Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman’s Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers, and Moods

By Shawn A. Tassone and Kathryn M. Landherr
Prometheus Books, $18.00, 272 pages

Whether or not you’ve actually had a baby or just been around friends or family that has, you’ve most likely heard a myriad of pregnancy myths; these range anywhere from cultural sayings, pregnancy fears or straight out old-wives-tales. A large sampling of the most common of these are explored and explained in this book by two doctors. The chapter subjects range from infertility issues to menstrual myths all the way through to trimester superstitions, along with a mystery grab-bag of the non-categorical oddities which have surfaced in the two doctors’ practices.

Laughter being the best medicine, Tassone and Landherr included some downright hilarious examples which provide a good belly laugh, yet also alleviate the sometimes irrational fears which can plague new moms-to-be. The last section features the “seven habits to a highly enjoyable pregnancy” which started out listing the Biblical seven deadly sins; the doctors compared these nicely to some of the avoidable pitfalls of pregnancy like “envying” a slim family member who “just didn’t gain anything” during her pregnancy, or gluttony (curing depression by overeating). I especially enjoyed the advice “be nice but don’t listen to Grandma,” as anyone will who’s ever been inundated with unconfirmable pregnancy advice by the unofficial matriarch of the family.

Reviewed by Meredith Greene