The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy

- Dubious Sources of Authority
- Medically Inaccurate Statements
- Breastfeeding, Looks, & Bizarre Advice


I wholeheartedly and actively discourage women from reading the other so-called "pregnancy bible", otherwise known as "The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy". And, as a mother, a childbirth educator, labor doula and postpartum doula, I have many reasons for feeling this way.


Dubious Sources of Authority

Normally, I think most of us take any advice given by a former Playboy Playmate centerfold with a large grain of salt. Another claim to fame by author Vicki Iovine is being married to a famous music industry executive… And all of her "Girlfriend" advisors polled are listed by first name and with their professions: supermodel, actress, television personality, wife of famous musician, etc. The "Girlfriends" as a whole do not seem to have concerns with which the "average" woman can relate.

Granted, having 4 children in 6 years does make a woman like Vicki Iovine more of an expert on pregnancy than some, solely based on personal experiential learning… But I doubt that any other mom with that same reproductive history, and without a Playmate background or being famous by proxy of your husband would get such a fabulous book deal.


Bias Towards Medications and Artificial Interventions

Constantly throughout the book, the author advises pain medications. She also is incredibly negative to anyone advocating natural birth or planning one. Just a few of the disgusting quotes I waded through include:

"Here it is, Girlfriends: Epidurals are great. " (p67)

"Why waste valuable time at the hospital when you could be getting your epidural?" (p222)

"There are a lot of reasons to schedule a cesarean section….(some) women elect to have a cesarean because they want to maintain the vaginal tone of a teenager, and their doctors find a medical explanation that will suit their insurance company." (p219)

"Yes, I read the papers, and I am aware of the outrage in some quarters about the number of unnecessary C-sections that are performed in the United States. Am I resentful or indignant? Not particularly." (p219)

"Remember all those episodes on Bonanza when the poor women died in childbirth? You almost never hear about that happening anymore, thanks to God and the American Medical Association." (p. xix) Note: right, because "Bonanza" represents reality…and just for the record, women still do die in childbirth today, but often the public is shielded from the statistics due to out of court lawsuit agreements to never publicize the malpractice.

"Never elect to have a child where you have no access to medication, or God forbid, real doctors" (p70)

Keep Reading: Medically Inaccurate Statements

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