Heidi Murkoff on 'What to Expect' movie

Heidi Murkoff, author of the iconic pregnancy manual "What to Expect When You're Expecting," says she was "rolling my eyes, dragged kicking and screaming" to yet another meeting about basing a major motion picture on her book.

"This wasn't the first pitch we received," she said in a recent phone interview about the new movie from Lionsgate, set to hit screens nationwide on Friday. "This time, it seemed to really click. It sounds random to turn a 'how-to' book into a romantic comedy, but when you think about it, what's more romantic than starting a family together? What's funnier potentially than pregnancy?"

She says maybe you can't laugh about passing gas in the supermarket or losing your bladder control when it's happening. "But with a little perspective, it is pretty funny," she says.

Murkoff has that perspective on pregnancy; she's now 53, and her children are in their 20s. She wrote "What to Expect" in 1984.

Murkoff's favorite scene in the movie, for which she is executive producer? "I like the dads -- the Dudes Group. That's probably the element of the movie I was most happy with." She says she insisted the dads be well represented in the movie. "The media portrays dads as not involved. Maybe all they'll do is run out for pickles and ice cream, or faint in the delivery room, but otherwise they're not really involved. And maybe when they do get involved, they mess up."

Murkoff said choosing the cast for the movie was "like being a kid in a candy shop." The cast includes Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Dennis Quaid and more.

Find out Murkoff's best advice for new parents.