- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
The ultimate guide to conception, birth, and everything in between
Unlike those other bossy, tell-you-what-to-do pregnancy books, this funny, entertaining guide presents expectant parents with all the facts they need to know about conception, birth, and everything in between. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of this favorite guide to pregnancy and birth, this new edition is easier-to-use, fully updated, and has a fresh and appealing new design.
The Mother of All Pregnancy Books features a friendly, fresh, and fun approach to the greatest adventure life has to offer. Based on the best advice from over 100 parents and a panel of experts, it is packed with tons of nuts-and-bolts information and presents expectant parents with all the facts on such perennial hot topics as pain relief during labor, episiotomy, and circumcision, and empowering expectant parents to make informed personal choices.
If you're looking for the inside scoop on what it's really like to have a baby, you've come to the right place.
| Introduction | 1 | |
| Chapter 1 | Are You Really Ready to Have a Baby? | 7 |
| A Question of Timing | 8 | |
| What it really costs to raise children | 11 | |
| Career considerations | 14 | |
| The age issue | 16 | |
| Other health considerations | 23 | |
| Emotional readiness | 24 | |
| When you and your partner don't agree | 25 | |
| When Mother Nature has other plans | 28 | |
| Chapter 2 | Your Pre-Game Plan | 31 |
| Training for the Big Event | 32 | |
| Watch your weight--but not too carefully | 32 | |
| Do a nutrient check | 40 | |
| Kick your smoking habit | 45 | |
| Skip that glass of wine | 48 | |
| Just say no to drugs | 49 | |
| Get your partner on the program | 49 | |
| Kick your coffee habit | 51 | |
| Don't douche | 52 | |
| Keep your stress level down | 52 | |
| Watch out for workplace hazards | 53 | |
| What to Expect from Your Preconception Checkup | 54 | |
| Chapter 3 | Sperm, Meet Egg | 73 |
| The Numbers Game | 74 | |
| The Science of Conception | 75 | |
| A tale of two phases | 77 | |
| The sperm connection | 81 | |
| What You Can Do to Increase Your Odds of Conceiving Quickly | 84 | |
| Know thy cycle | 85 | |
| Make love on the right days | 95 | |
| Have unbelievably great sex | 95 | |
| Don't get too much of a good thing | 96 | |
| Create a "sperm-friendly" vaginal environment | 97 | |
| Get your partner on board | 98 | |
| Can You Choose Your Baby's Sex? | 98 | |
| Chapter 4 | Missed Conceptions | 101 |
| Do You Have a Fertility Problem? | 102 | |
| The infertility workup | 103 | |
| The Major Causes of Infertility | 104 | |
| The Brave New World of Assisted Reproduction | 125 | |
| Damned lies and statistics | 127 | |
| Reading between the lines | 128 | |
| Money talk | 129 | |
| How to Stay Sane | 132 | |
| Chapter 5 | Winning at Baby Roulette | 135 |
| A Little Bit Pregnant | 136 | |
| Testing, testing | 137 | |
| How you may feel about being pregnant | 143 | |
| Sharing your news with the world | 146 | |
| Sharing your news at work | 147 | |
| Finding Dr. Right | 150 | |
| Hospital or home birth? | 157 | |
| Your First Prenatal Checkup | 162 | |
| What your due date really means | 164 | |
| Multiple pregnancy | 166 | |
| The Incredible Growing Baby | 168 | |
| Chapter 6 | Operation Healthy Baby | 175 |
| The Weighting Game | 176 | |
| Nutrient Check: The Sequel! | 180 | |
| The deprivation trap | 187 | |
| Special diets | 188 | |
| Food safety | 190 | |
| Exercising During Pregnancy | 192 | |
| Sex During Pregnancy | 199 | |
| Working During Pregnancy | 202 | |
| Other Things You Need to Know to Keep Your Baby Safe | 207 | |
| Chapter 7 | The Worry Zone | 221 |
| The Top Ten First-Trimester Worries | 222 | |
| The Top Ten Second-Trimester Worries | 237 | |
| The Pregnancy Discrimination Act | 246 | |
| The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 | 247 | |
| Maternity wear | 249 | |
| Baby gear | 253 | |
| The Top Ten Third-Trimester Worries | 258 | |
| Chapter 8 | The Complaint Department | 269 |
| What's Normal and What's Not | 270 | |
| Pregnancy Complaints from A to Z | 270 | |
| Abdominal muscle separation | 275 | |
| Acne | 276 | |
| Backache | 276 | |
| Belly button soreness | 277 | |
| Bleeding gums | 278 | |
| Bleeding and spotting | 279 | |
| Braxton Hicks contractions | 279 | |
| Breast tenderness and enlargement | 280 | |
| Breathlessness | 281 | |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome | 282 | |
| Constipation | 282 | |
| Cramping | 283 | |
| Cravings | 283 | |
| Eye changes | 284 | |
| Faintness and dizziness | 284 | |
| Fatigue | 285 | |
| Food aversions | 286 | |
| Gassiness and bloating | 286 | |
| Headaches | 287 | |
| Heartburn | 288 | |
| Hemorrhoids | 289 | |
| Hip soreness | 290 | |
| Insomnia | 290 | |
| Itching | 292 | |
| Leg cramps | 292 | |
| Linea nigra | 293 | |
| Mask of pregnancy | 293 | |
| Morning sickness | 294 | |
| Perineal aching | 299 | |
| Public-bone pain | 300 | |
| Rashes | 300 | |
| Restless legs syndrome (RLS) | 302 | |
| Rhinitis | 302 | |
| Round ligament pain | 303 | |
| Sciatica | 303 | |
| Skin changes | 304 | |
| Smell, heightened sense of | 306 | |
| Stretch marks | 306 | |
| Sweating | 307 | |
| Swelling and fluid retention | 307 | |
| Thirstiness | 308 | |
| Urinary incontinence | 308 | |
| Urination, increased frequency of | 309 | |
| Vaginal secretions, increased | 309 | |
| Varicose veins | 310 | |
| Weepiness | 312 | |
| Yeast infections | 312 | |
| The Joys of Being Pregnant | 313 | |
| Chapter 9 | To Test or Not to Test? | 317 |
| What Prenatal Testing Can--and Can't--Tell You | 318 | |
| Is Prenatal Genetic Testing the Right Choice for You? | 319 | |
| Types of Tests | 321 | |
| What to Do If the Test Brings Bad News | 328 | |
| Chapter 10 | Lights, Camera, Action! | 331 |
| Prenatal Classes: Who Needs Them? | 332 | |
| Decisions, Decisions | 335 | |
| Doulas are a girl's best friend | 336 | |
| Writing a birth plan | 338 | |
| Episiotomy: The unkindest cut of all | 341 | |
| Pain relief during labor | 343 | |
| The circumcision decision | 348 | |
| Breast or bottle? | 351 | |
| Eight Months and Counting | 353 | |
| How to Tell if It's the Real Thing | 356 | |
| Prelabor symptoms | 357 | |
| True versus false labor | 359 | |
| When to call your caregiver | 364 | |
| When to go to the hospital | 365 | |
| What Labor Is Really Like | 366 | |
| The three stages of labor | 367 | |
| What other pregnancy books won't tell you | 373 | |
| What to expect during a cesarean delivery | 377 | |
| Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) | 381 | |
| Going Overdue | 382 | |
| Is my baby at risk? | 384 | |
| To induce or not to induce? | 386 | |
| What to expect during an induction | 387 | |
| Meeting Your Baby | 389 | |
| How you may feel about meeting your baby | 390 | |
| Chapter 11 | When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect | 393 |
| What Does the Term "High-Risk Pregnancy" Really Mean? | 394 | |
| Surviving bedrest | 403 | |
| The Unique Challenges of a Multiple Pregnancy | 409 | |
| Premature Birth | 413 | |
| Possible health problems | 414 | |
| Risk factors | 416 | |
| Prevention | 417 | |
| Welcoming a premature baby or a baby with special needs | 418 | |
| When a Baby Dies | 421 | |
| What can go wrong | 422 | |
| Miscarriage | 423 | |
| Ectopic pregnancy | 430 | |
| Molar pregnancy | 432 | |
| Stillbirth | 434 | |
| Intrapartum death | 437 | |
| Infant death | 437 | |
| Grieving the Loss of Your Baby | 443 | |
| Preparing for Another Pregnancy | 450 | |
| Physical healing | 451 | |
| Emotional readiness | 451 | |
| Chapter 12 | Life After Baby | 455 |
| Your Postpartum Body: What to Expect | 456 | |
| Cesarean recovery | 467 | |
| Getting Back into Shape: What's Realistic and What's Not | 468 | |
| How You May Feel About Becoming a Mother | 473 | |
| More than the baby blues? | 476 | |
| How Your Relationship with Your Partner May Change | 479 | |
| The Postpartum Survival Guide | 482 | |
| Appendixes | ||
| Appendix A | Glossary | 489 |
| Appendix B | Birth Plan | 511 |
| Appendix C | Emergency Childbirth Procedures | 517 |
| Appendix D | Directory of Organizations | 521 |
| Appendix E | Web Site Directory | 541 |
| Appendix F | Statistics at a Glance | 549 |
| Appendix G | Recommended Reading | 559 |
| Index | 563 |
Overview
The ultimate guide to conception, birth, and everything in between
Unlike those other bossy, tell-you-what-to-do pregnancy books, this funny, entertaining guide presents expectant parents with all the facts they need to know about conception, birth, and everything in between. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of this favorite guide to pregnancy and birth, this new edition is easier-to-use, fully updated, and has a fresh and appealing new design.
The Mother of All Pregnancy Books features a friendly, fresh, and fun approach to the greatest adventure life has to offer. Based on the best advice from over 100 parents and a ...