From the Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent (Paperback)

by Rebecca Odes (Author), Ceridwen Morris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Neither Odes nor Morris is a doctor, but as eager authors and recent mothers themselves, they aim, in this chick-friendly guide, to dish out Internet-accessible information and you-go-girl supportive advice. Their approach is to consider the authorities with a mere grain of salt, while seeking a supportive environment in which to nurture one's pregnancy and child-rearing. And while sorting through the opinions along the way, from choosing a health-care provider, coping with loss, birthing strategies, breastfeeding and sex, and baby-care basics, among other topics, the authors provide on most pages plentiful belly-shaped bubbles containing lively quotes from "anonymoms." Hear the mothers from the trenches express what they really feel, from one mom who enthuses, "The belly—I loved everything about it, and it makes people—strangers, even—feel enthralled with you") to the sadly modern refrain of another, "Sometimes I bury myself in work so I don't feel the sadness, fatigue and stress of having the baby waiting for me at home." The authors' are upbeat and well informed, and their useful back-of-the-book references address sensitive specific needs such as adoption and surrogacy, teen and older parents, and breastfeeding controversies. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“Incredibly important reading for anyone about to have a baby…From the Hips gives you what you need to make informed decisions, shares experiences from other parents that will make you laugh, and reveals many of the secrets our mothers didn't tell us.”

–Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bee Moms and Wannabe Dads

“What every new parent needs–a ton of expert advice, presented with humor and zero negativity, from two moms who instantly feel like your best friends. This is the one pregnancy guide that new parents will actually want to read."
 
–Leslie Morgan Steiner, editor of Mommy Wars and The Washington Post's online work/family column, “On Balance”

“From The Hips is a deeply refreshing, honest look at the profound changes we undergo during pregnancy and beyond. Ceridwen and Rebecca unabashedly go into areas that other guides shy away from, offering support to every kind of prospective mother. Being pregnant and having a child is alternately the most beautiful, complex, difficult, rewarding experience a woman can imagine. This book gives it straight and from all sides, without judgment, and with irreverent humor and candor from its authors.”

-Gwyneth Paltrow

“Supportive, positive, real, and rarely preachy…Finally a reference guide for parents that treats us like we have brains.”
- Bust Magazine

The honest talk about epidurals and C-sections, including anonymous quotes from moms, is must-read info for anyone planning a hospital birth. In fact, the book is full of frank advice about most of today's biggest hurdles for pregnant women, from going back to work to breastfeeding in public... At every step, it addresses not just what you'll be going through physically, but what you and your partner might be addressing emotionally, too. Cheers to this realistic take on the lifestyle change that is pregnancy and parenthood.
- Pregnancy Magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307237087
• ISBN-13: 978-0307237088
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #217,619 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book we've all been waiting for, May 24, 2007

By	C Miller (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This book is GREAT. I was getting so fed up with all the standard issue pregnancy/birth books (and I have read or skimmed too many to count!). They all seemed either alarmist & overly technical or just too cutesy. This one is neither. It strikes the perfect balance between informative and enjoyable. There's a ton of info here (the authors either cover the subject in detail or they provide links to other experts/websites/books if you really want to go deep on a topic like, say, asthma in pregnancy or something). And there is a ton of good, solid doctor-approved medical advice.

But what is particularly refreshing, i think, is the tone of the book. It is really nonjudgmental and makes the mom (or mom-to-be) feel both informed and REASSURED. And From the Hips isn't gimmicky like some other books, which try to give a formula for successful parenting. I especially appreciated the section on baby's sleep (an ALL-consuming issue for me as a new mom!). So many sleep books TELL you what to do and make you feel bad if your kid doesn't fit their quick fix solution.

The authors are clearly really funny, warm women who have BEEN THERE. They take their subject very seriously but are also capable of laughing at themselves and at this insane ride we call parenting.

I for one am going to get it for my newly pregnant friends and new moms. A perfect baby shower alternative to the ubiquitous BabyGap onesie

I hope these guys write a book on toddlers next...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, refreshing, non-judgmental, June 29, 2007

By	Liz Chalmers "childbirth educator, birthzone.com" (Redmond, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a childbirth educator and mom of four. I've read almost every pregnancy and childbirth book that's out there. From the Hips is my new favorite. It's easy to read, amusing, and packed with well presented options with none of the preachy, prescriptive tone of so many parenting books. For example, birth options--hospital/birth center/homebirth; midwife/OB--are explained factually and fairly leaving the reader to decide what feels right for her. I love the many "Anonymom" quotes sprinkled throughout the book--makes it feel like a community effort.

My only criticism of the book is the riotous use of color--it's fun but at times too intense and intrusive. Not enough of a distraction to lower my 5 star recommendation though.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, spunky, and realistic., August 22, 2007

By	Rowan Reader - See all my reviews

My last comment in the title line was the one which gave me pause. As someone not particularly interested in pain and hospitals (or even children) I read this book more for reassurance than any other reason. For that purpose, I'd suggest that others are better off with a grade-school textbook which glosses over all the unpleasant bits.

There are scads of comments from pregnant or recently pregnant women splashed about the book discussing everything from conception to sore nipples, and amazingly enough, most of them were negative.

I can't imagine why, in this modern, image-overconscious, sexually laden, instant-gratification, pain-killing society, women would feel negatively about their bodies distending, erratic sex-drives, 9-month "baby vessel" status, followed by a painful labor process (where 10 hours is still considered short...) and then a loss of personal space, sex-drive (again) and sore nipples. Oh, wait. Yes I can imagine. Ouch. Yikes.

All that scary commentary aside, this book really is useful. There is an amazing wealth and variety of information presented in a strangely bias-free (mostly) environment, usually with comments from parents who tried it, with varying results.

Nausea remedies, natural birth options, water-bith discussions, hospital information, introduction to different epidural styles, the use (and general uselessness) of a "birth planning" document - its all in there.

Also in there are reams of info on new babies - you know - the ultimate wrinkly shrieking goal of the whole enterprise. Yeah. There's the requisite breast-feeding vs formula debate, a how to get your baby to sleep section (co-sleeping, SIDS, how many hours of sleep mom will lose (300 in the first year) whether they should be on a sleep-schedule...) and many references to the necessities of work, daycares, nannys, au pairs, and all that "alloparenting" information needed in this 2-income society of ours. Strangely, since all of this is so culturally "hot-button," treated in an amazingly unbiased manner.

So, all in all, despite me being a wimp and easily traumatized by their candid treatment of it all, I can see that this is an amazing resource, and one I'll be glad for when (if) I ever take that plunge.