Bundaberg-born author Mandy Mauloni is set to release her debut novel which features a humorous take on the ups and downs and ins and outs of pregnancy.
First-time pregnant women should ‘throw the plan out the window’ according to Mandy, with unexpected challenges inevitable.
Her memoir, Pregnancy Virgin, is a humorous insight into pregnancy and is being widely released by Nightstand Press in the lead up to Mother’s Day.
“With modern technology making so much information available, I’d assumed understanding pregnancy would be easy,” Ms Mauloni said.
“Social media was telling me how it should look, the internet was giving me the information, and if I still didn’t understand there was ‘an app for that’ – yet I found the unexpected challenges confusing and at times, overwhelming.
“While every pregnancy is different, I found it incredibly helpful to hear about authentic pregnancy experiences and that’s why I wrote Pregnancy Virgin, because I thought it may help first-time pregnant women manage their own expectations about changes to their bodies and minds.”
Mandy shares her emotions and experiences in a light-hearted way, exploring topics such as maternity fashion, loss of identity, exercise regimes and nutrition, star sign indicators, gender disappointment, ways to find time for yourself and the myriad of other issues that pushed the ‘strong emotional response’ button for her during those disorienting nine months.
She said while pregnant women should always consult a medical professional with any concerns, her debut novel revealed some unexpected pregnancy challenges that mothers-to-be may find useful to know about.
“For example, I had no idea that pregnancy hormones could blur your vision — I thought there was something wrong with my eye for weeks, before seeing an optometrist,” Mandy said.
“I also found proper scientific evidence revealing pregnant women suffering from moderate or severe heartburn are more likely to have babies born with above average amounts of hair.
“And I was very surprised to discover it’s not uncommon for pregnant women to get haemorrhoids … nobody had ever mentioned this to me!”
The author said she coped with the unexpected challenges by deciding to ‘throw her plans out the window’ and cease putting pressure on herself.
“I thought I had to eat a certain way, exercise a certain way, look a certain way … but it was all unnecessary pressure,” she said.
”I hope that by sharing in my challenges and joys, it will help anchor the anxiety I know many expectant mothers feel … plus give them plenty of opportunities to have a laugh at my expense!”
Mandy Mauloni was born in Bundaberg and lived there for 18 years, then moved back to the city after completing her university studies to work as a journalist in 2004 and 2005.
To celebrate the release of Pregnancy Virgin published by Nightstand Press, The Book Boutique Bundaberg will be holding a book signing event at 10am, Saturday 26 March at 55c Bourbong Street.
