Pregnancy author Heidi Murkoff on grandchildren
(CBS News) The book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" has been on the bedside table of many a mother-to-be, including a very recent mother-to-be who years ago played an indispensable role in making the book the success it is. Tracy Smith has a story that spans the generations:
Lying on her back in Dr. Howard Mandell's Beverly Hills exam room, first-time mother Emma Bing is, well, a bit nervous.
Happily, her mom, Heidi Murkoff, is at her side helping her get through it all.
"I love having Heidi Murkoff in the room," said Dr. Mandell. "Every doctor likes to be on their toes."
You might not know her face, but chances are she helped you through your pregnancy, too.
In 1982 Heidi Eisenberg was a young writer who unexpectedly found herself in a family way.
"I did not see that coming," she said. "Completely unprepared, totally clueless. I had hundreds of questions."
And she had a tough time finding answers. At that time there were very few pregnancy manuals available. "There were doctor ones, which were kind of, like, 'Don't worry, honey, we'll take it from here" kind of thing," Murkoff said.
"So reading those pregnancy books at the time, you thought your fetus was doomed?" asked Smith.
"Yeah, actually, I did," Murkoff said. "I'd had a couple of drinks, a couple of times a week . . . I find out I'm six weeks pregnant, and then I pick up a book that says, you know, alcohol is poison. You know, so clearly, I felt I had a lot to worry about. And worry, I did!"
So she did her own research. And with some help from her mom, started writing. Shortly after Heidi had little Emma, she delivered her first book: "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
She said initially he response wasn't good: "None of the major bookstores carried the book. The feeling was, you know, the couple of pregnancy books on the market, that was plenty. We didn't need more, that was enough."
But among pregnant women, word of the book got around, and in a few years it became a must-read for anyone in a maternity top. Tracy Smith said when she carried her twins, she kept a copy handy.
And she was hardly alone. It's been estimated that 93 percent of all women who have ever picked up a pregnancy book have read "What to Expect."
And according to the latest numbers out this morning, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" has been on The New York Times bestseller list for 600 weeks.
It all makes Emma breathe easier, sort of.
Smith asked, is she less freaked out because of who her mom is? "I think so," Bing said, adding, "I'm pretty freaked."
Worried moms can get a question answered online, 24/7, often by Heidi Murkoff herself.
Online and off, the discussion has always been frank, and for some women frankly frightening.
"What about this idea that it scares women? Why are there some doctors who say, 'Don't read it'? asked Smith.
"I do think that they're speaking to older editions of the book," said Murkoff. "The thing is, it's a fine line between the right amount of information, and you know, TMI, 'too much information.' I'm always walking that line.
"Knowledge is power -- especially empowering when you're pregnant," Murkoff said.
Of course, "What to Expect" has no plot per se, but that didn't stop Hollywood from making a movie about it. The film was birthed last summer, with an "A-List" list cast including Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez. Critics treated it like an ugly stepchild.
"I thought that it was fun," said Murkoff. "We were there for some of the filming. Clearly there were a lot of beautiful women, and a lot of very thin pregnant women, which is definitely Hollywood's interpretation, yeah!"
But while the movie was pure fiction, the book deals in facts, down to some pretty serious medical advice. Murkoff, who is not a doctor, does dispense medical advice in the book.
"That's true. And yet, the book is so carefully checked for those medical facts that it's used in a lot of hospitals to train interns, and it's required reading in some hospitals," Murkoff said.
She said everything in the book has been run by doctors and "thoroughly fact-checked" because "things change."
And now, after helping millions through their pregnancies, there's only one mom on Heidi Murkoff's mind.
For Emma, pregnancy has been a mixture of joy and terror. "I'm the type of person, every little thing scares me," she said. "You know, when she tells me it's going to be okay, I relax. I'm okay. There's only one person in the world who says, 'Emma, it's okay,' and I believe it, and that's her. And so, when I'm in labor and when I'm out of control in the delivery room, and she says, 'It's gonna be okay,' I will listen."
As Emma's due date got closer, so, too, did her mom.
For all the millions of books she's sold, and all the advice she's given, the one answer Heidi Murkoff didn't have was how to wrap her mind around becoming a grandmother.
"I just had her, right? What is that about? I blinked. I should never have blinked," Murkoff said. "And all of a sudden she's having a baby."
Lennox Page made his entrance February 12th, at five pounds, fifteen ounces.
Mother, baby and grandmother are all doing fine . . . just as you might expect.
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