Product Description

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:

• WHAT REALLY HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY -- from morning sickness to eating everything in sight, what to expect when going from being a babe to having one.
• COMMON FEARS AND PARANOIA -- from turning into your mother to leaving the baby on the car roof, rest assured your anxieties are perfectly normal.
• THE MANY MOODS OF PREGNANCY -- or why you're so irritable/distracted/tired/lightheaded (or at least, more than usual).
• THE PREGNANCY YENTAS -- from your mom to his mom, they think they know everything -- and they don't hesitate to tell you what you're doing wrong. Girlfriend, take heart: if it's working for you, then you're doing just fine.
• HOW TO HAVE SEX DURING PREGNANCY, SHOULD YOU SO DESIRE -- bearing in mind you'll have no interest afterward.
• LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BEST -- cautionary style tips from your best friend, who really would tell you if your perky newmom haircut makes you look like a pinheaded whale.

When you need a reassuring voice or just a few good belly laughs, turn to The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80478 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-09
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.com Review
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

From Publishers Weekly
For first-time mothers-to-be, this candid, funny and very reassuring guide to pregnancy is just what the doctor ordered?or would if he/she knew about it. Iovine, who has had four babies and who seemingly has girlfriends with many more, believes that women learn the really valuable things about pregnancy from other women. Since too few women in today's mobile society have a close circle of experienced female friends to turn to, Iovine's sharing of her own and her friends' experiences and knowledge fills a genuine need for comforting, straightforward, non-euphemistic woman-talk. Without stepping on any medical toes, and in language that is neither technical nor cutesy, she tackles morning sickness, swollen breasts, exercises, stretch marks, sex during and after pregnancy, delivery and just about everything else, from maternity clothing to bladder behavior. Iovine anticipates every conceivable question, and her responses are warm, wise and witty.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
If you need a good laugh while waddling through a pregnancy then the Girlfriends' Guide is just the thing. In addition to being packed with important advice and insider survival tips, Iovine's terrific sense of humor separates this set from traditional books for expectant mothers. The recording quality is remarkably clear, and Iovine's voice is easy on the ears, though perhaps a bit too gentle for the hilarious sarcasm that balances her sound advice. Without a doubt, this tape will elicit hearty chuckles from the listener and will be passed from girlfriend to girlfriend. E.W.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Very funny... much needed humor when you are preggo
My sister-in-law gave me this book to read when I was pregnant. It is very funny! Its the "everything you need to know about pregnancy that no one will tell you" book. Just what someone with fatigue, gas, swollen ankles and a squished bladder needs! Relax, put your feet up and enjoy this great, light-hearted book.

Made me laugh while I was sick
This is a comical and informative girlfriend type of guide to pregnancy. Whereas other books might put you to sleep, this one actually entertains. I certaintly would still encourage purchasing one of the sleepy medical based books too though. Sometimes I would even read this book while I was not feeling well and for a moment here and there it would actually distract me from my misery. As long you have a good sense of humor and aren't easily offended, then you'll be happy you purchased this book. Most of all, it is fun.

Helpful, but not really my kind of girlfriend...
I found the tone of this book to be a bit too "freak out" for my tastes. She uses exaggeration for comic effect, but in this case, when you're going into pregnancy for the first time, not knowing what to expect, it is hard to separate exaggeration from reality. For example, the weight gain. I was seeing myself becoming the stay-puffed marshmallow woman after reading this book-- not just during pregnancy but afterwards too. Maybe the idea is that if you can make peace with that, you will be okay for whatever happens... But she's the same way about sagging this and gaping that... Anyway, if you want a real in-your-face "you'll never be the same again" perspective to prepare you for anything, this book will give it to you.

I am giving this book 3 stars because she did help me through the first trimester cramping-- I was worried that they meant the pregnancy was going to end until I read her book (she makes a point of saying not to worry about those, as she had worried about them a lot). She also gives a good discussion of her genetic testing experiences/choices.