Product reviews

I'm not sure about this book. On the one hand it is incredible well researched and does say some things that are sometimes considered 'unsayable', which is refreshing. And of course, sometimes you need a negative book to help you feel like you are not alone, or to put your experience into perspective. However, overall it is very negative and I'm not sure that it is a very balanced picture of motherhood. Also, it gives a very cursory treatment of post natal depression which surprised me in a book that focuses so much on the down side!

All the things you've ever thought but were too afraid to acknowledge about motherhood! You are not alone! Funny and shocking in places - a completely realistic take on motherhood - great!

I found this book a complete godsend in the few few weeks of motherhood and read it every spare moment I had. I wanted to buy a copy for all my new mum friends but was shocked to find it was out of print. so much so that I wrote to Kate Figes! she assures me that she is revising it and it will be republished by Virago very soon.

"I read this when I was on bedrest in hospital and more than once wondered what I was doing having a baby." "Life After Birth is certainly an antidote to those fluffy pregnancy magazines. I remember one extract which revealed that the trauma experienced in childbirth is akin to the stress levels suffered by Vietnam war vets." "The description of the after-effects of a caesarean birth were spot on, I thought." "There's something refreshing about Figes honesty, the book is written with great humour and I always think if you expect the worst, you can only be pleasantly surprised."