Within these pages you will find all you need to know (and a few things you don't) in order to embark on the mindboggling journey that is modern motherhood.

Discover humorous yet pertinent advice on everything from what a new mother ought to wear on the red carpet to the best books to read while feeding a baby, and marvel at what Mark Twain had to say on teething, Vladimir Nabokov on prams, Mrs Gaskell on six-month-olds and Mrs Beeton on breastfeeding.

From the totally frivolous to the deeply serious, from the cultural to the historical, from the history of the Caesarean to celebrity baby names, this is an intelligent, classy and eclectic guide for every twenty-first-century mother or mother-to-be. For it is important to acknowledge that, even though they may have a basketball in their stomachs, they still have a brain in their heads. It is a book to give to friends, daughters and sisters - and to cherish for yourself.

True, you may not ever need to know what year the epidural was invented, how to write your child's name in Chinese, or what the gestation period of an anteater is, but isn't it fabulous to know that you do?