I immediately took umbridge to this book upon reading the title, especially when I found the sister book titled Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven...as an aspiring midwife I firmly believe that pregnant women should be focusing on meeting their calorific needs (2300 or 2500 for a multiple pregnancy) and not worrying about how long their baby bump will stick around for after they have given birth.
The book in itself is quite harsh, and in some ways it can be funny. The word 'fat' is thrown around a lot, this is all well and good for women who are thick skinned, however as the book is endorsed by Victoria Beckham who has been noted for featuring on 'thinspo' lists on pro-ana websites, the likelihood is there will be an overwhelming number of young girls who read the book and take its brusque attitude to heart.
The book is based on the principle that you must eat a completely vegan diet in order to achieve your skinny dreams. Not only is this not true, but it is also a dangerous message to put across to pregnant women who will most likely not be receiving the help of a dietician or nutritionist.
When I first bought the book, I asked a friend who is studying nutrition at post graduate level to review it first. She said it is not entirely mis-informed, but does not contain enough information about a vegan diet to ensure your average woman will meet all of her nutritional needs.
Over all The Skinny Blog gives The Skinny Bitch 3/10. 3 for effort and the sparse information it does provide, but it loses marks for its harsh attitude and the disgusting attempts made to encourage pregnant women to fret about their natural body form before giving birth.
Here is a book that makes a great alternative, it is called The Healthy Tart, I am hoping to review it soon and I have ordered my copy off Amazon to give it a whirl:
It is a sort of bite back at The Skinny Bitch publications.
And of course a book for healthy pre-natal and post natal eating:
Which if I had my way would be administered to all pregnant ladies for free on The NHS. It is well informed and takes you from conception to those rocky months after giving birth. A great, friendly read that will ensure you and your baby remain healthy! I would also like to point out to any pregnant women reading this that you need not worry about your post-natal figure, breast feeding burns 500-800 calories a day AND contracts your stomach, it takes 9 months for your figure to bloom and it should take 9 months to go back.
Shazronnie
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You are so right about post natal weight loss; 9 months on, 9 months off. And breastfeeding is great for burning calories. (I don't want to stop and dd is 13 mths; I might have to reduce my cake consumption.)
And a vegan diet is not necessarily a healthy one - sweets, biscuits, cakes, fried food can all be vegan.