The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy

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Summary: This Book Helped Save My Sanity
Review: I received this book as a gift at the beginning of my second trimester. I almost cried through my laughter just reading the introduction section! This book takes a humorous approach to giving advice and calming fears, while still being very straight-forward when necessary. Most of the other popular pregnancy books imparted lots of information and were edifying, but also succeeded in terrifying me for the entire first trimester. This book has helped me and my husband enjoy my pregnancy instead of being afraid of doing something wrong all the time.

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Summary: Should you read it now or wait for the cliff notes edition?
Review: ...The bottom line is that if you're an intelligent woman with her own identity (separate from that as a reproductive vessel)--no matter how much you love your unborn baby--you will inevitably find your self-image as an attractive, active woman clashing with your newfound weight gain, fatigue, nausea, cellulite, constipation and gas! The majority of this book points out the common feelings and areas of ambivalance that most women feel in coming to terms with this major life change. It does so in an insightful and witty way that makes us (or, most of us) laugh at these changes rather than berate ourselves for not seeing every single aspect of pregnancy as a beautiful, divine experience. Plus, it throws in lots of information that you're probably not going to have unless you DO have girlfriends who have had children and are willing to give you the lo-down on the whole pregnancy deal. So, if you're not afraid that having a "non-June-Cleaver" thought will shatter the very foundation of motherhood as we know it, and you need lots of laughs and a good dose of useful opinions and information, I HIGHLY recommend this wonderful book!

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Summary: The funniest and most informative book.
Review: I really didn't know what book to buy when I first became pregnant and I decided on the Girlfriend's Guide. It was hilarious and still very informative for a first timer. I was definitely recommend it to any other woman.

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Summary: If you don't find this book hilarious, you've got issues
Review: I read the few negative reviews on this book and find them to be from women who seem to be way too "sensitive". It's clearly obvious that Iovine is exaggerating to make us all laugh in most parts of the book. Like the other, more mellow reviewers, I agree that this book only made me feel more relaxed and able to go with the flow during my first pregnancy, and I had a beautiful, healthy, and brilliant 8 1/2 lb baby girl. If you're so uptight that you can't have a good laugh during your pregnancy and you have to be so "proper", then you're right; you shouldn't have read the book. This book only made me feel more comfortable with my feelings and appearance. One last note; regarding the reviewer, Kim O., I consider myself to be an educated woman, and I couldn't agree with you less. You shouldn't attack someone just because they chose a different approach instead of writing yet another clinical book on pregnancy. There's plenty of those out there already, and I doubt those books were written for the author's health either (instead of a "fast buck"). Lighten up already.

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Summary: Great book for daddy too!
Review: My husband and I read this book aloud to each other during my pregancy. We would lay on the bed howling with laughter! I think it gave my husband a more realistic perspective than all of the "expectant father" books we bought, and it was certainly more entertaining that the other 26 "expectant mom" books I bought. (Yes...it was my first baby...) An extremely enjoyable read for both of us.

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Summary: A MUST READ to balance the What to Expect books!!
Review: I LOVED this book! I read it during my first pregnancy and I'm already half way through it in the first month of my second! I took it in small doses last time, because I was a little freaked about the whole experience, but it is full of the FUNNY and TRUE indiosyncracies of pregnancy. Other books can make you feel inadequate and less than the perfect birthing vessel--Vicki NEVER does that. Read it. It will make you laugh, give you confidence, and remind you that you are not alone--no matter what crazy reactions you and your body have to that little babe inside you.

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Summary: Disappointing
Review: I received this book as a pregnancy gift, and I can only say that I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I applaud the concept of examining the lighter side of pregnancy, but I found this book to be completely superficial. Iovine is clearly OBSESSED with her physical appearance . . . she mentions repeatedly throughout the book how thin she was before her pregnancy, and most of the pages are devoted to her ongoing concerns about her looks during and after pregnancy. Of course this is a concern for most pregnant women, but I hardly think it's the most important issue raised by the life-altering miracle of pregnancy and childbirth! Isn't motherhood supposed to make us a little less self-absorbed?!

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Summary: The Lighter Side of Pregnancy
Review: This book was wonderful! I see that many of the reviewers thought that the author concentrated too much on the superficial, but that is why this book works. This is not your reference book for medical issues - I had plenty of books (and my doctor) to provide me the serious information. This book deals with the things you feel too frivilous to ask - like body changes, strange mood swings, when to tell. Give yourself a break from the clinical and have a good laugh!

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Summary: Every Newly Pregnant person should read this
Review: I loved this book. As a newly pregnant person, I was so happy to find a book which made me feel like I was not alone. I feel okay not look like the model on the "Fit Pregnancy" magazine cover now. I definately recommend it.

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Summary: I would return it if I hadn't thrown away the receipt
Review: I bought this book for myself, along with "The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-To-Be" for my fiancee. While his book actually contains practical and interesting advice; this one is just a bunch of superficial complaints from someone who obviously takes pregnancy for granted. "The Girlfriend's Guide..." is probably just the thing if your relationship is based on looks and money instead of love and support ("my husband will leave me if I stop dyeing my hair during the pregnancy"), but for the rest of us, it doesn't provide any helpful information at all.