Rosie Pope helps moms-to-be, yet again, with her expert, all-encompassing book
Anyone who knows Rosie Pope—from Pregnant in Heels, MomPrep, or her maternity line—knows that she loves talking about pregnancy. (It’s not every woman who live tweets the birth of her daughter!) And just when it seems like she’s covered all the bases, Pope finds another void to fill—and this time, the hardbound result will look great on your bedside table! We chatted with the mom extraordinare at the NYC launch of Mommy IQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy at Destination Maternity about the pregnancy guidebooks of yesteryear, the trouble with doctors, and why there’s always knowledge still to gain. —Lucie Alig
Between your TV series and Rosie Pope Maternity, you have so many outlets! What made you want to write a book, on top of it all?
The thing about me is I have access to all these amazing experts and all this great information, and I don’t want it to only be available to my clients and the people on the show. So Mommy IQ is a compilation of everything that I’ve learned, the experts I’ve met, and the expertise I’ve gained. Now it’s all available in one place.
I saw that book is structured chronologically. Can you talk a little more about how the information’s organized?
It starts with a section on getting pregnant, and goes all the way through to what I call “the fourteen days after.” Most pregnancy books take you up to birth, but then they forget about what happens afterwards. And what happens right after is really difficult! There’s also a section in the back called “Tricky Bits,” which addresses certain problems that can happen during pregnancy. I put them in the back because these issues don’t happen to everyone, and if you’re not experiencing them, there’s no reason to read them and be anxious about them. I feel like a lot of pregnancy books take you through this really scary road, and if you’re not facing complications, why torture yourself?
How do doctors’ and experts’ advice factor in?
In addition to my own personal anecdotes and tips, called “Smart Bits,” I have the experts weigh in. Namely, Dr. Amos Grunebaum, who is the head of labor and delivery at Cornell. Often when you go to the doctor, you don’t get a chance to ask all the questions that you want to. So I asked Dr. Grunebaum all the questions that I think people would really want to ask if they had more time. Often doctors don’t explain things quite the way you want them to, so I figured if I asked enough questions, I’d finally get the answers people were looking for.
Can you talk a little bit about the “Mommy IQ” concept?
It’s all about how prepared you are to have kids, and how smart you are through every phase—during pregnancy, with a newborn, a toddler, a teenager, etc. The IQ test is a series of questions through which you can gauge your knowledge, and the point of the book is to improve that knowledge.
Are there any IQ questions that moms almost always get wrong?
A lot of people get the temperature question wrong—that what’s considered a fever for a newborn is different than a child. Also, how many times to feed a newborn baby (which is an important thing!). And how many extra calories you need to consume when you’re pregnant. Women always miss that one!
Now that Season 2 is over and your book is out, what’s next?
My whole thing at the moment is reaching as many people as possible. We’ll continue to be in the high-end of maternity and education, but I want it to be more and more available. We’re definitely going to be working on a fashion line that’s more affordable. Also, getting more and more education out there—through YouTube, on our website, and in other ways. Whatever it takes.