The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy
by Vicki Iovine
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Book Summary Information
Author: Vicki IovineEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2007-01-09
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Pocket
Book Reviews of The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy
Book Review: Worse than useless...
Summary: 1 Stars
Ugh! Where do I even begin with this masterpiece of misinformation and bad advice?! Her misguided intentions leave new impressionable moms with such a bleak outlook on pregnancy and child rearing in general, I'm shocked that Iovine managed to birth and raise 4 children and lived to tell about it.
She makes countless disclaimers and warnings throughout the book regarding her advice as "what your doctor won't tell you" and that "she's no medical expert", however this does not prevent Iovine speaking with gross authority on subjects such as exercise, diet, and labor, none of which it sounds like she knows ANYTHING about, 4 kids or not.
However, when you take into consideration her opinion and views of labor and birth: "The epidural can't come fast enough" and her ringing endorsements for scheduled c-sections, it's no wonder she doesn't encourage mothers to exercise and eat properly. A healthy and balanced diet (little to no refined sugars and carbs, plenty of veggies, fiber, protein, etc.) and light to moderate exercise (long walks, swimming, pre-natal yoga) are key to having a successful and positive birthing experience, not to mention help eradicating all the symptoms that Iovine pegs as inevitable, such as, constipation, hemorrhoids, excessive weight gain, swelling and fatigue.
I also found her attitude to be just as harmful as her advice. She doesn't teach newly pregnant women to embrace this time in their life. I will be the FIRST to admit that it's pretty impossible to embrace things like morning sickness and heartburn, but "The Girlfriend's Guide..." reads like a grocery list of things to be unthankful for and how inevitably miserable your life is about to become. Not to mention her reasoning for not having natural childbirth is that you don't get special recognition for doing it with drugs or naturally, so why bother. Motherhood is not about receiving any sort of "special recognition", in fact the essence of motherhood is accepting that life isn't about YOU anymore; it's about this wonderful and amazing little creature growing inside of you.
Bottom Line: The author is being paid to give pregnant women bad advice and I find that unconscionable.
Summary of The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy
Your doctor gives you medical advice.
Your mother buys you baby clothes.
But who can give you the real skinny when you're pregnant?
Your girlfriends, of course -- at least, the ones who've been through the exhilaration and exhaustion, the agony and ecstasy of pregnancy. Four-time delivery room veteran Vicki lovine talks to you the way that only a best friend can-in the book that will go the whole nine months for every mother-to-be. Here is straight talk about those little things that are too strange or embarrassing to ask anyone about, practical tips and hilarious takes on everything pregnant. From learning you're expecting ("Oh my god, how do I get out of this?") to the day your newborn arrives ("You mean I have to take the baby home with me?"), she gives you the lowdown on:
When you need a reassuring voice or just a few good belly laughs, turn to The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy.
Beginning with the "10 Greatest Lies About Pregnancy" (number 10: Lamaze works), and ending with postpartum dementia, Vicki Iovine's Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy has fast become the laywoman's mouthpiece for the American pregnancy experience. Iovine is irreverent, sassy, and incredibly reassuring as she exposes the "truths" of pregnancy and childbirth, from sex to cellulite to cesareans. Iovine birthed four kids in six years, none of them twins, which certainly qualifies her as an expert. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy does reveal Iovine's particular cultural biases (pregnant or not, most of us don't have record-producer husbands, hang out with supermodels, or wear size-four pants) and philosophical beliefs (she's not a particularly strong proponent of natural childbirth or nursing), but, taken with a grain or two of salt, she provides many hilarious moments, acres of advice, and honest reassurance readers will find nowhere else. --Ericka Lutz
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