The Book Blawg

The best thing about this book is that - being a book only about the postpartum period - it is fairly comprehensive. It describes in detail what one should expect, both physically and emotionally, after giving birth. There is slightly more emphasis on the physical aspects, including exercise and nutrition, than the socio-psychological aspects. It answers a lot of questions that moms may have, such as which pregnancy changes will go away in time (linea nigra) and which may not (larger shoe size). It also contains information on baby care and returning to work.

This book was written using fairly simple language, without a whole lot of explanation or detail, so I can't really recommend it to moms who are well-educated or who have a lot of knowledge about birth already. There were also a couple of glaring errors in the "Feeding Your Baby" chapter (I hesitate to make disparaging comments about OBs writing about breastfeeding without the input of lactation professionals - perhaps it is a bit out of Dr. Curtis' scope of practice?). For instance:

Patently untrue. While yes, formula feeding may be the best choice for some moms, it is not without risks, and it can harm babies. For instance, four babies in every thousand die because they are not breastfed. Formula fed babies are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized for a bacterial infection. And these statistics pertain to the US, not to developing countries without access to clean water.

There's an advantage to quitting cold turkey? None that I know of. It's bad for mom and bad for baby. Oh, it takes less time. Hm.