When a baby is born, it’s all about the baby. A mother takes the back seat and often feels there’s no outlet for her questions, concerns and complaints. But in The New Mom’s Survival Guide: How to Reclaim Your Body, Your Health, Your Sanity, and Your Sex Life After Having a Baby by Dr. Jennifer Wider, Mom takes center stage.
The New Mom’s Survival Guide [Bantam Books, July 2008]answers a new mother’s questions with the manner of a group of friends at a playgroup or a moms’ day out.
Every chapter on every topic relates to how the mother is affected by what’s happening with her baby, including childhood diseases (“Defending Yourself from Your Child’s Diseases”).
Question Answer Format is Reader Friendly
Unlike other parenting books, The New Mom’s Survival Guide stays away from detailed and overly academic information and uses a question and answer format that mimics what you might hear from a group of moms at the playground.
“What’s up with my vagina?” “Will mastitis go away on its own if you don’t treat it?” and “Help! I’m just too tired to have sex!” are some of the questions the book tackles head on. Dr. Wider’s answers, while well documented and sourced, have the tone that they’re coming from her own experience as a mom. You won't picture her in a white coat; you'll picture her in sweats pushing a stroller.
Old Advice is Applied to Modern Times
Wider takes age old advice that new mothers are bombarded with and debunks it, bringing in her own experience and the input of other moms. Moms are often told to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” But that’s not easy for all moms, Dr. Wider says. “So my advice is, try to turn your mind off while the baby is sleeping. The more relaxed you are, the more likely you’ll be able to doze off.”
She takes the small issues that many moms feel are too trivial to bring up with their doctors – like why their feet are bigger during pregnancy and they their hair is falling out – and the big issues such as post partum depression and gives basic, easy-to-understand information and advice.
And she takes new mom complaints such as loneliness and gives it the weight it deserves. No question is too embarrassing, no answer lacking in experience.
The New Mom's Survival Guide can be a valuable reference for new moms, offering advice and reassurance during critical months.
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