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Source: ONE News -
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If you get Botoxed while you're pregnant, will your baby come out with a flatscreen forehead like Nicole Kidman? Can you eat a vegan diet for two? And can you breastfeed with nipple rings?
This month sees the release of updated versions of two popular pregnancy guides, with a revised edition of a third coming out in April.
The books reveal as much about modern motherhood as they do about your growing bump.
First cab off the rank is the revised edition of Kaz Cooke's Up The Duff (Penguin), first published in 1999.
Cooke says while the book is designed to be relevant to all pregnant women, it also reflects cultural changes in pregnancy and motherhood, such as the increasing age of first-time mums.
Books about pregnancy "absolutely have to" reflect the older mother, she says.
"Certain issues are affected by how many older mothers there are ... it changes things like rates of
Caesareans, whether or not you'll be told you can have a home birth and also body (image), because let's face it - you don't snap back when you're 35," she says.
"There's a whole new chapter on getting ready and what to do if you're trying to get pregnant and what to do if it's not working for you," she says.
The book also gives more emphasis to partners - fathers and lesbian partners - and contains "bloke-friendly bits" such as advice on paternity leave and "how to make useful sperm".
Cooke says women today are more concerned about their "post baby body" than in previous years.
"That's a phrase that everyone understands because it's on the front of Who (Weekly magazine) and NW (magazine), and post baby sex is a really big issue, so both those are covered," Cooke says.
"I reckon that body image is much bigger than it used to be ... it was an issue before but now it's really big one."
Cooke says she also wanted to balance the increasingly polarised debate about natural birth versus medical assistance.
"The big change in the past 10 years is that that debate ... has really been taken over on the net by a very large group of activists who advocate natural birth.
"Some of them are telling women that if they eat well and do yoga and want a natural birth ... then they will have a natural birth.
"And I'm afraid that luck and capricious old mother nature sometimes has other ideas, and I just don't want those women to feel like they've done anything wrong."
Cooke's book will be followed by the March 30 publication of a new edition of Conception, Pregnancy and Birth (Penguin) by the trusted British childbirth expert Dr Miriam Stoppard, which has been revised to include information relevant to Aussie parents.
Finally, in April comes the new and revised What To Expect When You're Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel (HarperCollins).
What To Expect addresses current lifestyle trends and acknowledges the fashion forward expectant mum by providing advice on Botox, belly and nipple piercings, tattooing and eating fads like the low carb diet.
So what's the verdict on the very contemporary concerns of pregnant women in 2009?
According to What to Expect, steer clear of the Botox (there's not enough information on how it can affect your baby); the belly ring can safely stay in (though you many want to replace it with a flexible belly bar for comfort) and there's no evidence that having nipple rings affects your ability to breastfeed, though it's
advisable to take them out while nursing so they don't become a choking hazard for bub.
And pregnant mums should think before they ink, the book advises, not only because of the risk of infection but because any tattoos you get during pregnancy might become distorted or lopsided
once your body returns to its pre-pregnant shape.
As for vegan diets, Cooke says pregnant women need to be aware of the risks.
"I'm so scared of those vegan mothers," she says.
"There will be people who decide to be vegan for moral reasons or religious reasons but the fact is that medically it's not the best thing for a baby.
"Brain development needs B12 and you don't get that from a vegan diet."
