What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing - Naomi Stadlen

I didn't like this book but then again I never resented my child being there, where I think some of the mothers in the book did and it approached it as if it was normal to feel this way, which grated with me.

I like the fact there is a book with this title though.

I think it well worth reading - but my feeling was that it almost went too much that you have to give up everything for your baby. And if you are not that kind of mother it could make you feel guilty

I read this book in late pregnancy and found it both thought-provoking and inspiring.

But most of all, it helped prepare me for the maelstrom of emotions that would have otherwise engulfed me after the birth of my daughter. DH also read it and I think it also helped him to get his head 'round the semi-insanity of early parenting and gain some insight into what I was feeling.

Quite simply, this book should be given to all prospective new mothers as a matter of course. It would stop a lot of heartbreak.

This is the most amazing book, and I have given it to lots of pregnant women. It's a tremendously reassuring read in the early days of motherhood - no talk of routines, just very gentle comfort and support.

What a wonderfully comforting book. It puts into words all the amazingness and scariness of being a mother. As I read it I kept saying "yes!" "oh I thought it was only me who thought that!" " thank god I am not the only one". There are hundreds of books about development of babies but this is the only one I found about the development of mothers. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It won't tell you what to do, but it will provide great reassurance about the incredible job you are doing as a mother, even when it feels like your best efforts are coming to nothing.