Product Description

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this best-selling Rough Guide gives you the up-to-date lowdown on pregnancy, birth and coping when you first get home. A week by week guide to what's happening to you and the baby, from choosing where to give birth, coping with nausea and understanding the tests you will need to dealing with stretch marks, breastfeeding for the first time and adapting to life with a new born. There are no bossy-boots rules, just the sanest, wittiest advice you'll ever get, plus lots of cartoons. This complete guide has everything you will need to know about the scary parts, the funny parts and your private parts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1975 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth sets out to offer "the soundest, sanest, wittiest advice you'll ever get" about life as an expectant mum. Covering "the scary parts, the funny parts and your private parts" Australian author Kaz Cooke counts down to motherhood using a week-by-week format, at each stage explaining what's going on to you and baby, exploring common health complaints, suggesting remedies and looking at what will happen at antenatal visits. She also includes a semi-fictitious weekly diary account that provides a friendly and very funny voice to reassure you that you're not alone.

Overall, this format works well, particularly if you're a reader who dips in and out. Not least, it means you can check up on whether you're growing out of your clothes at a normal rate! It's also good to sneak a peak at a couple of weeks in the future and suss out what's in store. Its readable, illustrated layout lends itself to perusal when symptoms are getting you down, not just because it makes you laugh about morning sickness, constant weeing and leaking breasts, but also as it make you realise that actually things could be worse! Having sneaked a peak at week 41 you could be disappointed that the diary birth is eventually by Caesarean. Obviously this prepares you for the worst case scenario but it results in skipping over the protracted labour stages which, for most new mums, makes required reading, not matter how scary they sound.

On the whole this book is funny, frank and perfect to dip in and out of but it's not one you'd really use as a reference guide, particularly if you were genuinely worried about an aspect of your pregnancy. Being the work of one sole author it's obviously a rather subjective view of what is for everyone, a uniquely personal experience. It complements the likes of Miriam Stoppard and Sheila Kitzinger but (despite being much more entertaining) really couldn't begin to replace them. Pregnant women are notorious for reading every book they can get their hands on, and despite The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth presenting itself as a definitive guide, it's not going to change that habit any time soon.--Shona Campbell

About the Author
Kaz Cooke is an Australian author, newspaper columnist, cartoonist and mother. She does not live in a rustic French farmhouse with a frightfully artistic husband, and, what's more, there appears to be some mashed banana in her hair.

Customer Reviews

My favourite pregnancy book
I have read lots of pregnancy books and this one is by far my favourite. I love the week by week format and knowing how big my baby is getting and what developmental changes are happening. But I also love the relaxed style and this book really makes me laugh too. The author still touches on the "scary" parts of pregnancy but in a really reassuring way. Some of my other books are just so negative, but this one is really positive and fun. Highly recommended.

The best I've found so far!
What I love about this book is the fact you're really getting two books in one. On the one hand, you've got the story of a woman going from conception to birth, with her thoughts, feelings and concerns, which makes a humourous and touching read. On the other, you've got a factual reference; researched to include the latest advice from UK medical professionals.

The fact that this book really is funny meant that it's the only pregnancy book my hubby has managed to finish. And that's saying something - he's not a keen reader. Within a few days of him starting this book, he was really playing an active and more understanding role in our pregnancy.

So if you're looking for a compelling read that will really tell you how it is, this book is a must.

Good luck!

Hilarious and informative
I am 34 weeks pregnant and this has been my favourite pregnancy book. Kaz Cooke writes a week by week diary of pregnancy which is absolutely hilarious. Each chapter also has a more serious approach with useful advice. Some pregnancy books I have read made me feel quite neurotic but Kaz Cooke has kept me laughing and feeling quite normal! I highly recommend this book.