Kareena Kapoor Khan's Pregnancy Bible: The Ultimate Manual for Moms-To-Be

by Kareena Kapoor, Aditi Shah Bhimjyani

Kareena Kapoor Khan talks you through your 40 weeks, diet and fitness, self-care, preparing the nursery and even what to pack for the hospital – everything you could possibly want to know! But best of all she talks about her own pregnancies openly, from her intense morning sickness to her crazy cravings for pepperoni pizza. Her voice, full of warmth and honesty, will make you feel as if a friend is guiding you through this time sharing all her own experiences.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2021

About the author

A member of the fourth generation in the Kapoor acting dynasty, Kareena Kapoor made her film debut in 2000. Kapoor has established herself as an award winning actress and style icon. Kapoor married actor and Nawab (honorary prince) of Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan in 2012.

Reviews

[Anjum Haz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I bought the book, it was just out of curiosity and what largely impacted my decision was my huge crush on Kareena recently. I am usually not very attracted to celebs. When it comes to Bollywood movies, I would pick up movies off the shelf like I adored the 360p version of “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones”, I watched on YouTube. But I would never play Jawan even though it starts to autoplay annoyingly in my Netflix home. So, I was asking myself what’s happening to me, is this a mid life crisis? I think what made me interested in celebs is- their hard working ability. Because I was trying to practice discipline and achieve a better work life balance, I was instantly intrigued to know how people like celebs achieve any balance in life.

To my delight, I loved reading this book! It was not anything like an unfruitful stalk in social media. The book is about the nine months of pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal days and about diet, exercise, self care for new moms. Experts summarized their wisdom in both light technical terms and traditional terms. Kareena shared her experiences through some parts of the book. The best part of the book is- it’s written in an Indian perspective! Which is more or less relevant to Bangladeshis as well. These Indian spices in the book are what made it very special.

I was glad to know many unknown things about pregnancy. I have come to know about spotting very recently from a girls group I dearly love. But other than that, there were other unknowns that were not covered in either girls chat or cinemas, LOL. The book discusses childbirth in detail. I loved how it included all the local traditions while also explaining Western fancy traditions like what is a water birth etc. Throughout the book the authors tried to encourage local practices like- rice and daal for your dinner.

The book had a great impact on me! I am very passionate about health habits. The book helped me stick to my goals- sleep enough timely, eat balanced and nutritious food, keep my body active and engaged. By reading about the benefits of these simple habits, I felt more connected and I was delighted to form a sleep routine.

My kitchen shelves are impacted as well! I swapped crackers for unsalted cashew nuts, sugary dessert for a cup of warm milk with a pinch of nutmeg. I loved the local hacks shared in the book. I cooked daal with a tablespoon of ghee instead of my regular olive oil and it was a hit! And my gajor-er-halua with dates and raisins is even tastier without adding much sugar. Trying to give food assimilation some thoughts now. I realized I don’t like outside food. I can eat it fine but don’t feel good afterwards. I mostly eat outside food to comply with social life. I would feel a craving for soda water or sugary dessert after a meal outside. Feel sloppy. Making simple changes and sticking to my home food also brought a huge shift in my energy level! I now wake up feeling energized and looking forward to my 7 meals of the day, but also not craving anything fried or sugary!

I found myself reading labels of my skin products too while reading this book. All in all, it was like a guilty pleasure for me to read this book. Because I am not pregnant and not planning to be a parent soon (rather planning how not to get pregnant by accident). My parents visited us twice and I had to keep the book hidden otherwise my mom would jump into excitement thinking I am taking her suggestion of “take a baby” seriously. Also I can’t do this to poor Samudro, all the “you are being a baba” jokes, LOL.

I don’t know if there’s a term for my situation. Health-freak? But if you are an Indian girl who loves routines, diets, exercise and sleep and books- may this also be your guilty-pleasure-read… Oh, and for pregnant moms, you can keep the book on top of your prep list!

[Jayanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful for first time moms. Although using Kareena's name is kinda misnomer, she's only present in bits and pieces but the biggest plus point of the book is Indian experts taking on doable practical tips about each and every aspect of pregnancy. We don't have many books on this topic from an Indian perspective so this definately helped.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of this information, especially her personal perspective and thoughts. It gave me some good points to think about and useful lists. However it's a very long book; she repeated some bits of information dozens of times. Similarly, I can understand why this book isn't available in any American libraries. Some of the information, especially related to crib setup, use of a car seat, etc., is starkly different from what is expected of mothers in the states based on best available research. Since there did seem to be an emphasis on personal and cultural experiences over research, this puts into question whether the rest of her recommendations are best practice. I do commend her for eventually acknowledging that in the book, but she only did so after recommending you buy your infant a comforter, sheets, etc. She didn't mention the safety risks of crib bumpers when speaking of them. She also suggested a Moses basket could work as a temporary bassinet... Overall if you're a future mom in the states, I think you should skip this one.

[Shikha Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little sceptical about this book because I wanted information and not a “celebrity” book but her experience only supports the information that is well-researched and placed in an Indian context. Quite helpful!

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good and particular book

I enjoyed this book and will use it as reference.
I felt that I was getting advice from a friend.

[Farahdiba Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very informative. It covers a lot of things about pregnancy. The science, health-care, fitness, lifestyle and beauty tips are all covered.

[Sonia Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book for new moms. It covers every aspect of pregnancy. I got every small information through this book.

[Kakoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative

[Shresthi Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for first time mothers. The language is very lucid . They have covered each and every section of pregnancy. The best in the field have given their inputs .

[Vanessa Peacock · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are better books - I read a lot of pregnancy books but I didn’t get past the first couple of chapters in this one. Didn’t think the advice was very good or unbiased.

[Payal Banik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring. Loved it. Loved the pictures it adds personal touch to the book!!

[Ritz.rathod · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book which is nothing but your pregnancy chart and progress which you will get from your doctor appointments.
I was expecting more personal pregnancy journey but it was disappointed.