Fibro Mama: Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia Book Review

Soon after Little A was born last year and I had started feeling human again, I began to look at the Facebook posts from my chronic illness blogger support community. One of those posts was from Melissa Reynolds looking for people to review her new book, Fibro Mama: Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia.

The book sounded perfect for me to review given I had just been through a pregnancy with fibromyalgia. I let Melissa know I’d be willing to review it and she sent me through a PDF copy to read.

Thanks to brain fog (from both chronic illness and having a new baby) it took me quite a while to actually read the book. It took even longer to finish writing up this review… (Sorry Melissa!!!)

Since I received this, Melissa has updated Fibro Mama to include a 3 extra chapters, including Pain Management. I’m glad she did this as that was one of the things I thought could be improved in the version I had received.

Now onto my review…

Fibro Mama: Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia

A Book Review

Melissa Reynolds shares her own personal experiences, along side research and other anecdotal evidence about managing pregnancy and fibromyalgia, in a way that is easy to read and understand.

Format

Even through the fog of new motherhood and Fibro pain, Fibro Mama wasn’t a difficult book to read. The chapters are short and the font size reasonably large, allowing me to break it down into manageable chunks.

Content

There are not many books out there to help people living with chronic illnesses, like fibromyalgia, to make informed decisions about the difficult decision to start a family. I believe Melissa’s book fills that gap.

With the chapters broken down into relevant topics (Natural Pain Relief, Tools for managing symptoms, Nursing and Fibromyalgia, etc) it is easy to focus in on what is relevant for you at the time.

I love the fact that the book not only covers pain management during pregnancy. It also covers that crucial first year or so of life with a baby/toddler.

The Verdict

Overall, I feel that Fibro Mama is a great book for anyone who is beginning to think about having a child with fibromyalgia. Melissa has done a great job collating research and anecdotal stories to provide clear guidance of what could be expected.

I did feel that it could do with more anecdotal stories and more pain management tips. However, from what I understand this has been addressed in the updated version now available.

Thank you Melissa for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I would definitely recommend it as a must read if you are considering pregnancy with fibromyalgia.