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The Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You | 
 enlarge | Author: Vicki Iovine
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £10.98 (100%)
New (26) Used (63) Collectible (1) from £0.01
Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 3954
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0747533253
Dewey Decimal Number: 618
EAN: 9780747533252
ASIN: 0747533253
Publication Date: May 29, 1997
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: DESPATCH WITHIN 1 TO 2 WORKING DAYS, WHY WAIT LONGER FOR OVERSEAS DELIVERY, BUY FROM A RELIABLE UK BASED SELLER
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| Customer Reviews: Read 69 more reviews...
 Uninformative and grim--I recommend something else November 11, 2008
K. Wade
Pregnancy has its Up's and Down's, and the last thing you need is a pessimist like Vicki Iovine telling you how hideous gestation and birth will be and that there is nothing you can do about it. If Iovine was your "Friend" she would be the one who constantly complains about how difficult her life is but fails to do anything about it. There are so many books out there, so I recommend you go for something a little more delightful, entertaining and informative such as The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth (Rough Guides Reference Titles). Cooke's anecdotes will have you (and your partner) laughing out loud. You will come away feeling much more optimistic (without having your head in the clouds) and better informed.
 I am so happy it was written November 10, 2008
antz (New York, NY)
Not only is this book funny and witty but it has a lot of truth liberally sprinkled in it. We as women have been sold the "perfect pregnancy" myth among other things and a lot of us have unknowingly bought it. It was a great consolation for me that pregnancy is not just lugging a big belly for 40 or weeks but a total body experience which has ups and downs. And yes, women who run a mile till the day they deliver are a small minority! Take what you want from this book, it has a lot to offer.
 A humorously written rant January 4, 2008
J. Nicholas (United Kingdom)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this book for my wife but we both ended up reading it, and as it happens I read it first. Both of us contribute to this review:
(note: this is our first pregnancy)
An expecting mother's perspective:
I read the reviews before I read the book itself, and was surprised at the number of negative reviews it had received. Yet here I am, after having turn over the last page of the book, and not found a single justification for my giving Mrs. Iovine the benefit of the doubt. 'The Best Friend's Guide to Pregnancy' is patronising, cynical and pessimistic, insiting that not only will pregnancy ruin the mother's figure, social and sex life, but not mentioning WHY we women go through all of this- the end result seems to have no value to Iovine. On top of this the author assumes that all men are of the non-supportive, squeamish and un-involved sort. She, essentially, exhibits plain sexism throughout her book insisting that men are worthless in any way during pregnancy, which is blatant rubbish for plenty of men. Cut them some slack Vicki, we stopped burning our bra's long ago, and some of us LIKE having men in our lives.
Essentially a waste of money, I would NOT recommend this book to anyone.
An expecting father's perspective:
My first impression was that the whole tone of the text was one of general complaining about everything. I felt as if the author was lied to about what she should expect before, during and after her pregnancies and she was so upset about it, she decided to write a book in order to inform other women and prevent them from believing lies, like she did.
I discussed this with my wife (who hadn't read the book yet) and she told me that this is sometimes a form of humor that women use and that men don't get (eg. The Vagina Monologues). So I kept on reading.
The 'ranting' does ease off about half way through the book (I suppose she had began to calm down by then) and I found some parts informative and interesting since they're written from a woman's perspective.
However, various spelling mistakes (with the most common being 'thing' instead of 'think') and the author's self contradictions made me feel that my original assessment of the motives behind the book were correct.
The author cautions women that they will get fat, they will become ugly, they will get cellulite, they will get stretch marks, they will never be the same again and then she bangs on about how she got her figure back after each pregnancy. But she only says so towards the end of the book.
One thing that made me angry, was that she claims 'there is no award for enduring the pains of a natural birth, nobody will judge you if you opt for pain relief (eg epidural)' and a bit later she goes on to say that if you've had an epidural you'll be drinking champagne and be the life of the party when the family comes to visit you at the hospital, instead of a wreck that can barely stay awake if you opt for a natural birth. Furthermore, the author insists for some reason that because a pregnancy is 40 weeks, its not 9 months, but 10, because as we all know, every month is 4 weeks (and therefore 28 days) long.
Before this part of the review turns into a rant of my own, I will say that it is an interesting book to read, you do observe one woman's perspective and experiences with childbirth but it is very opinionated and self contradicting.
My advice is, if you want something different to read, and if the humour of complaining appeals to you, then by all means get it. You will probably enjoy it. But it isn't everyone's cup of tea.
 Horror Stories !! November 30, 2007
shadylady (uk)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
With friends like that, who needs enemies. Before reading this book, I was blissfully unaware of my impending changes from human to monster as Vicki describes. Now I find myself not wanting to go through the whole nine(ten) months of hell (although it's too late for that!).
The book provides some interesting reading and does prepare you but in the worst possible way. I've got to go a buy another book, to make me and my "little ricicle" feel better about the HAPPY TIMES AHEAD.
 very entertaining September 11, 2007
lizzi1714 (Durham)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I thought this book was great. It made me feel more relaxed than most books i've read on the subject and it made me laugh. Occasionally i wanted a bit more practical info but mostly it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
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