Rating: 
Summary: Best Book on the Shelves
Review: While Vicki Iovine may not be overly technical about pregnancy, this was by far the best book I have read. As a first time mother I can't give it enough praise, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something beyond "What to Expect..."
Rating: 
Summary: Not the only book you should read, but entertaining!
Review: I read this book at the beginning of the 3rd trimester and while I agree with others that it is a little negative, and she does focus a lot on how you look and feel, I needed to hear it! I needed to hear some justification for the bad feelings about pregnancy and know that it was ok to feel that way and LOVE being pregnant and having a baby at the same time! I laughed so hard I cried through most of the book. Don't use this for your medical reference, get the What to Expect book or something, but do read this for some comic relief! And watch out for the chapters about labor, delivery, and post pardom- I bawled my eyes out and was totally terrified, but it was probably a good thing because I was pleasantly surprised with how not horrible it ended up being.
Rating: 
Summary: Iovine's book is narrow-minded and insulting.
Review: My sister received this book as a gift last year while she was pregnant. She began reading and switched to another after seeing all of the husband references. She is unmarried by choice, and disliked being spoon fed stereo-typical ideals regarding family, when all she wanted was to learn about pregnancy. I learned that I was pregnant not too long ago and someone recommended this book, because we already owned it I decided to take a look. I am single as well, although not by choice. I would love to have a partner to share my pregnancy with, but that is unfortunately not the case. The author suggests in the opening parargraph of the book that babies are only to be celebrated under certain circumstances. I for one believe all babies, regardless of their parentage, deserve to be celebrated. This author should have considered the era and audience for which she was writing before alienating her book from many of the women I know.
Rating:
Summary: Laughter and a big sigh, a must read!
Review: I disagree with those who say this book portrays pregnancy as a miserable experience. On the contrary! Until I logged on today, I'd never heard a negative review of this book. I feel that any pregnant woman will benefit from reading this, because Vicki Iovine makes you laugh out loud. She describes what you're experiencing, but magnified so that it's absolutely hilarious. Come on, even the most delighted pregnant woman gets uncomfortable, and it's so nice to have Vicki validate those feelings in her book. Suddenly, you realize you're not going crazy, that all pregnant women go through this. I read this book six years ago, and have bought it for every first-time mom I've encountered since then. This is a book that gets passed around until it's tattered. It's an easy, relaxing read, like watching a great chick flick with your best friends. And it's exactly that feeling that pregnant women need most. In addition, it's good, useful information with tons of humor spooned on top. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Great Advise in a down to earth way
Review: I thought this book was great. It is like talking to your sister about things that you didn't know you wanted to know. I laughed out loud many times and now that my baby is here and I am passing it to my girlfriend.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Pregnancy Book Ever!
Review: My friend bought this book for me when I was 8 weeks pregnant. I loved the humor & all of the advice throughout the book. Before I read this, I started to read What to Expect. That only scared me because it mentioned the "M" word a lot & to a first time mom-to-be, I had enough uncertainties on my own. I didn't need a book to bring it up constantly.
The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy is a must have for any pregnant woman. It paints a great picture of what to expect in your changing body, your mood & even gives insight about what your husband will be going through.
And just a side note, yesterday we found out that we are having a little girl!
Rating:
Summary: The most negative views on pregnancy I have ever heard
Review: I bought this book about 3 1/2 years ago and unfortunately have not had use for it until now and so maybe I am different than most because I am beyond thrilled to be pregnant. I started to read this but was so turned off by her negativity. Even my friends who didn't have fertility issues never complained like Iovine does - it's annoying and surprising that she has 4 children. I am so excited to go through 40 weeks of pregnancy and yes I know there is going to be stuff that will be pretty unpleasant but I don't know any girlfriend who thinks pregnancy is horrible because of what it does to your figure - she sounds selfish and shallow and I agree with another reader, I feel sorry for her children.
Rating:
Summary: Best Pregnancy Book Ever
Review: For my first pregnancy I bought every book I could find and read all of them. This was the only one that really tells you like it is while giving you the support and humor yo need to get through those nine months. I couldn't even wait until my baby was born to read "The Girlfriends Guide to the First Year of Motherhood". Buy these books for yourself and anyone else you know who is expecting. I read parts over and over. They deal with all kinds of issues as well as lots of things none of these other books talk about - especailly the fears and insecurities you might have. It was fun to read and very true.
Rating:
Summary: A must-purchase gift by all newly-expectant husbands.
Review: I got this book for my wife as soon as I learned that we were pregnant, and she ripped through it in just a couple of nights, laughing out loud time and time again. She LOVED it, and has read it several times since from cover to cover. I've read the chapter on husband's reactions to pregnancy, and it is dead on. As soon as we announced the pregnancy, all of her girlfriend's suggested the book to her, and I got plenty of bonus points for having already gotten it for her. By the way, there is a lot of really good medical information here, too; it's not all humor.
Rating:
Summary: not for single moms or calendar owners
Review: I tried to read this book when I was trying to conceive. At first I found it funny, but ultimately could not finish it. The jokes quickly get to be repetitive -- I stopped laughing after the first chapter or two.Two additional things that annoyed me, besides those mentioned by other reviewers, are 1) Iovine assumes that anyone who is pregnant must have a husband and 2) she keeps insisting, throughout the entire book, that a pregnancy is really ten months, not nine (this would be annoying even if she were right, which she is not). I was single while trying to conceive (and am now a single mom), but I don't consider myself to be overly-sensitive to the fact that many pregnancy books assume a pregnant woman must be married -- most pregnant women are. But Iovine's book tells you what you should be ordering your husband to do for you on just about every other page -- it gets tiresome quickly. I doubt that I would have that attitude towards my husband if I had one -- at least I hope not, since I find Iovine's view of husbands is rather negative and demeaning. Then there's the fact that, at the beginning of the book, Iovine concludes that 40 weeks is 10 months, and thereafter, she repeatedly says "during the nine(ten) months of a pregnancy.....". If this woman owned a calendar, she would know that the only month which has just 4 weeks in it is February. The average month has 4 and 1/3 weeks in it (52 divided by 12). This means that it takes 13 weeks, not 12, to equal 3 calendar months, and 39 weeks, not 36, to equal 9 calendar months. 40 weeks is 9 months plus a week. But of course you're not actually pregnant for the first two of those weeks -- from conception to birth, a pregnancy actually lasts about 9 calendar months MINUS a week. It's not a male conspiracy, it's simple math! This math error would not have irked me so much if Iovine had just made it at the beginning of the book and let it go. Instead, she repeats it every third page or so. This is another feature which got tiresome quickly, and another reason I wasn't able to finish the book. Those who are more tolerant of math errors and repetition than I may be able to overlook these things, but I couldn't.
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