Product Reviews

An Unfit Mother - How to get your Health, Shape and Sanity back after childbirth.

Author: Kate Cook with Lucy Wyndham-Read.

Publisher: Collins.

This book aims to help you improve your diet and fitness, and to take control of your 'post-baby' life. It covers good nutrition, basic exercises and how to take a bit of time out to yourself. There are weekly meal and exercise planners and tick lists to ensure you don't miss anything out. It is written in an informal, fun manner with plenty of jokes and new mum anecdotes. However, the layout is somewhat confused and I wasn't really sure where to start reading.

The good points: The book is witty and laid back and it actually makes you feel very positive and good about yourself.

The bad points: There are just too many areas that are (to me anyway) nearly impossible with a newborn baby. In the first chapter it tells you that a healthy breakfast is a must and it gives you a recipe for soda bread! Who are these new mums who have time to bake soda bread? There are several points in the book where it tells you to "be nice to yourself" and take some time out for a nice bath or mini facial. It sounds lovely, but again I don't believe that it's very realistic. I would have loved to see a chapter to cover how to eat well, get fit and take time out with a screaming baby permanently attached to you, having had three hours sleep. There was also one point where it contradicted itself badly. On one page it says that a 'con' of breastfeeding is that you need to ensure a good diet as if you're under the weather the milk quality will suffer. Three pages later, the midwife adviser to the book says that the mothers store of nutrients needs to be very low before there is a significant nutritional impact on the milk. It covers things like breastfeeding and dealing with a difficult baby as an afterthought really.

Best Feature: The book is witty and laid back and it actually makes you feel very positive and good about yourself. Worst Feature: Unrealistic Verdict: This book isn't really sure what it wants to be or where it's coming from. It doesn't give you anything different to most diet and fitness books.

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