Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? : The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby »

Claire Mysko is an internationally recognized expert on the issues facing women and girls today. As the director of the American Anorexia Bulimia Association, she oversaw outreach programs and managed the organization's hotline. She was the Executive Editor of SmartGirl and served as the Assistant Director of Communications at Girls Incorporated, the organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Her book for tween girls, Girls Inc. Presents: You're Amazing! A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self, was published by Adams Media in 2008. Claire has an MA in Gender Studies from the New School for Social Research. Her website (clairemysko.com) was recently named one of the top seven websites about 'all things girl' by Shaping Youth.

Magali Amadeï has appeared on the covers and pages of every major fashion magazine in the world, including Vogue, Glamour, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar. Her international advertising campaigns include Banana Republic, L'Oreal, Pantene, and Dove. As a result of her battle with and victory over bulimia, Magali became the world's first top model to tour nationally and tell her story on behalf of an eating disorders organization. In 2005, she gave birth to a daughter. Magali recently appeared in Sex and the City: The Movie. Her essays are published in Feeding the Fame: Celebrities Tell Their Real-Life Stories of Eating Disorders and Recovery (Hazelden, 2006) and If I'd Known Then: Women In Their 20s and 30s Write ïLetter to Their Younger Selves (Da Capo, 2008).

"How much weight will I gain—and how fast can I lose it?"
"Will my partner still want to have sex with me after watching the birth?"
"How do I handle the know-it-alls, judges, and Space Invaders?"
"Will I end up wearing Mom jeans forever?"

People might tell you you're glowing, but you just feel like you're growing, and perhaps you're not liking—or even recognizing--the changing image you see in the mirror. If you're like most expectant women, you're worried about what pregnancy and motherhood will do to your body, your sexuality, and your self-esteem (even if you don't want to admit it out loud for fear of the Bad Mommy Police). While the journey to motherhood is truly miraculous and brings forth life, it can also bring forth a myriad of legitimate concerns.

Enter beauty activists Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei, who reveal a much-needed forewarning on what to expect from your changing body, as well as a reality check for each stage of your pregnancy, exposing the myths, challenges, and insecurities you'll face throughout pregnancy and beyond—and what to do about them. From candid interviews with more than 400 women and men, as well as their own experiences, Claire and Magali help you discover:

- How you can learn to trust your changing body, appreciate it, and yes…even work it!
- Why you should be wary of the Hollywood "bump watch" and post-baby weight loss stories and how to take the focus off the scale
- How to deal with your raging hormones—in the bedroom and beyond
- The truth, the lies, and sure-fire fixes for sagging skin, acne, stretch marks, and boobs that continue to defy gravity
- How to recognize when your body issues get extreme—and how to get help

With startling confessions of women's unspoken fears and advice on how to remedy them, this essential compendium of girl-friendly advice will help champion any woman to feel her best about her body, herself, and her role as a mom.

Publishers Weekly

Mom and model Amadeï teams up with expert and activist Mysko to produce a lighthearted guide to combating a silent societal epidemic, the 80 percent of childless women who worry what pregnancy could do to their bodies. A long section devoted to realistic expectations for one's post-partum body is excellent, particularly the liberating point that women shouldn't expect to get their pre-baby body back. Though the informal style can sometimes seem overly flip ("gigantic ta-tas," anyone?), the authors do a great service in bringing to light a fear that women may believe they suffer with alone. Beyond pregnancy, the authors (both of whom struggled with bulimia) urge all women, pregnant or not, to "stop dieting" and instead try working on irrational feelings of body-based inferiority with some "vocab rehab." The concepts and solidarity offered here should prove valuable for millions of American women.
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