Forget Louis Vuitton handbags or Jimmy Choo shoes, because right now there's nothing more fashionable for Hollywood's leading ladies than a baby bump, swollen ankles and bigger boobs. Here 9 celebrity mums advise on how to cope with pregnancy, labour and the body battle that follows

• Gwyneth Paltrow
  'I discovered there was a real lack of Mexican food in London and the pizzas are too small'
• Victoria Beckham
  According to Becks 'she didn't put much weight on. She only had this little cute bump'
• Cate Blanchett
  'I refuse to worry about all that fitness stuff. Being a mother is exercise enough for me'
• Julia Roberts
  'My stomach was enormous! The bigger it got the smaller my ass looked so I kind of enjoyed it'
• Catherine Zeta Jones
  'She was crazy about something called Branston Pickle,' said husband Michael Douglas
• Courteney Cox
  'Pregnancy wasn't as tough as I thought it would have been, but it wasn't as relaxing as maybe it would have been if I were 22'
• Sarah Jessica Parker
  'I must be the only woman to get cravings AFTER giving birth as well as during it'
• Liz Hurley
  'Damian was unplanned but not unwanted. I think the best things that happen to you are preordained'
• Debra Messing
  'Get a good babysitter - that's my advice'

Gwyneth Paltrow
Mummy status: One-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Apple.
Pregnancy: 'We were just kind of pregnant with Apple when Chris (Martin) and I got married. It was all quite wonderful. Very soon after I found out, my breasts became larger - for the first time in my life. I was under the care of a holistic obstetrician (Gowri Motha) and followed his suggestions.
Understanding what was happening was a big help. Then, when I felt a little hand or elbow or something, it was amazing - even if a bit of a shock, as if there's an alien in your stomach.'
Craving: Pizzas and Mexican food. 'I discovered there was a real lack of Mexican food in London and the pizzas are too small.'
Birth: Apple Blythe Alison Martin weighed a hefty 9lb 11oz when she was born in a London hospital after a 'long labour'.
Get fit tip: 'You have to exercise to get it all back. It was tough, very tough. So it was that and blusher and a girdle!'

Victoria Beckham
Mummy status: Sons Brooklyn, four, Romeo, two, and Cruz, seven months. Craving: Smoked salmon (trust Posh Spice to have a posh craving). It was her football star husband David Beckham who lifted the lid on his wife's favourite dish when she was pregnant with Brooklyn. 'She couldn't get enough of it,' says Becks.
Birth: Cruz, like her other boys, was born by caesarean section, this time in Madrid.
Get fit tip: Victoria has never revealed her secret to keeping her stick-thin figure despite having had three children. After her latest, it was left to husband David to speculate how she does it. David says, 'Victoria's very happy, she didn't put much on anyway, to be honest. She only had this little cute bump. But she's really good and really healthy, I'm so proud. She's great and she's losing the weight quickly, which is pleasing for her.'

Cate Blanchett
Mummy status: Sons Dashiell, three, and Roman, one.
Pregnancy: 'It was weird because I actually found out I was pregnant while playing a pregnant woman in Life Aquatic. I was trying on these different plastic prosthetic baby bellies when I fainted! When I woke up, I thought I must be dying of some terrible illness, but it was only a sign of a much more beautiful event!'
Cravings: Dill pickles and ice cream. Cate was reported to have 'freaked' during the making of Life Aquatic when a crew member ran off with her favourite snack.
Birth: Roman weighed 7lb 20oz when he was born following a 'long labour' at a private London hospital.
Get fit tip: 'I refuse to worry about all that fitness stuff. Being a mother is exercise enough for me.'

Julia Roberts
Mummy status: Nine-month-old twins Phinnaeus and Hazel.
Pregnancy: 'My stomach was enormous and the bigger it got the smaller my ass looked so I kind of enjoyed it. I felt great.'
Craving: 'I didn't really have cravings although my voice changed - I guess because of the bump. It's like I echoed. I had this terrifying laugh. I sounded like a trucker!'
Birth: Son Phinnaeus Walter and daughter Hazel Patricia were born a month prematurely on 28 November 2004 at Hollywood's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by emergency caesarean.
Get fit tip: Julia ballooned from 125lb to more than 200lb during her pregnancy. She has since taken up yoga and Pilates classes to help shed the baby bulge but there is one area that just won't go down - her bust.
Appearing at this year's Oscars, all the talk was of Julia's boobs, which have inflated from a 36-B to a 38-D. 'It's the only dress brave enough to hold in my breast line,' she said of her stunning gown. 'Yes, I'm serious, this is no joke.'

Catherine Zeta Jones
Mummy status: Mum to Dylan, four, and two-year-old Carys.
Pregnancy: 'I was Ok with it the first time. It was the second time that was a different experience. I think I was more scared because I knew what was coming. I was like, 'Oh God, I know how painful it is'. First time I just went and did it.'
Craving: Pickles and Marmite. 'She was crazy about something called Branston Pickle,' explains Catherine's husband Michael Douglas. 'I got sent out to find it at all hours, and let me tell you, it's not easy finding Branston Pickle in LA or New York!'
Birth: Dylan Michael was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre near Beverly Hills. The baby weighed 7lb and 7oz.Carys Zeta Douglas was born early Easter morning in New Jersey weighing 7lb 1oz.
Get fit tip: 'During pregnancy I tried to eat well to keep up my energy levels. Three meals a day, a nice mixed diet. I love chocolate, ice-cream and cakes, so that had to go straight away. I had to push myself to get to the gym - once I was there I was fine. I also did yoga. I have a crazy frantic side, and yoga refocuses the energy.'

Courteney Cox
Mummy status: Daughter, Coco was born on 13 June, 2004 - two days before her famous mother's 40th birthday.
Pregnancy: 'Pregnancy wasn't as tough as I thought it would have been, but it wasn't as relaxing as maybe it would have been if I were 22,' says Cox, who jettisoned her usual Atkins regime and gave up drinking the second she learned she was expecting.
Birth: Coco Riley Arquette weighed 8lb 6oz when she was born in a Los Angeles hospital. Courtney gave birth naturally after a 12-hour labour.
Get fit tip: 'I practise Budokon. It's a fitness regime that includes yoga and martial arts, a mind-body workout. It's a combination of meditation, stretching and cardio exercises that develop strength and flexibility. I also found that breast-feeding helped.'

Sarah Jessica Parker
Mummy status: Had son, James, with husband Matthew Broderick in October 2002.
Pregnancy: 'I actually found it quite hard. I stopped looking at myself in the mirror because it was so odd for me. I thought it was so odd to see myself with a bump. I didn't realise how odd it was until my husband walked into the bathroom and he got a really stunned expression on his face. He almost blanched, he just said, "My God, you're huge!"'
Craving: Fast food. 'I must be the only woman to get cravings AFTER giving birth as well as during it.'
Birth: James Wilke Broderick born at Lenox Hill Hospital, in Manhattan after a nine- hour labour.
Get fit tip: 'My brother is a personal trainer, so he worked with me, but breast-feeding definitely helps, along with post-natal yoga classes. Just remember that your fitness level may have dropped off dramatically during pregnancy, so give yourself a break and don't stress out.'

Liz Hurley
Mummy status: Son Damian turns four on 4 April 2006.
Pregnancy: 'It was a tough week,' says Hurley on finding out she was pregnant with the baby of billionaire Steve Bing. 'I found out I was pregnant, Bing and I split up, I gave up smoking, alcohol and coffee, and then September 11 happened. My world collapsed and then the whole world collapsed. Damian was unplanned but not unwanted. I think the best things that happen to you are preordained - it's fate.'
Craving: Indian takeaways. Poor Liz didn't get any help from Damian's father, Steve Bing, during her pregnancy-induced food frenzy. Luckily, old flame Hugh Grant was at hand with a poppadom or two. 'He's a true English gent and his behaviour puts Bing to shame,' said a friend of the model and actress at the time. 'Hugh checks up on Liz all the time and stays over when she needs him. He even dashes to fetch curry if she gets a craving.'
Birth: Damian was born naturally at London's St John and St Elizabeth Hospital.
Get fit tip: 'I ate steamed fish and brown rice and hit the treadmill to lose the 53 pounds I'd gained with Damian. I absolutely killed myself to shed that weight.'

Debra Messing
Mummy status: One son, Roman, born 7 April 7 2004.
Pregnancy: 'I don't know that any pregnancy is easy. I had health problems. I had to spend time in bed, resting, and having intravenous fluids. But having a baby was something I'd looked forward to for my entire life, so any temporary sacrifice seems worth it.'
Craving: Breakfast cereal and fast food. 'I went through a real big phase of craving healthy cereal with blueberries and I started eating that three times a day. Then I switched from that to craving fast food and burgers.'
Birth: Roman Walker Zelman was born naturally in a Los Angeles hospital, weighing 5lb 14oz.
Get fit tip: 'I did yoga all the way through, then just going to the gym is the best thing. Get a good babysitter - that's my advice.'