Review of Momover by Dana Wood

The New Mom's Guide to Getting it Back Together

Apr 3, 2010
Paym Bergson

Momover by Dana Wood - book cover courtesy of FSB Associates

A breezy, easy read for new moms who need to get rid of guilt, know that it's ok to cry, and that it takes a lot of hard work to raise a baby and get self back together.

Although told from the point of view of an "older" woman having her first baby, Momover (Adams Media, 2010) is an excellent reference as well as a guide to any new mom struggling to balance personal health and well-being with the health and well-being of, well, another being.

Survival After Giving Birth

Written by Dana Wood, an accomplished journalist and pampered fashion/beauty editor, this book is a lighthearted yet well researched handbook to survival – of self, post partum experience, guilt, and learning to accept help. Perhaps one of the most important tips Ms. Wood provides is to take all the help that is offered – and not to accept any guilt. While she may say "guilt is so last century", too often it's the guilt that drives most women into a "supermom syndrome" – and no one wins with that.

Getting It Together

The book is divided into three parts: getting it together mentally; getting it together physically; and getting it together emotionally and spiritually. Obviously there's a pattern, and yes, each section is aptly named. Each chapter also contains special inserts: "the Mother load" – (mostly) humourous stories from other new moms; "Worked for me" – just as it sounds, what actually worked for Ms. Wood; and "Reserve the Right to" – tips to help the new mom, both for asking information on medical situations as well as what to do when it all gets too much. This is important, as too often new moms are afraid to ask questions of the medical field about their own journey after birth as well as their child's.

As a bonus there's a special appendix at the end, with additional websites and/or DVD's for each chapter's topics. These offer additional information to help the new mom.

For the most part, Momover is a fun book, with lots of humourous situations as well as humourous solutions. Just beneath the surface though, the reader can easily glean the important information as needed. It's nice to read a book where mom's well-being is stressed as much, if not more, than the new baby's. As the book promotes: "because centered, happy you = centered, happy baby!" It's a book about feeling right, not about looking right.

Bottom Line of Momover

This is a great book for any new mom, be she older or not. It helps to read when someone else has gone through the same misery, and to learn how they survived and thrived. It's filled with humour, fun, advice and information, but insists each mom has to find her own way.

Momover makes a great gift for the new mom.

Book courtesy of FSB Associates.

Reference:

Wood, Dana. Momover. Avon, MA USA: Adams Media, 2010.