Book Review: “I’m Pregnant, Not Terminally Ill, You Idiot”, by Lalita Iyer

Lalita Iyer’s I’m Pregnant, Not Terminally Ill, You Idiot (IPNTI) is exactly the sort of book I would normally not read, but then, one does strange things when one’s expecting to become a father for the second time. And I’d glad I picked this one up since the best books are those which tell you something you already know.

If you are planning to have a baby or if you have decided to never have one but are curious to know what mothers (and fathers) go through, Iyer’s IPNTI is for you. It’ll tell you how people react in different ways once a mother-to-be announces that the stork has paid her a visit. You’ll get to know how useful (or useless) fathers can be just after the baby is born. You’ll hear the bosses’ point of view when a woman returns to work post-pregnancy. You’ll find out how other single women behave on hearing the proud announcement. What makes IPNTI especially interesting is that Iyer belongs to a westernised generation where it’s normal for a woman to give precedence to her career and not get married or delay the onset of offspring even after getting married. Not every girl who Iyer holds up as an exhibit for her readers is non-traditional, though. There are a few who got married at twenty two and had their first child at twenty three.

IPTNI comes with handy tips for every new mother and mother-to-be, on matters ranging from how to poach a good maid from your friend to the things that one can do to lose the life-giving domestic helper even if one cannot afford to. The book runs to exactly 250 pages and they flip by at an agreeable pace as one takes in the various anecdotes and accounts that make up this excellent read.

Iyer got married when she was thirty eight and became pregnant when she was forty, an age when even her mother had given up hoping. A journalist, in the past she has written for Times of India, Hindustan Times etc. Currently she is Filmfare’s managing editor.