Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0738206903, Paperback)

With The Best Friend's Guide to Maternity Leave, author Betty Holcomb tells mothers the wonderful, funny, and sometimes uncomfortable truth about maternity leave. Holcomb, a veteran of two maternity leaves and a contributing editor to Parenting Magazine, takes a practical, non- gimmicky approach to trading career time for precious time with a newborn baby. Reading between the lines of the family medical leave act, she offers sensible strategies for every phase of maternity leave, including how to convince your boss that you really plan on coming back, juggling finances, recovering from childbirth, comparing breast versus bottle feeding, staying in touch with the office, understanding why your husband may disappear, and coping with your first weeks back on the job.

Holcomb tackles tough questions, asking for example: When the boss calls and the baby is crying, whoM do you put on hold? One standout chapter offers an insightful view of post-baby marriage and counsels working couples to explore "what it means to 'help' and what it means to 'share'--and how that difference can change your marriage." Other chapters include a fresh view of the mothers' cult of sacrifice. Holcomb suggests that each new mother needs private time to recharge batteries but also to integrate a new view of herself. Yet her wise words must be underscored with the knowledge that for many working mothers maternity leave is not an option. Ultimately, the issues raised here are compelling evidence for making parent leave affordable to all parents. -- Barbara Mackoff