Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby
Become a mama without the drama
 

When you’re pregnant, your friends, the Internet, and even your doctor often give advice that leaves you anxious and overwhelmed. You deserve a calm, straightforward, no-nonsense pregnancy. It’s time to dial down the stress and dial up the common sense. Common Sense Pregnancy is a breath of fresh air: accessible, authoritative, funny, reassuring, and personable, while still chock-full of comprehensive, medically-sound advice. Women's health expert, labor nurse, mother of four, and Fit Pregnancy.com columnist Jeanne Faulkner has been at the bedside for thousands of deliveries and provides the honest insider advice you need during pregnancy, labor, birth, and beyond, including straight talk on:
 
·      Which prenatal tests you actually need, and which you don’t.
·      Who’s on your labor team—and how to keep your labor room drama free.
·      What about sex?
·      How to deal with feeling lousy.
·      What works and what doesn’t for starting labor naturally.
·      How to avoid unneces­sary and risky medical interventions.
 
Whether you want your pregnancy and birth to be all natural, all medical, or something in between, Common Sense Pregnancy eliminates the fear and puts you in charge of your body and prenatal experience, and helps you make the right choices for you and your baby.
1120347823
Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby
Become a mama without the drama
 

When you’re pregnant, your friends, the Internet, and even your doctor often give advice that leaves you anxious and overwhelmed. You deserve a calm, straightforward, no-nonsense pregnancy. It’s time to dial down the stress and dial up the common sense. Common Sense Pregnancy is a breath of fresh air: accessible, authoritative, funny, reassuring, and personable, while still chock-full of comprehensive, medically-sound advice. Women's health expert, labor nurse, mother of four, and Fit Pregnancy.com columnist Jeanne Faulkner has been at the bedside for thousands of deliveries and provides the honest insider advice you need during pregnancy, labor, birth, and beyond, including straight talk on:
 
·      Which prenatal tests you actually need, and which you don’t.
·      Who’s on your labor team—and how to keep your labor room drama free.
·      What about sex?
·      How to deal with feeling lousy.
·      What works and what doesn’t for starting labor naturally.
·      How to avoid unneces­sary and risky medical interventions.
 
Whether you want your pregnancy and birth to be all natural, all medical, or something in between, Common Sense Pregnancy eliminates the fear and puts you in charge of your body and prenatal experience, and helps you make the right choices for you and your baby.
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Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby

Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby

Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby

Common Sense Pregnancy: Navigating a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth for Mother and Baby

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Overview

Become a mama without the drama
 

When you’re pregnant, your friends, the Internet, and even your doctor often give advice that leaves you anxious and overwhelmed. You deserve a calm, straightforward, no-nonsense pregnancy. It’s time to dial down the stress and dial up the common sense. Common Sense Pregnancy is a breath of fresh air: accessible, authoritative, funny, reassuring, and personable, while still chock-full of comprehensive, medically-sound advice. Women's health expert, labor nurse, mother of four, and Fit Pregnancy.com columnist Jeanne Faulkner has been at the bedside for thousands of deliveries and provides the honest insider advice you need during pregnancy, labor, birth, and beyond, including straight talk on:
 
·      Which prenatal tests you actually need, and which you don’t.
·      Who’s on your labor team—and how to keep your labor room drama free.
·      What about sex?
·      How to deal with feeling lousy.
·      What works and what doesn’t for starting labor naturally.
·      How to avoid unneces­sary and risky medical interventions.
 
Whether you want your pregnancy and birth to be all natural, all medical, or something in between, Common Sense Pregnancy eliminates the fear and puts you in charge of your body and prenatal experience, and helps you make the right choices for you and your baby.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781607746751
Publisher: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date: 06/09/2015
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

JEANNE FAULKNER has worked in women's health for 30 years, first in doctor's offices, free clinics, and classrooms and then as a registered nurse, specializing in obstetrics, labor and delivery, and neonatal care. She began her career as a journalist in 2002 and currently writes the weekly column Ask the Labor Nurse for FitPregnancy.com. She contributes articles about health, medicine, food, parenting, travel, and lifestyle issues to such publications as Fit PregnancyPregnancy, Shape, Better Homes & Gardens, and the Huffington Post and Oregonian newspapers. She's also the senior writer/editor for Every Mother Counts, a global maternal health advocacy organization founded by Christy Turlington Burns.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 When You First Get Pregnant 5

What to do when you find out you're pregnant 5

How to have a well pregnancy instead of a fear-based pregnancy 6

Is your pregnancy no-risk, low-risk, moderate-risk, or high-risk? 9

How soon do you need to see a midwife or doctor? 12

Who should you tell that you're pregnant, and when? 16

How soon will you look pregnant instead of just fluffy? 18

What does your due date really mean? 19

How much stuff do you need? 22

Chapter 2 Choosing Your Care 25

How to pick your health care provider 25

Why choosing a midwife makes sense 29

If you have a midwife, a nurse, a partner, and a labor support team, do you need a doula? 29

How to pick where you'll have your baby 31

Who's on your labor team-and how to keep your labor room drama free 35

Chapter 3 Your Pregnant Body 39

What should you eat? 39

How to deal with feeling like crap 45

What about sex? 49

Just how tough is your baby? Dealing with fears about exposure to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other toxins 52

Common medical bumps in the road 55

Chapter 4 Prenatal Tests 61

What are all those prenatal tests for, and do you really have to have them? 61

What about ultrasounds? 65

The pros and cons of genetic testing 67

Nonstress tests, biophysical profiles, and other late-pregnancy tests 70

Chapter 5 Prenatal Education and Birth Plans 75

Getting a prenatal education-before and beyond what the hospital teaches 75

How to determine whether you want your birth to be all natural, all medical, or something in between 78

How your pregnancy determines your birth plan 79

Birth plans: pros, cons, reality checks 82

Chapter 6 How to Deal with Late Pregnancy Curve Balls 85

Your doctor says your baby is too big and wants to schedule an induction or C-section-what now? 85

Your ultrasound shows you have too much/too little amniotic fluid-what now? 87

You've tested positive for group beta strep-what now? 89

You're dilating early or not dilating yet-what now? 90

Your midwife says you need an obstetrician-a few reasons why you might "risk out" for low-risk/low-intervention care 91

Chapter 7 When the End Is in Sight 93

You know the end is in sight and all of a sudden you're freaking out-what's going on? 94

You feel heavy, cranky, crampy, and yucky-should you ask for an induction? 96

How to get the show on the road-what works and what doesn't for starting labor naturally 98

How to keep from losing your mind while you wait for labor to start 101

You're overdue (or are you?)-what should you do? 103

Chapter 8 Are You in Labor? 107

You're leaking fluid-did your water break or did you wet your pants? 107

You lost your mucous plug or see a little bleeding-are you going into labor? 110

How to tell when you're really, truly, honest-to-god in labor 111

Water management-what to do if your water bag breaks in public and what to expect when it breaks during labor 114

Chapter 9 At the Hospital 117

Who works on the maternity unit? From nurses to lab techs-all the people who might take care of you and your baby 117

Hygiene and grooming for labor-what matters, what totally doesn't? 121

Shaving, enemas, episiotomies, and other old-school routines 123

Can you eat when you're in labor? 125

Chapter 10 Labor Pains 127

The biggest difference between your first and second labors (or third, or fourth…) 127

How bad is labor, anyway? 129

Pain management 101-everything from deep breaths to epidurals, and how to take it one step at a time 131

Epidural 101-how it works, who puts it in, why it takes a while, and why you can't custom-order it 136

Epidural FAQs 142

What's Pitocin really like? 148

Chapter 11 Other Labor and Delivery Issues 151

Meconium-what does it mean when sh** happens? 151

The big push-how to do it if you don't have an urge, and how to avoid pushing too hard 153

Vacuums, forceps, and other tools of the trade 155

Lacerations 101 (what it means if you tear) 157

Body fluids, blood, and guts-all the gross stuff that happens during labor and why you shouldn't worry about it 159

Chapter 12 C-Sections, VBACs, and More 163

You're scheduled for a C-section-what happens next? 163

You want a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)-how can you have one, and what are the risks? 168

You have twins or your baby is breech-can you still have a vaginal birth? 171

Chapter 13 Once the Baby Is Born 175

How to decide which tests and shots your baby will get in the delivery room and nursery 175

When your baby needs intensive care 181

Chapter 14 Processing and Healing Postpartum 185

Processing your birth experience 186

Healing, bleeding, leaking, and cramps-what's normal, what's not? 188

Will you ever be normal down there again? 191

Now that everything's different, will life ever be normal again? 192

Chapter 15 Having a New Baby 195

A word about day three 195

What you can do the first week, second week, third week, sixth week 197

Sleep, sleep deprivation, and how to keep from losing your mind 201

How to do anything now that you have a newborn-including taking a shower, going to the store, and having an adult conversation 204

The second baby-how to add another kid to your life 206

Chapter 16 Feeding Your Baby 207

Breast versus bottle-battle lines and peace treaties 207

How to get the help you need when breastfeeding is hard 209

Cracked, sore nipples? Engorgement? Tips for making your breasts feel better 210

Pumping, dumping, storing, and freezing your breast milk 212

Bottle feeding, judgment free 216

How long should you breastfeed? 217

How to work and breastfeed 218

Conclusion 222

Special Circumstances Appendix 1: Pregnancy and parenting for women with history: getting real about custody, child welfare, drug addiction, domestic violence, homelessness 223

Special Circumstances Appendix 2: When a Baby Dies 225

Notes and Resources 229

About the Author 235

Acknowledgments 236

Every Mother Counts 238

Index 239

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