St. Martin's Press Strong As a Mother: How to Stay Healthy, Happy, and (Most Importantly) Sane from Pregnancy to Parenthood: The Only Guide to Taking Care of YOU!

I reccomend that every expecting and new mom read this book. Such a wonderful message behind it.

I picked up "Strong as a Mother" ten months after my first child was born, and this is the first book I've read that focuses on YOU, the mom. I am so grateful this book came out at the same time I'm experiencing motherhood for the first time! I started at the beginning, Part I (of Parts I, II, and III) with Kate's guidance for the newly pregnant, and although I'd already been through that, I found her approach to self-care relevant to my experience as a new mom, particularly how to deal with anxiety. Mostly, any kind of to-do list for the new mom, even the most well-meaning, makes me feel more exhausted, but not here, and I think it has to do with Kate's tone. She is an enormous cheerleader for YOU making decisions that work for YOU, weaving her personal narrative of having two kids throughout -- but not to shame other moms into taking her path but using herself as a relatable example (I'm recommending this, but I didn't do it! I did this thing that works for a lot of people, and it didn't work for me! I did this, and it worked incredibly well!). She uses short and relatable quotes from other moms (including the hilarious "Jen from Portland, Oregon"). She is clear from the beginning that this book is for *all moms* and acknowledges the different challenges and realities faced by moms from different backgrounds and in different situations. There are no "shoulds" here -- just really accessible and humanely written and researched advice that continually brings the focus back to your happiness and mental health. I'm going to be referring back to this guide again and again and definitely recommending to my new mom friends.the books sections are succinct, accessible, incredibly well-researched and well-organized

The difference mainly is that this is about moms emotional well-being. This was not the first book I bought, so when I came to it, I knew that stuff already and couldn't be bothered to spend time to go over it. If this is the first book about self-care while pregnant, it's probably right on target.

Having a baby is so, so hard. And we all talk about it, don't we? We talk about the sleeplessness, the crying (theirs, mostly), the diaper changes, the breastfeeding or bottle feeding woes, all that normal stuff. And of course we talk about the love. But what about the mental health aspect of having a baby? It's so overlooked for "well mine was worse" or "try having two" or even "yeah it sucks, but you'll be okay" reasons. But it shouldn't be. And this book is an excellent post partum emotional and mental first aid. It's also hilarious. It is respectful that not all birthing parents are women.Let me end with this: if I had read this book before I had my baby, things may have been very different for me. Thankfully, I have a lovely and supportive husband who gently nudged me to get some help. But had I had this book on hand I may not have gotten so bad that I needed a nudge.We aren't supposed to suffer so deeply. Let this book help you. And as we say in Australia: it does what it says on the box. It makes you strong as a mother.

It’s the type of book a really anxious and stressed mother should read. I am pretty chill about pregnancy and motherhood. Had I known this before, I would not a bought it for myself. It covers a lot of the stress factors related to becoming a mom, especially if you have not been around babies before. It’s not my case.