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Book Review: The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy

September 19th, 2007

The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy: Advice and Support for surviving 40 weeks without a cosmopolitan, by Jackie Rose and Caroline Angel RN, Phd.   Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. 2007

“From Drinking for one to eating for two…” is how this often hilarious, occasionally serious book begins.   If you’re like me, you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, or a martini when you’ve escaped on an elusive date with that guy you share a last name with.   And if you’re like me, one of the first things you thought of when you found out you were pregnant was, “Does this mean I really can’t have any wine with dinner tonight?”   And not only that, but when you’re in the throes of raging hormones and feeling fatter than a jersey cow, and the thing you want more than anything is a little something to take the edge off, the mere reality of the fact that your husband is popping open a cold one in your presence is enough for you to clobber him over the head with a nursing bra.

The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy takes the humorous approach to just about everything alcohol-related you may encounter in your nine months of abstinence.   From sneaky “mocktails” that look like the real thing (to hold in hand while out and about with folks who don’t yet know you’ve got a bun in the oven, and to whom your lack of drinking would fire up the red flag) to “fetus-friendly buzzes” you can get without the proof, its’ a fun, easy read sure to occupy one of those nights in your forty weeks where you just need to soak in the tub with a fun book.

On the serious side, there are many statistics and facts throughout the book that highlight the very real dangers of imbibing once you know you are pregnant.   For instance, the authors site research by the March of Dimes that states that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading known cause of mental retardation, affecting more than 10,000 babies born each year in the US.   It is “…more prevalent than spina bifida, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy and HIV combined.”   Not only that, but even light drinking during pregnancy has been linked to over 40,000 babies born each year in what is called the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum – those with mild developmental, cognitive and behavioral issues.

If that’s not enough to make you pour out your toddy, I don’t know what is.

All in all, The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy, with fifty mocktail recipes and both helpful and funny ideas for surviving your forty weeks, is a great book to  peruse when you’re expecting, or to give as a baby shower gift.   My only gripe with the book  is that it  often  makes the  assumption that all  of “us girls” out there are out-and-out lushes when not swathed in fashions from Motherhood Maternity.    That  presumption  can  be annoying at times, but it’s a forgivable offense when the book as a whole is so enjoyable.

Pickles and tonic, anyone?

3 Comments »

  1. Kimmie says

    ooo, I’d be happy to review some books with you. This one sounds cute. If you want a second point of view on a book – pass it my way.

    September 20th, 2007 | #

  2. jessamyn says

    great review!
    thanks for the nice comments you left me! i just read that you won’t be coming to AZ this year!!! but the weather sounds just perfect where you are!:) enjoy.

    September 20th, 2007 | #

  3. Book Reviews » Blog Archive » Wednesday Book Review: The Newly Non-Drinking Girl's Guide to … says

    […] kristjana wrote an interesting post today on Wednesday Book Review: The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to …Here’s a quick excerptAll in all, The Newly Non-Drinking Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy, with fifty mocktail recipes and both helpful funny ideas for surviving your forty weeks, is a great book to get your hands on when you’re expecting, or to give as a baby … […]

    October 15th, 2007 | #

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