Pregnancy and Birth
The Rough Guide
For many women, giving birth is the most important event of their lives. For a fair few, the nine months preceding and following labour are the most chaotic experience they will ever live through.
The Rough Guide To Pregnancy and Birth by Kaz Cooke (Rough Guides, 2001) was originally published in Australia under the title ‘Up The Duff’. The respected UK broadsheet The Independent on Sunday said of it: 'The hallmark blend of wise advice and humour is the perfect tonic for the terrified first timer'.
Pregnancy – Week By Week
The book is divided into weekly ‘chapters’, each one detailing the physical changes that take place in the woman, and what is happening to the developing foetus. This information – which has been verified by medical experts - is clear and easy to absorb for the layperson.
Pregnancy Diary
Within each weekly section, Cooke includes a personal diary of her experience of pregnancy and the first weeks of being a new mother. This is what sets this book apart from other factual pregnancy guides. The author can really relate to being pregnant; she is right there with the reader, experiencing all the highs and lows: ‘It’s the weirdest thing being nauseous and getting no fun out of food, but still feeding your face relentlessly’.
The Importance Of Humour
This is, in many places, a very funny book. After her first scan she is weighed and reports: ‘ …it seems a lot more than I had declared. Must be the hiking socks’. The 420 pages are worth it for the author’s cartoons alone.
Useful Information
An information section, covering aspects of pregnancy that are relevant for that particular week, follows the weekly diary. Obviously the reader can use the index to jump ahead to areas of particular interest. Caesarean delivery is not covered until week 35, but some women may want to read about it early on.
Sound Pregnancy Advice
Cooke goes into everything from weepiness to environmental hazards to baby equipment, giving sound, non-judgmental advice. For example, she urges new mums to choose sleep over housework, even when faced with an endless stream of visitors.
Immunisation
As regards controversial issues such as child immunisations, Cooke presents both sides of the argument. There is a strong emphasis on empowering the reader to make her own decisions, something that is vital in this period of emotional and physical upheaval.
The appendix gives website addresses and contact details of a plethora of organisations from Cry-sis to the Meet-a-Mum association.
The Rough Guide To Pregnancy
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