Rating:  Summary: Sooo Practical!! Review: I had read the reviews for the "Other" preganacy guide, and it scared me. This book is so entertaining that my husband grabs it when I put it down. I catch him laughing as much as me! It is very much to the point, and wise in it's recommendations. However, it is practical. You can still live while you are pregnant! It's not a DISEASE, so enjoy!
Rating:  Summary: A wonderful alternative to your "typical" pregnancy books... Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this book, as I found myself dozing off while trying to read other "standard" pregnancy books. This woman is right on the mark. Vicki makes you laugh so hard through each chapter that you will temporarily forget about your nauseous belly, your growing behind and all the other ailments that accompany most pregnancies. This is not a medical book and she does attempt to give her readers medical advice. It is light-hearted, fun and refreshing to know that other women have experienced what my husband and I are currently going through with our first pregnancy. I highly recommend her book (in conjunction with your standard pregnancy book, of course).
Rating:  Summary: essential book Review: This book is wonderful. i was feeling stressed out and this book just made me laugh and be able to take things less seriously. You have to use your common sense when reading it, you may not wish to follow all of her advice. its a good book to read if you need a break from all the other more serious pregnancy books and want to relax a little.
Rating:  Summary: sure, if you like yuppie pith Review: I also purchased this book thinking that it would be a welcome respite from the more serious tomes I picked up when I found out I was pregnant, but the writing was mediocre at best and I just couldn't relate at all to Iovine's audience. More than that, I found her book to be just too pithy to be even readable. Her tongue should be pried from her cheek.Pick up the Hip Mama's Guide and other books by Ariel Gore instead, you are guaranteed a far better read.
Rating:  Summary: Very Entertaining and Informative Review: This book is great! I read it in two sittings early in my pregnancy, and then again later on. It's written unlike any other pregnancy book I've read, but still manages to be informative. It's a riot too! I'd get this and another more "technical" pregnancy book. I liked "Your Pregnancy Week by Week."
Rating:  Summary: I actually liked this book. Review: I bought this book to get a humerous tone on pregnancy, instead of the factual look that the "What To Expect When you are Expecting" was giving me. I found this book to be refreshing and an easy read. It helped put humor into a lot of what i am feeling while going through my first pregnancy. I felt like Vicki Iovine covered a lot of what people either won't tell you or won't give you the whole truth on. I appreciated her being so candid on all issues. I would definitely give this book to any of my friends who informed me they were now joining the "Motherhood Club". This book was exactly what i needed to supplement my now round life.
Rating:  Summary: GOOD FOR COMEDY ONLY Review: This book should be read for the comedic aspects ONLY. Mrs. Iovine might mean well, but I think she is misinformed and makes too light of what interventions in hospitals can mean for mother and infant. To counter the effects of this book, I highly recommend a trip to [...]compleatmother[...]and find out about birth from a completely different perspective.
Rating:  Summary: Dangerously funny Review: Packaged as "a few good belly laughs," this book would be fine as a comic look at the inconveniences of pregnancy. It is funny, when Vicky jokes about cravings, weight-gain and moodiness. But when she uses that comic veil to impose her woefully misinformed opinion on medical issues like pain medication or health issues like breastfeeding, she's dangerous. Dangerous because so many women are looking to this book for commiseration and honesty from a perceived expert. Dangerous because she backs her opinions with absolutely no research or evidence-based facts. Dangerous because her opinions have been molded by our society who's fear puts our mothers and babies at risk. Demonstrating complete disregard for the purpose and value of the natural physical process of labor, not to mention its emotional and mental impacts, Vicky trades an opportunity to educate for her need to be popular. Her consistent insulting tone towards women who don't want "their epidural" in the parking lot, put significant pressure on the reader to conform to her viewpoint rather than making up their own mind. This is evident in passages like, "Willingness to suffer...is a sign of questionable judgment, not heroism. [Labor can be] a bed of nails...or a bed of downy feathers...Those of us who took a little nip from the epidural tap are usually the life of the champagne celebration in our rooms...while our American Gothic counterparts are sound asleep with every capillary in their cheeks broken." Total bunk. The pain of labor does not have to mean suffering. Heroism is never the motivator for a mother concerned for the safety of herself and her baby. Other examples of her ignorance: "A significant number of women who have their hearts set on vaginal births will end up having C-sections, and there is absolutely no reason for this to be a source of disappointment...I think this feeling of being "gypped" by a birth experience that doesn't match our expectations is one more example of that yuppie self-centeredness that is one of our least attractive characteristics." Fact: The value and purpose of normal birth is inexplicable to one who has never pursued it. And careless use of epidural anesthesia is as yuppie self-centered as it gets. Ignorance: On breastfeeding - "Is breastfeeding better than bottle feeding? Sure, I guess so. But then, so is baking your own bread, making spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes and never drinking coffee." Fact: The PROVEN intelligence and physical and emotional health of our children does not belong on the same page as ridiculous analogies to spaghetti sauce. Formula is the 4th feeding option on the World Health Organizations infant nutrition guidelines. Ignorance: "...an epidural...has a couple little drawbacks...it tends to slow down productive labor...you may be so numb...you cannot push hard enough to get the baby out..." Fact: There are many more than a couple little drawbacks, which I couldn't possibly outline here. Many are dangerous and common. There are also many risks to the "fixes" to these little drawbacks. Many women love this book, and that's fine. It is funny and irreverent. But in reality, birth is not.
Rating:  Summary: Funny, but not worth the money. Review: The friendly funy tone can be entertaining at times, but the author's obsession with her weight and cellulite really ruined this book. It seems like her main concern with pregnancy was how much weight she would gain. It is good to have a realistic view of your body. However, Vicki Iovine's portrayal of the pregnant woman's body is NOT at all helpfull.
Rating:  Summary: A perfect Baby Shower gift Review: Vicki Iovine has a very funny take on pregnancy. I get my friends this and "Breathe! A Guy's Guide to Pregnancy" (Don't forget the husbands!) Obviously, there are better books from a medical perspective. Moms-to-be should buy the clinical books too. But as gifts, a little humor is always appreciated. A word of caution -- as you can see by the reviews, people tend to be split 50/50 as to what's funny, and what's grossly offensive. You probably have a pretty good idea what your friends will laugh at, so buy (or don't buy) accordingly. I think the people who hate this book need to have a stick-ectomy to remove the foreign object that is firmly lodged in their posteriors, but maybe that's just me.
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