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.
- A complete guide to how it may feel—both physically and emotionally – to be pregnant
- ‘The Pregnancy Roadmap:’ a week-by-week; month-by-month; and trimester-by-trimester overview of the key pregnancy milestones
- Pregnancy Q&As
- Baby Gear 101
- Your postpartum body
- The truth about ‘pregnancy brain’
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.
Tabla de materias
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER • V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • XIII
INTRODUCTION • 1
CHAPTER 1: ARE YOU REALLY READY TO HAVE A BABY? • 5
A Question of Timing • 6
What it really costs to raise children • 8; Career considerations • 11; The age issue • 13
A Baby? Maybe… Protecting Your Fertility • 17
Now or never? The health wild card • 22; I get so emotional, baby • 23
The Truth About Baby Fever: Not Everyone Catches It • 25
When you and your partner don’t agree • 26; When Mother Nature has other plans • 27
CHAPTER 2: YOUR PRE-GAME PLAN • 29
Training For the Big Event • 29
Watch your weight—but not too carefully • 30; Do a nutrient check • 34; Kick your smoking habit • 39; Pass on that glass of wine • 42; Just say no to drugs • 43; Kick your coffee habit • 44; Don’t douche • 45; Keep your stress level down • 45; Delegate the dirty work • 47; Watch out for workplace hazards • 47; Dad’s the word: More reproductive health issues for fathers-to-be • 48
Your Pre-Conception Checkup: The Insider’s Guide • 50
CHAPTER 3: SPERM, MEET EGG • 66
The Numbers Game • 66
The Science of Conception • 68
A tale of two phases • 70; The sperm connection • 74; What you can do to increase your odds of conceiving quickly • 77; Know thy cycle • 78; Make love on the right days • 85; Have unbelievably great sex • 86; Don’t get too much of a good thing • 86; Create a “sperm-friendly” vaginal environment • 87
CHAPTER 4: MISSED CONCEPTIONS • 90
Do You Have a Fertility Problem? • 90
The infertility workup • 91
The Major Causes of Infertility • 100
The Brave New World of Assisted Reproduction • 107
Damned lies and statistics • 108; Reading between the lines • 109
Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster • 111
If You Don’t Manage to Conceive • 114; If You Do Manage to Conceive • 115
CHAPTER 5: WINNING AT BABY ROULETTE • 117
A Little Bit Pregnant • 117
Testing, one, two, three . . . • 121; How you may feel about being pregnant • 122; Sharing your news with the world • 125; Sharing your news at work • 126; Choosing the right caregiver • 129; Hospital, birth center, or home birth? • 134
Your First Prenatal Checkup • 141
What your due date really means • 142
Early Pregnancy Worries • 145
I’m worried that I’ll experience a miscarriage • 146; I don’t feel pregnant anymore • 147
CHAPTER 6: OPERATION HEALTHY MOTHER, HEALTHY BABY • 149
The No-Worry Guide to Eating During Pregnancy • 149
The basics • 150; Dietary fiber • 151; Fruits and vegetables • 151; Healthy fats • 151; Meals and snacks that will go the distance • 152; Water • 153; The big five: the nutrients you need most during pregnancy • 155; The supporting cast: other key nutrients • 165; Vegetarian and vegan diets • 168; Not wanted at the dinner table: avoiding food-borne illness • 169
Your Pregnancy Gain Plan • 172
Wrapping your head around the idea of gaining weight • 173; New pregnancy weight-gain recommendations • 173; Too much of a good thing • 176; The best-laid plans • 178; Gaining too little • 179
Work It, Baby: Prenatal Fitness • 183
Quitting Time: Smoking, Drinking, and Drugs • 192
Smoking • 192; Drinking • 195; Drugs • 196
Sleeping for Two • 197
Sleep and health • 203
(Don’t Get Too) Stressed About Stress • 205
Depression during pregnancy • 209
Staying Healthy During Pregnancy • 211
Take steps to avoid illness • 211; Other steps to staying healthy • 218
Staying Safe at Home • 221
Medications • 222; Herbal products • 223; Toxins • 228; Diseases carried by pets and other animals • 231; Accidents and falls • 232; Domestic violence • 233
Staying Healthy at Work • 236
CHAPTER 7: THE PREGNANCY ROAD MAP • 242
The Complaint Department • 242
What’s normal and what’s not • 243
Pregnancy Complaints From A to Z • 243
Abdominal muscle separation • 247; Acne • 248; Backache • 248; Belly button soreness • 250; Bleeding gums • 250; Bleeding and spotting, vaginal • 251; Braxton Hicks contractions • 252; Breast tenderness and enlargement • 252; Breathlessness • 254; Carpal tunnel syndrome • 255; Constipation • 255; Cramping • 256; Cravings • 257; Ear changes • 257; Eye changes • 258; Faintness and dizziness • 258; Fatigue • 259; Food aversions • 260; Gassiness and bloating • 260; Headaches • 261; Heartburn (a.k.a. refl ux) • 262; Hernia, hiatal • 263; Hemorrhoids • 263; Hip soreness • 264; Insomnia • 265; Itchiness (abdominal) • 266; Laryngitis, pregnancy-induced, and voice changes • 267; Leg cramps • 267; Morning sickness (a.k.a. nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) • 267; Nasal changes • 274; Perineal aching • 275; Pubic-bone pain (osteitis pubis) • 276; Rashes • 277; Restless leg syndrome (rls) • 278; Round ligament pain • 279; Saliva, excessive (ptyalism) • 280; Sciatica • 280; Skin changes • 281; Smell, heightened sense of • 284; Stretch marks • 284; Sweating • 285; Swelling and fluid retention • 285; Thirstiness • 286; Urinary incontinence • 287; Urination, increased frequency of • 287; Vagina, changes to the • 288; Vaginal secretions, increased • 288; Varicose veins • 289; Weepiness • 290; Yeast infections • 291
CHAPTER 8: YOUR INCREDIBLE GROWING BABY • 293
The First Trimester: The Beginnings of Life, and the Start of a Whole New Way of Life • 294
Pre-embryonic stage: The first three weeks of development • 294; Embryonic stage: Your baby begins to develop human characteristics • 297; Fetal stage: Your baby’s body systems mature • 300; The second trimester: Goodbye nausea, hello maternity jeans • 302; The third trimester: Your incredible growing belly • 304
CHAPTER 9: THIS IS YOUR (SOON-TO-BE) LIFE • 308
Decisions, Decisions . . . • 309
Pregnant and chic • 309; Prenatal classes: Who needs them? • 312; Umbilical cord blood banking • 315; The circumcision decision • 318; Deciding to breastfeed • 321; The name game • 327; Planning for your maternity leave • 331; Planning your “babymoon” • 333
Other Things You Can Do to Make the Early Weeks Less Stressful • 339
Put your support team in place • 339; Consider hiring a postpartum doula • 343; Stock your home with healthy, easy-to-prepare foods • 344; Keep on top of chores on the home front • 347; Get the rest of your life in order • 349
Sex and Relationships: Top Worries • 357
Sex during pregnancy • 357; The last hurrah • 362; Oops, we did it again . . . • 370; The stuff of which pregnancy nightmares are made • 373
CHAPTER 10: WHEN PREGNANCY ISN’T PERFECT • 376
To Test or Not to Test? • 377
What prenatal testing can—and can’t—tell you • 378; Is prenatal genetic testing the right choice for you? • 379; Screening tests versus diagnostic tests • 384; What to do if the test brings bad news • 390
What Does the Term “High-Risk Pregnancy” Really Mean? • 392
The Unique Challenges of a Multiple Pregnancy • 403
Preterm Labor • 407
Possible health problems • 408; Risk factors • 408; Prevention • 410; Welcoming a premature baby or a baby with special needs • 413
When A Baby Dies • 416
What can go wrong • 417; Miscarriage • 418; Ectopic pregnancy • 426; Molar pregnancy • 428; Stillbirth • 430; Intrapartum death • 433; Neonatal and infant death • 434
Grieving the Loss of Your Baby • 438
Preparing for Another Pregnancy • 445
CHAPTER 11: LABOR DAY • 450
Eight Months and Counting • 451
Pre-labor symptoms • 453
Decision Time • 455
Pre-birth planning • 456; Why doulas are a mom’s best friend • 464; Writing a birth plan • 466; What’s up down there? • 469; Pain relief during labor • 473
The Top Labor-Related Worries • 482
Going Overdue • 497
Is my baby at risk? • 498; To induce or not to induce? • 499; What to expect during an induction • 501
What Labor is Really Like • 502
The three stages of labor • 502; What other mothers want you to know • 503; The great cesarean debate • 510; Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) • 516; How you may feel about meeting your baby • 518
Parting words • 519
APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY • 520
APPENDIX B: PLANNING FOR YOUR BIRTH • 536
Birth Wishes • 537
Personal information • 537; About your labor support team • 537; Labor environment • 537; Choices about the labor • 538; Laboring positions • 538; Pain relief • 538; Induction/augmentation of labor • 539; Delivery • 539; After the birth • 539; Cesarean section • 540; Circumcision • 540; Length of stay (if you’re having a hospital birth) • 540; Birthing philosophies • 541
APPENDIX C: EMERGENCY CHILDBIRTH PROCEDURES • 542
Emergency childbirth supplies to have on hand • 542; How to deliver your baby if you’re alone and without assistance • 542; How to assist a woman who’s about to give birth • 543
APPENDIX D: ONLINE RESOURCES • 545
APPENDIX E: PRENATAL RECORD • 551
INDEX • 555
ABOUT THE AUTHOR • 584
Sobre el autor
Ann Douglas is an award-winning journalist and the author of The Mother of All Baby Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books, and The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers. Known for her lively anecdotes and real-world advice, Ann makes frequent appearances on both radio and television and is regularly quoted in such publications as Parenting, Parents, Fit Pregnancy, American Baby, and Working Mother.
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