With the guide's unconventional approach providing a variety of voices rather than one point of view, some experts say "From the Hips" could rival the wildly popular, if not dogmatic, series "What to Expect When Expecting"
The new book, published by Three Rivers Press, has received praise from both sides of the motherhood spectrum: Leslie Morgan Steiner, author of the controversial "Mommy Wars," and her critic Miriam Peskowitz, who wrote "The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars."
Drawing on Odes' and Morris' experience and that of hundreds of real parents, as well as the expertise of doctors and baby professionals, "From the Hips" is "open-minded and starts with the assumption that there are many healthy ways to go through a pregnancy," Peskowitz said.
Previous books, including "What to Expect," tend to offer a "lock-step" guide, according to Peskowitz. "There has been a big shift away from these books that promote one answer and scared us into thinking pregnancy was a medical event."
Odes, 38, and Morris, 39, met through mutual friends in the New York City music scene and found they had even more in common when their sons were born in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Odes, who studied art at Vassar College, was a bass player and singer with the band Love Child and counted Kurt Cobain as one of its fans.
Morris, who grew up in Washington, D.C., but took up art history and women's studies in college in her native Australia, worked as a screenwriter and a Hollywood assistant.
For these self-described "third-wave feminists," the isolation and lack of control they felt in pregnancy and later in parenting came as a total surprise. As they faced judgment and "mommy" cliques on the playground, they learned firsthand that "pregnant bodies are public property."
"People feel they have the right to evaluate and judge, and even to touch without asking," Morris said. Soon after, the friends started a Web site thenewmom.com to provide support for mothers and a forum for other points of view.
"If you're a new parent, these strong opposing voices can be very powerful," Odes said to ABC News. "The end result of both camps is if you don't follow one theory or the other, your baby ends up insecure and unable to deal and it's your fault!"
