Rating: Summary: EVERYBODY SHOULD READ THIS! Review: I picked up this book looking for something different to read about pregnancy. You see I am a physician who practises medicine that encompasses delivering babies, prenatal and postpartum care, as well as pediatrics. I was pregnant with MY first child and wanted something that I would find useful. This book is accurate with what medical info it does supply; but, the basis of this book is to give you the REALITY of pregnancy in a relaxing, funny way. This deals with how you will feel, reassure you that you are not going crazy, and lets you be light-hearted about things which in this day and age is much needed. This was my favorite book about pregnancy...even my husband read it and he hates reading!!!
Rating: Summary: Funny yet reassuring Review: I found the book to be extremely reassuring - especially during my first trimester. The way that many topics were approached actually caused me to laugh outloud several times! I appreciated the break from all of the technical books that were overwhelming at times.
Rating: Summary: Girlfriend's Guide from a Nurse Midwife's viewpoint Review: I am a Nurse Midwife and I read this book to see if it is one I would recommend to my patients. While I love the idea of a book written by a non-medical person, the information in this book is sometimes so erroneous that I would never recommend it and in fact am tempted to destroy my copy to make sure it never gets into circulation. I like Vicki Iovine's humorous style and it is enjoyable to read. I also like that it gives the non-medical point of view, but so much of the information is wrong that I worry it could be somewhat harmful if this were the only pregnancy book an expectant mother read. If taken in the context of knowing that most of the medical information is probably wrong, and preferably read along with books written by more reliable authors, it can be a fun read.
Rating: Summary: An absolutely wonderful book!!! Review: If you are pregnant - if you know someone that is pregnant - if you are even *thinking* about getting pregnant - then read this book. It is not a 'medical' book - but it is warm and funny and very true-to-life. Let's be honest - any pregnancy involves some very weird things happening to a woman's body. By 'weird', I don't mean 'bad' - just things you are probably not expecting. You might feel too embarrassed/silly/stupid to ask anyone. But this book will answer many of these questions. And she doesn't just talk about the physical changes your body is going through - she talks about how you might feel, your relationships with others, etc. And she does it in a humorous fashion. This book is *fun* to read. Pregnancy is not a 'sickness' but it is a profound physical change. And every woman has a different experience (and the same woman can have different experiences with different pregnancies). Even if you have a best friend that you'd be willing to ask anything - if she didn't experience the same thing, she might not know the answer. This book left me feeling like I had a bunch of 'best girlfriends' that were totally honest with me about what I was experiencing. They didn't all have the same experience - but some did and they could answer that particular question. If you're interested in the medical aspects of pregnancy - get a different book. If you're interested in the practical aspects of pregnancy - buy this one!!
Rating: Summary: Better than your best girlfriend... Review: When I found out I was pregnant, I realized that I had a lot of questions. Sure, I knew the logistics of how babies were made, but I had other questions too, ranging from when do I start showing, why didn't I feel like this, what do I buy, etc, and while every female I knew was excited and happy, they weren't people I wanted to ask certain questions of, and there were certain questions I didn't even think to ask. Anyway, I bought the usuall suspects, "your pregnancy week by week," and also "The girlfriends guide to pregnancy", and was later given "What to expect when your expecting". Of all these, "girlfriends guide to pregnancy" is my favorite. The other books are medical-informative. This book is "best friend" informative. It provided me with A LOT of good laughs, and that's a difficult thing for me to get from a book. And best of all, after reading those serious books, this is an easy/light read which is refreshing. I definetly recommend this book, and it would make a wonderful gift to the newly expecting. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars simply because it's not as factual as your other books, but it is like being pregnant with your best girlfriend, who knows and understands what YOU are going through.
Rating: Summary: Best Pregnancy book I've read Review: I am honestly shocked by the negative remarks I read about this book. I am pregnant, and read this book right after looking at more of the conservative, accepted books, and I found "G-friends Guide" to be such a relief! Vicki doesn't put a negative spin on pregnancy, she tells THE TRUTH! Sorry, reviewer, you WILL feel like a hippo when pregnant, and that's only natural, most women have a littany of minor complaints about being pregnant. This book made me laugh out loud! It helped me to understand and accept lots of the little annoyances that are happening to me. I plan to buy Vicki's other books as well, and I ALWAYS recommend this book to friends.
Rating: Summary: Not What I Expected Review: As a first time pregnant mother, I searched the stores to find the "perfect" books...ones that would tell me everything I needed to know about pregnancy. I carefully selected two books. One being this book. The tone of this book is very sarcastic and without common tact. Although it offers much good information, it also offers a lot of tactless trashy statements. For example...The writer says not to exercise because your body will become out of shape anyways and not to get your haircut short because your face is going to get fat....Instead of embrassing pregnancy, it actually makes it seem that for the next 9 months a mother will have to endure a terrible and devastating bodily change. Reading this actually made me upset! (Women don't get fat during pregnancy!!!! Yes, they gain weight....but not much...most of it truely is baby et al!!!!!) Wouldn't you rather read a book that tells you how to have the healthiest pregnancy fo you and your baby? I HIGHLY recommend the "Pregnancy Book". It's the best book that I have found on the market. My doctor is really impressed that I am so "up" on my information. That really makes me feel that I am informed about what is happening physiologically as well as emotionally month to month.. Thanks to the "Pregnancy Book".
Rating: Summary: Thank You Review: I was pregnant for the first time at 74. Thank you Viagra! This book helped me cope with my husbands disorders as well as my bad back. It provided the inside information that only an author would know. If you are pregnant at 74, this book is for you.
Rating: Summary: The single best book we read Review: There seem to be a good number of people reviewing this book who don't quite get it. I'm starting to find, as the father of a 4-week-old, that some people seem to view their style of parenting as sort of a political statement. Anyone who disagrees with their deeply held beliefs, which often seem to include family beds, baby wearing, and breastfeeding into the early teens, is clearly someone to be attacked. I'm not looking to be indocrinated into anyone's political camp. I've found useful things from Sears, and guess what, useful things from Ezzo, too, and my baby is growing just fine, thanks very much. Vicki unintentionally covers exactly this situation in one of her later books, where she pretty much says that there's three schools of thought on sleeping: the family bed, the crib in another room, and the mix of the two that most of us actually end up doing because some nights, it's just too tiring to get the little guy back to his own room. The point -- there's a lot of us out there who don't care a whit about political statements, and instead want to simply do whatever works for them in order to have a happy & healthy pregnancy and child-raising experience. This book is lighthearted -- which pretty much no other pregnancy books are. It's also honest in ways others aren't, especially in describing the actual processes of labor and delivery. No, it shouldn't be the sole book in your pregnancy library, but, um, why on earth would it be? Actually, and I'll bet I'm not the only one who feels this way -- a Girlfriend's Guide to Breastfeeding would be fantastic. What's out there is, as usual, too political about the issue, and unable to answer simple questions about, say, supplementing, because it's spending all its time making political statements.
Rating: Summary: Kind of Cute, but I am now really turned off to pregnancy! Review: I am not yet pregnant, but doing research to see what all is involved. I am looking forward to pregnancy as a fabulous time and miracle of life. This book sounded like it was so much torture and I was going to be fat and hideous forever and "morph into a hippo". Well, what made me so mad was reading on the back cover that she was a Playboy model. How can she speak for every woman when she is exactly NOT what I want to be? I've gained and lost weight, had bad skin, and low self esteem. I already have a few stretch marks and god forbid, weight over 150lbs. Guess what- there are WORSE things that can happen besides gaining weight ESPECIALLY when you are growing a baby. I also feel very strongly that breastfeeding, staying at home and natural childbirth are very important, but Vicki tells me a bottle, fulltime daycare and a scheduled C-section are just as good. I don't believe her.
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