Nobody Tells You: Over 100 Honest Stories About Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenthood

More than 100 mothers detail their pregnancy experiences in this informative and inspiring anthology from Maberly, founder of A Mother Place parenting classes and her father, gynecologist Marwood. The essays are wide-ranging in topic—conception, birth plans, labor, postnatal depression, breastfeeding—and tone, as seen in “About Pregnancy After Loss,” in which Georgia Keogh-Horgan describes having another child after her firstborn died, and in “About the Bodily Fluids!” in which Hannah Rowlinson humorously outlines the mess of giving birth. Elsewhere, Olivia Dudleston sheds light on her unexpected middle-of-the-night anxieties in “You Will Worry About Your Baby.” Each essay is accompanied by a photo of parents and their child, and following each piece, Maberly and Marwood dispense parenting advice in the form of lists, tips, and helpful how-tos. Maberly and Marwood live and work in England, so a few of the references will be lost on American readers (certain apps offered by the NHS, for example), but the stories of motherhood are universal. The authors’ candor is refreshing (“Am I the only person who found labour a bit of a drag?”), occasionally brutal, and always encouraging. For readers thinking about having children—or already in the midst of pregnancy—this will be a treasure. (Nov.)