The Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You (Paperback)

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• This item: The Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You by Vicki Iovine

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• Your Pregnancy Bible: The Experts' Guide to the Nine Months of Pregnancy and the First Weeks of Parenthood. New updated edition by Anne Deans

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• The Bloke's Guide to Pregnancy by Jon Smith

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Your Pregnancy Bible: The Experts' Guide to the Nine Months of Pregnancy and the First Weeks of Parenthood. New updated edition by Anne Deans 4.8 out of 5 stars (76)  £14.71

The Bloke's Guide to Pregnancy by Jon Smith 3.9 out of 5 stars (74)  £5.39

The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth (Rough Guides Reference Titles) by Kaz Cooke 4.6 out of 5 stars (98)  £7.14

The Best Friends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood by Vicki Iovine 3.8 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.94

The New Contented Little Baby Book: The Secret to Calm and Confident Parenting by Gina Ford 3.6 out of 5 stars (690)  £5.49

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Review
'The book is fantastic - I'm sure it's all the information I'll need' Meg Matthews, Having a Baby 'Hilarious The comical side to pregnancy made it a lot easier to deal with' Donna Air, New Woman 'It's brilliant, and stuffed full of anecdotes you'll recognise immediately keep this one for bedside reading Iovine's warm and witty style is wonderfully reassuring' Pregnancy Magazine

Chirpy, chatty, jocular (perhaps overly so) guide to the nitty gritty of pregnancy and birth with the laudable aim of offering all the details you might get from other mums, rather than doctors or midwives. The descriptions reflect a certain attitude: periods are painful, labour is bloody, epidurals are God's gift - which is very much of the 'ain't it awful?' school of pregnancy experiences; we're into the 'grisly details' of labour and the 'battle scars' you will bear thereafter on page one, and it rather implies that every woman will suffer a full selection. The glib attempts at humour and mateyness can get rather trying, particularly when mixed with coyness. It's tabloid gynaecology mixed with soap opera obstetrics, and no territory for either nervous mums or anyone who, unlike the author, can contemplate phrases like 'natural childbirth' or even 'breathing exercises' without contempt. This probably betrays the author's - and the book's - American origins, and the publishers too could have tried harder: footnoted amendments to reflect UK practice do not a British edition make. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
Your doctor gives you medical advice. Your mother buys you baby clothes. But who can give you the real story when you're pregnant? Your best friends of course - at least the ones who've been through the exhilaration and exhaustion, the agony and ecstasy of pregnancy. Now, four-time delivery-room veteran Vicki Iovine helps you through the next nine months the way only a best friend can. Here is straight talk about those little things that are too embarrassing to ask about, practical tips and hilarious tales on anything pregnant. From learning that 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 it home with me?') , Iovine gives you the low-down on: What really happens to your body - from morning sickness and wind 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; the many moods of pregnancy - or why you're so irritable/distracted/tired/lightheaded (well, more than you usually are); the pregnancy experts - from your mum to his mum, they think they know everything and they don't hesitate to tell you what you are doing wrong; how to have sex during pregnancy, should you so desire - bearing in mind you'll have no interest afterwards; looking and feeling your best - cautionary style tips from your best friend, who really would tell you if your perky new-mum haircut makes you look like a pinhead whale.

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84 Reviews 5 star:  (57) 4 star:  (10) 3 star:  (5) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (6)           Average Customer Review 4.3 out of 5 stars (84 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   34 of 35 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, friendly reassuring book - answers without alcohol!, 24 Jul 2000 By A Customer I bought this and one of the conventional 'this is what happens at twenty weeks, as long as you eat broccoli every day' type books at the same time. I read Vicki Iovine's book in an afternoon, including reading about a third of it out to my husband! As first time parents, we both enjoyed the way the book is written, and it quite literally tells you things that you would be more inclined to ask your friends about after a few glasses of wine (which of course, you're avoiding at the moment!) I have since bought the book for another friend, who again read it in less than a day! By all means, buy the pregnancy and birth bibles, they tell you many valuable things, but if you also want a book that gives you answers whilst recognising that you don't lose your sense of humour along with your waistline, this is the one for you! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   24 of 25 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars all things to all women...?, 2 Jul 2007 By  Marie (UK) - See all my reviews I heard a rumour that it's possible to give birth without reading any books. Maybe so, but I found that the books helped me cope with my lack of knowledge and lack of courage. You only need to read 3 or 4 of them. I know because I read 10 of them. The Best Friends' Guide was my favourite. It made the whole thing seem more human, more bearable, more possible. It deals with aspects of pregnancy that the textbooks don't. You still need a textbook. I'd recommend Anne Dean's 'Pregnancy Bible'. And an exercise book. I bought 'Pregnancy Fitness'. Good luck with that. And, even though it was written by a mere man, I enjoyed my partner's favourite book, Andrew Cullen's 'From Here To Paternity', which does for men what The Best Friends' Guide does for women - tells the truth in an intelligent, reassuring, entertaining way. No single book is all things to all women. The BFG may not be infallible, but it's invaluable, like any best friend. Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   18 of 19 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Laughed and cried, 17 Mar 2006 By A Customer Having read many 'official' pregnancy books (and there's nothing wrong with them, apart from they're scary!) this one had me laughing from about page 3 - and crying every now and then as she brings home not just the humour of what it means to be pregnant, but also the wonder of it all. HIGHLY recommend. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 84 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars Funny This book is funny and lets you into secrets you may not have known before but is not as useful as the medical ones. Published 1 month ago by Jinglegirl 4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and reassuring Amusing anecdotes, reassuring accounts. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Worth buying. Published 3 months ago by A. Potter 2.0 out of 5 stars Only read if you're not enjoying your pregnancy... I bought this book as a number of friends had recommended it, and was rather disappointed. OK, there was some useful stuff in there, but I found the tone to be extremely... Read more Published 3 months ago by C. Sommers 2.0 out of 5 stars Very American & belittling to men I could not recommend this book to anyone. It was given to me by a friend who praised it's humour and style of writing but I couldn't get on with it at all. Read more Published 4 months ago by Josephine Clover 5.0 out of 5 stars This book really cheered me up... I am 7 weeks into my first pregnancy and thought that Vicki Iovine's book would be a good, more light-hearted book for me to read during this new, exciting but also scary time. Read more Published 4 months ago by Big Mamma 3.0 out of 5 stars disappointed Unfortunately I dont think this book lives up to its hype and I couldnt recommend it. Plus its very american oriented and several chapters I just skipped. Read more Published 4 months ago by Avid Reader 4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read. I really enjoyed this book - the author's sharp sense of humour makes it a good foil for a lot of the more scientific tomes on pregnancy (which, incidentally, this is certainly... Read more Published 5 months ago by Helen 5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have reading for mums to be! I love this book - its crammed full of all the stuff only a really good mate could tell you about being pregnant, but does it with a great big dollop of laugh-out-loud-humour and... Read more Published 5 months ago by EllieG 5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Vicki Iovine! Where are the rest of the reviews for this book? It is fabulous and a must for first time mothers or those thinking of trying to conceive. Read more Published 5 months ago by Shezza77 5.0 out of 5 stars This book is brilliant and informative!! I was given the book for christmas and have enjoyed reading it as it is funny and informative and tell you all the things that you need to know! Read more Published 6 months ago by Mrs. Scarrett Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 84 customer reviews...

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