard Eisenberg, a press agent for Eddie Fisher, instead of a higher education. The two wrote articles together for many magazines until their children were grown.

At this point, Eisenberg began to collaborate on question and answer type pregnancy books with her adult daughters. Together, the three women wrote "What to Expect When You're Expecting", the follow ups "What to Expect the First Year", "What to Expect the Toddler Years" and "What to Eat when You're Expecting", which were hungrily sought out by pregnant women. It was a series that answered all serious and silly questions and made an expectant mother all the more comfortable. Through these books, Eisenberg became a mother to the multitudes, explaining to all women that they didn't have to be perfect mothers.

Arlene Eisenberg died at the age of 66 of breast cancer.