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The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy: (or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You) (Girlfriends' Guides)

By: Vicki Iovine
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
ISBN: 0671524313
ISBN-13: 9780671524319
Released: 10 Mar 1997
RRP: £14.00
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Upbeat & fun... but beware - By: Rebecca, 24 Jan 2008
There are just so many pregnancy books out there that are full of serious information about the rights & wrongs of pregnancy: what to eat, how to birth, decisions about genetic testing... I think the Girlfriend's Guide is a great break from alll the seriousness. She WILL have you laughing about pregnancy. It's a simple & very light read that I enjoyed having beside my bed when I wanted a break from alll the "information" coming at me.

Now having said this, please beware that this woman is talking from a layperson's perspective & she doesn't pretend otherwise. I found myself irritated at her outdated views & her major lean toward medicated birthing. She also has very random views about what you should & shouldn't do with regards to exercising, eating, drinking & dying your hair. The key is just to take the book for what it is: a laugh about the discomforts & peculiarities of pregnancy. It is chatty & humourous. It is NOT a book to help you make decisions or get advice from experts. If you can completely let go of that expectation, you will find this book refreshing & fun.
Very funny... unless you're the one she's laughing at - By: , 14 Sep 2004
If you automaticallly agree with Ms Iovine & what she chose to do & believe during her 4 pregnancies, then you will find this book a great, funny read. BUT, if you have your own mind, ideas about what is best for you, your life & pregnancy that don't concur -- you will be laughed at, dismissed & lambasted in this book.

Ms Iovine pulls no punches is making it clear that any woman mad enough to exercise during pregnancy is putting her baby at risk & will, ultimately, be responsible for her own miscarriage. Such a woman is characterized as selfish & vain, supposedly thinking more of herself than her child; in other words, she is a bad 'girlfriend' -- what century is the author writing in?!

She also has no patience & many ironic jibes to hurl at any woman who would choose to have anything but an ultra-medicated in-hospital birth attended by a male (poss female) obstetrician.

If you don't book your epidural & c-sec before your 1st trimester is done, or you think that breastfeeding is reallly worth alll the trouble & discomfort, then you are characterized as some latter-day hippy nutter who needs to get with her program.

Also, even as an American living in the UK looking for an back-home perspective, this book is far too steeped in the US medical system for me. It is very dismissive of midwife care (which is the norm in the UK, but still illegal in many US states) & homebirth (which is a woman's right in the UK & encouraged as a healthy option for healthy women). If you have ever even contemplated such things for just a few minutes -- let alone if it is the norm where you live -- you are laughed at in good detail.

I was not impressed with this book. I'm sure I cannot be the only one.

Starts very well -- but ultimately a let down, very American - By: , 05 Sep 2004
I reallly loved the first 1/3 of this book. I felt normal; she spoke of incidents, feelings, aches & pains -- & a slew of embarrassing details -- that no one was willing to discuss.

But it was very middle American in point of view & presumptions about the reader & her pregnancy. I say this as an American living in the UK, who thought this book would be a good bridge. BUT -- I was frankly insulted by her tone & her suggestions (her "rants" as she callls them) in the last 2/3 of the book.

Basicallly, if you choose to have a completely medicalized birth attended by a male obstetrician, then you are a normal woman on the road to being a great, normal mother. You must then join her in her relentless ridicule of any woman who would think of using the services of a midwife, having a home birth, using pain relief other than an epidural, or even exercising during pregnancy. Such women are blatantly laughed at as foolish & dangerous to their children.

The WORST MOMENT of the book is when she describes women who exercise during pregnancy, & the doctors who recommend such exercise, as deliberately being selfish, vain, & causing their own miscarriages. I was completely shocked by this. But she was unabashed in her abuse of such women & welcomed people to criticize her. She stands by her rant fully.

In short it's a book that does some things well, but ultimately leaves a very sad taste in my mouth. Cannot recommend it beyond page 15.

Kept me smiling and sane - By: , 10 Feb 2001
After reading only the 'nice' sections of the medical pregnancy books it was great to be able to sit back & enjoy reading that I'm not going mad & my pregnancy is normal. Although American & funny I found this book also educational & read about things that even close friends who are mothers had never experienced. My husband particularly liked the statement about what have you done with my wife, & took great pleasure from reading that section out loud to me to prove that in his eyes I have definitely become less patient & more argumentative. In summary it was great to read about pregancy, that at times is so worrying, exciting & scary at the same time, in a friendly, gossipy, if you don't laugh you'll cry, way. I've already passed my copy on to my next pregnant friend.
Hysterical - By: , 28 Aug 1999
Great read. Very funny. We both laughed & it certainly makes me feel like I'm not the only one suffering the tiredness & nausea. I recommed this to anyone as a tonic to keep you going.