cover image Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

Claire Mysko, Magali Amadei. Health Communications, $15.95 (242pp) ISBN 978-0-7573-0792-8

Mom and model Amadeï teams up with expert and activist Mysko to produce a lighthearted guide to combating a silent societal epidemic, the 80 percent of childless women who worry what pregnancy could do to their bodies. A long section devoted to realistic expectations for one's post-partum body is excellent, particularly the liberating point that women shouldn't expect to get their pre-baby body back. Though the informal style can sometimes seem overly flip (""gigantic ta-tas,"" anyone?), the authors do a great service in bringing to light a fear that women may believe they suffer with alone. Beyond pregnancy, the authors (both of whom struggled with bulimia) urge all women, pregnant or not, to ""stop dieting"" and instead try working on irrational feelings of body-based inferiority with some ""vocab rehab."" The concepts and solidarity offered here should prove valuable for millions of American women.