Saturday, December 27, 2008

Mother of all Pregnancy Books or Knocked up

Mother of all Pregnancy Books

Author: Douglas

The ultimate guide to conception, birth, and everything in between.

Unlike all those otherbossy, tell-you-what-to-do titles, this funny, entertaining guide presents expectant parents with all the facts on such perennial hot topics as pain relief during labor, episiotomy, and circumcision, and empowers them to make informed personal choices. It's packed with tools you won't find anywhere else, including:

  • Charts highlighting the risks of using various over-the-counter drug productsduring pregnancy
  • Lists of the ten best -- and worst --baby products
  • A set of emergency childbirth procedures
  • Forthright discussions of difficult topics like infertility, high-risk pregnancy, and pregnancy and infant loss that other books are loathe to tackle



Table of Contents:
Introduction1
Chapter 1Are You Really Ready to Have a Baby?7
A Question of Timing8
What it really costs to raise children11
Career considerations14
The age issue16
Other health considerations23
Emotional readiness24
When you and your partner don't agree25
When Mother Nature has other plans28
Chapter 2Your Pre-Game Plan31
Training for the Big Event32
Watch your weight--but not too carefully32
Do a nutrient check40
Kick your smoking habit45
Skip that glass of wine48
Just say no to drugs49
Get your partner on the program49
Kick your coffee habit51
Don't douche52
Keep your stress level down52
Watch out for workplace hazards53
What to Expect from Your Preconception Checkup54
Chapter 3Sperm, Meet Egg73
The Numbers Game74
The Science of Conception75
A tale of two phases77
The sperm connection81
What You Can Do to Increase Your Odds of Conceiving Quickly84
Know thy cycle85
Make love on the right days95
Have unbelievably great sex95
Don't get too much of a good thing96
Create a "sperm-friendly" vaginal environment97
Get your partner on board98
Can You Choose Your Baby's Sex?98
Chapter 4Missed Conceptions101
Do You Have a Fertility Problem?102
The infertility workup103
The Major Causes of Infertility104
The Brave New World of Assisted Reproduction125
Damned lies and statistics127
Reading between the lines128
Money talk129
How to Stay Sane132
Chapter 5Winning at Baby Roulette135
A Little Bit Pregnant136
Testing, testing137
How you may feel about being pregnant143
Sharing your news with the world146
Sharing your news at work147
Finding Dr. Right150
Hospital or home birth?157
Your First Prenatal Checkup162
What your due date really means164
Multiple pregnancy166
The Incredible Growing Baby168
Chapter 6Operation Healthy Baby175
The Weighting Game176
Nutrient Check: The Sequel!180
The deprivation trap187
Special diets188
Food safety190
Exercising During Pregnancy192
Sex During Pregnancy199
Working During Pregnancy202
Other Things You Need to Know to Keep Your Baby Safe207
Chapter 7The Worry Zone221
The Top Ten First-Trimester Worries222
The Top Ten Second-Trimester Worries237
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act246
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993247
Maternity wear249
Baby gear253
The Top Ten Third-Trimester Worries258
Chapter 8The Complaint Department269
What's Normal and What's Not270
Pregnancy Complaints from A to Z270
Abdominal muscle separation275
Acne276
Backache276
Belly button soreness277
Bleeding gums278
Bleeding and spotting279
Braxton Hicks contractions279
Breast tenderness and enlargement280
Breathlessness281
Carpal tunnel syndrome282
Constipation282
Cramping283
Cravings283
Eye changes284
Faintness and dizziness284
Fatigue285
Food aversions286
Gassiness and bloating286
Headaches287
Heartburn288
Hemorrhoids289
Hip soreness290
Insomnia290
Itching292
Leg cramps292
Linea nigra293
Mask of pregnancy293
Morning sickness294
Perineal aching299
Public-bone pain300
Rashes300
Restless legs syndrome (RLS)302
Rhinitis302
Round ligament pain303
Sciatica303
Skin changes304
Smell, heightened sense of306
Stretch marks306
Sweating307
Swelling and fluid retention307
Thirstiness308
Urinary incontinence308
Urination, increased frequency of309
Vaginal secretions, increased309
Varicose veins310
Weepiness312
Yeast infections312
The Joys of Being Pregnant313
Chapter 9To Test or Not to Test?317
What Prenatal Testing Can--and Can't--Tell You318
Is Prenatal Genetic Testing the Right Choice for You?319
Types of Tests321
What to Do If the Test Brings Bad News328
Chapter 10Lights, Camera, Action!331
Prenatal Classes: Who Needs Them?332
Decisions, Decisions335
Doulas are a girl's best friend336
Writing a birth plan338
Episiotomy: The unkindest cut of all341
Pain relief during labor343
The circumcision decision348
Breast or bottle?351
Eight Months and Counting353
How to Tell if It's the Real Thing356
Prelabor symptoms357
True versus false labor359
When to call your caregiver364
When to go to the hospital365
What Labor Is Really Like366
The three stages of labor367
What other pregnancy books won't tell you373
What to expect during a cesarean delivery377
Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)381
Going Overdue382
Is my baby at risk?384
To induce or not to induce?386
What to expect during an induction387
Meeting Your Baby389
How you may feel about meeting your baby390
Chapter 11When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect393
What Does the Term "High-Risk Pregnancy" Really Mean?394
Surviving bedrest403
The Unique Challenges of a Multiple Pregnancy409
Premature Birth413
Possible health problems414
Risk factors416
Prevention417
Welcoming a premature baby or a baby with special needs418
When a Baby Dies421
What can go wrong422
Miscarriage423
Ectopic pregnancy430
Molar pregnancy432
Stillbirth434
Intrapartum death437
Infant death437
Grieving the Loss of Your Baby443
Preparing for Another Pregnancy450
Physical healing451
Emotional readiness451
Chapter 12Life After Baby455
Your Postpartum Body: What to Expect456
Cesarean recovery467
Getting Back into Shape: What's Realistic and What's Not468
How You May Feel About Becoming a Mother473
More than the baby blues?476
How Your Relationship with Your Partner May Change479
The Postpartum Survival Guide482
Appendixes
Appendix AGlossary489
Appendix BBirth Plan511
Appendix CEmergency Childbirth Procedures517
Appendix DDirectory of Organizations521
Appendix EWeb Site Directory541
Appendix FStatistics at a Glance549
Appendix GRecommended Reading559
Index563

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Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-be

Author: Rebecca Eckler

Rebecca Eckler is a popular newspaper columnist who lives the fabulous life and gets paid to write about it. So when a tipsy romp with her fiancé on the night of their lavish engagement party leaves her unexpectedly expecting, she is utterly at a loss. How will a woman who loves nothing more than a night out on the town sipping cocktails with her fellow party girls survive the pregnant life?

Knocked Up is the witty, engaging and refreshingly frank chronicle of a modern woman’s journey into motherhood. We follow Eckler from the first trimester (a.k.a. the longest three months of her life), through the “fat months” of the second trimester, on to the "even fatter months" of the third. Flipping the pages of this Bridget-Jones-style diary, we share in Eckler’s discovery of prenatal vitamins and nursing bras, ultrasounds and obstetricians. And we experience her growing horror at the physical symptoms of pregnancy: all-day “morning” sickness, fatigue, varicose veins, and cravings. And the weight gain, oh the weight gain. Who knew the day would come when she could no longer put on her own socks?

Along for the ride is a cast of characters as comical as any met in fiction. There’s the Sexy Young Intern, a Sophia Loren look-a-like with her skinny eyes set on Eckler’s job; the glamorous friends who continue to drink Manhattans, while Eckler sips Perrier; and the Cute Single Man who knows just when she needs a carton of ice cream or a game of Scrabble. And then there’s the fiancé, living in another city, who, thanks to the miracle of long-distance phone lines, appreciates better than anybody the highsand lows of the hormonal rollercoaster pregnant Eckler is on.

Lighthearted, intimate, and very funny, Knocked Up is the diary of a modern mother-to-be determined not to let pregnancy and motherhood change her life. Not. One. Little. Bit.

Publishers Weekly

Canadian journalist Eckler was a young hipster covering club openings, trends and the minutiae of yuppie life for a newspaper when a "whoopsie" moment after her engagement party (later dubbed the Conception Party) left her pregnant. The 29-year-old author and her fianc , who lived far away and whom she planned to marry and move in with at some point, were initially shocked but later accepting. This wasn't exactly in Eckler's plan (though what was in the plan isn't quite clear, either). She becomes cautiously excited about her vague perception of parenthood, but repeatedly horrified by what pregnancy brings: weight gain, a ban on alcohol, stretch marks. Eckler writes, diary-like, about each of these revelations as well as more than anyone would want to know about both her weight and her daily trips to McDonald's. Eventually, she and her fianc move in together and seem genuinely excited about the baby's arrival, which may comfort readers unimpressed with some of Eckler's other decisions (she doesn't completely stop smoking; she schedules a C-section for nonmedical reasons). Sometimes this mommy memoir feels like a humorous crash course in maturity, though at other points the author's attitude comes dangerously close to that of one who has a baby as a chic accessory. Agent, Denise Bukowski. (Apr. 5) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This is the type of book that Bridget Jones would write if she suddenly discovered that Mark Darcy had gotten her pregnant. Whether it succeeds wholly depends on the reader's tolerance for self-absorbed neurosis as occasion for humor. At 29, Eckler, a columnist for Canada's National Post, and her fianc unexpectedly conceived their daughter, Rowan, and this diary-style memoir details the author's thoughts and feelings as she changes from boozing, big-city scribe to mother of an infant. While she fortunately avoids the usual clich s of discovering the "real" meaning of life, her aforementioned self-absorption can be tedious rather than hilarious. This could hit the mark among twenty- and thirtysomething mothers; for larger memoir collections in urban areas. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The art of navel-gazing carried to a new high (or low) in a sometimes whiny and exasperating, yet very funny diary of a pregnancy from six hours after conception to two weeks after C-section. Eckler, a lifestyle columnist for Canada's National Post, a job that involves interviewing celebrities and covering film and bar openings, is sure she's pregnant when she wakes up the morning after her engagement party. A couple of weeks later, she confirms it with no fewer than four home pregnancy tests. When she proposes writing about it for the National Post, her boss agrees and gives the story a front-page headline. A minor celebrity in her own right, and an unabashed fan of celebrities ("Kate Hudson is pregnant! I'm so excited. It's so much better when you live your life alongside a celebrity's. It makes what you're going through all the more relevant"), Eckler is determined that pregnancy and motherhood won't change her glamorous, party-girl life. She divides her diary, based on her columns in the Post, into trimesters, "The Longest Three Months of My Life," "The Fat Months" and "The Even Fatter Months." Appearance is clearly paramount. While pleased when her breasts grow fuller, she is appalled when her eating-for-two diet of Big Macs and fries shows up on her hips. "Is my ass fat?" she asks again and again and again of the nameless father-to-be, referred to throughout as simply "the fiance." Meanwhile, she worries that a certain "Sexy Young Intern" is after her job, acquires an attentive new friend, "Cute Single Man," and struggles to keep up with her single, designer-clad, still slim, barhopping girlfriends. Not to be mistaken for a pregnancy guide, Eckler's chronicle offers little advice,unless you count the recommendation to get a bikini wax and a pedicure before going to the hospital. The self-absorption can be off-putting, but the frankness, quirky style and light touch are a winning combination even so.



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