Belly Laughs By Jenny McCarthy Book Review

I got a few pregnancy books between Christmas and my birthday this year since we are expecting our first this spring. I'd like to say I've finished them all, but so far "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy is the only one I've gotten through completely. 

Technical Facts

"Belly Laughs - 10th Anniversary Edition" was published January 2014 by Da Capo Lifelong Books and has 165 pages plus the introduction by Jenny McCarthy, acknowledgements, quotes from reviewers and table of contents.

ISBN Paper Copy: 978-0-7382-1767-3
ISBN e-Book: 978-0-7382-1768-0

Genre: Nonfiction

Where to Buy:
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Audible
Various Others

My Views

This was a lighthearted look into pregnancy. While she touches on many of the issues of pregnancy it is by no means an informative book, but rather a comical view of pregnancy. This is what I expected as I began the book, but wanted to make sure others were expecting this as well. 

Much of what Jenny McCarthy writes is true, but a lot is very hyperbolic as well. For about the first half of the book, I enjoyed the comical portrayal of the "Crazy lady" as well as the general experience of carrying a child and mood swings that accompany pregnancy. As the book progressed though, I noticed a more derogatory look at the entire experience. 

She makes many comments that appear to me to show an incredibly unsupportive partner which I found to be a bit depressing. Maybe I'm just incredibly lucky or a rare case, but it is sad to me to think of other women having to deal with their partners not stopping the car to let me use the restroom. Another example of the dark side of the book is her talking about how her husband would rather look at dirty magazines than sleep with her while she was a beached whale. Obviously, each couple can decide for themselves, but I just started to struggle through it as these references became more frequent as I didn't find them comical, and they tended to make me feel bad thinking about women dealing with these issues. Again, maybe I'm just overly sheltered, but I'd like to hope that this is not the norm. 

Besides the issues with her partner (husband), it was funny to read the exaggerated experience of all the "fun" surprises in pregnancy. It also motivated me to actually go purchase maternity underwear after reading how she wishes she would have broken down sooner (SO TRUE!). The book also helps make it more acceptable to acknowledge any range of emotions you might be feeling and cope with the uncomfortable and less than stellar side effects that can appear throughout pregnancy.

Favorite Quotes

"Why don't women warn other women about this? I'm sh*tting in front of ten people while spread eagle in stirrups!"

"I would have sold my soul for one of two options: Either let me puke or let me feel better."

"It's hard having these symptoms in public when you don't look pregnant. If I were nine months along they would look at me like 'oh look, poor little pregnant lady doesn't feel so good.' Instead they looked at me as if to say 'Don't bulimics puke after they eat?"

 "I honestly believed I had hard-boiled my baby."

"The only thing I could tell my husband in order for him to understand my urgency was for him to pretend he had to pee really bad with a refrigerator on top of his bladder."  

"There's nothing worse than a big sloppy vagina."  

" If you are unfortunate enough to get pregnant head, I advise that you just put a paper bag over your head until you deliver or stay indoors where no one will have to see you."

"Imagine staying up all night, then running a marathon, then doing three hundred loads of laundry and raking leaves off a football field all in one day. How tired would you be?"  

"I had a rough year, but as I said at the start, I would do it all over again in a second, and maybe I will..."

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a super easy read. I read it over the course of an afternoon and enjoyed the light reading as a break from all the baby books and serious looks at having children. I am disappointed that she ended up spending so much time on the negative aspects of pregnancy and trying to please your partner rather than on self-care. Much of the book was humorous, but I did find myself more depressed at the end of the book rather than laughing. It is likely worth it for a quick read for those later in pregnancy, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone trying to conceive or withing their first trimester as I think it would be more overwhelming than traditional what to expect books. 

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