The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine

Title: The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy
Author: Vicki Iovine
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Pocket, 1995
Source: Borrowed from my sister-in-law
Read for: Fun

Vicki Iovine, the author of The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, doesn't have any medical qualifications or special education. She has simply experienced four pregnancies. This means that while her book is not full of authorized medical advice, it is full of plenty of practical information and commiseration, which can be more valuable in the long run.

I loved Iovine's snarky writing. She is sharp and amusing, self-deprecating and honest. At times she gets slightly cheesy, referring constantly to her Girlfriends with a capital G and saying that there are Girlfriend codes of conduct, etc. However, for the most part, the writing was awesome, readable, and comforting.

For the most part, the information in The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy was not new for me. I took a maternity nursing class in my first trimester (not something I recommend, by the way -- you learn way too much about all of the issues that can arise and spend the rest of your pregnancy thinking that your child is not going to make it). I knew the basic biology of pregnancy and the expected symptoms and why they occur. However, The Girlfriend's Guide was full of commiseration and anecdotes and "I've-been-there-too" stories that, at times, I really needed. It's nice to know that you aren't the only one, especially when you've just had a sobbing meltdown in public and everyone is staring at me with fear.

So, in my case at least, The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy was more a humorous read about an experience I am currently immersed in rather than a source of reliable information. However, it was hilarious and full of excellent commiseration and I would recommend it to any other pregnant woman.

4 stars

Warnings: Language, some sexual jokes (it's a book about pregnancy...), some vivid descriptions of bodily functions