Every Pregnant Woman's Guide to Preventing: Premature Birth: Reducing the Sixty Proven Risks That Can Lead to Pre

By Barbara Luke

Book Overview

"I went into premature labor while standing on the train during the ride home one evening from work. At first I thought it was just a backache, but then the pains spread to my stomach and were worse than any menstrual cramps I had ever had ... I went straight to the hospital. The doctors gave me drugs to stop the contractions, but within hours I gave birth to our son, Joshua. He was twelve weeks premature and weighed only two and a half pounds ... I keep going over in my mind, What did I do wrong? My husband and I are both college educated, we don't drink or smoke, and I had read everything about pregnancy and childbirth." One out of every ten babies in the United States is born prematurely, and prematurity is the leading cause of death among infants before their first birthday. In addition to being small, premature babies are developmentally unprepared for life, which can result in physical and mental disabilities. Premature babies are more likely to have respiratory problems during childhood, as well as a highter incidence of learning disabilities and problems with speech, hearing, and vision. The good news is that in many cases prematurity can be prevented. Most women don't realize how much they can do to reduce their risks and improve the health of their unborn babies.Ever Pregnant Woman's Guide to Preventing Premature Birthis the only book of its kind to present practical, scientifically-sound information on the sixty most important risk factors identified with prematurity and how to reduce them. This book begins with a questionnaire to help you assess your personal risk factors for premature birth (e.g., family background; gynecological, obstetrical, and medical risks; stress levels; home and work environment), and makes practical recommendations for reducing those risks. Many of these suggestions are as surprising as they are effective. Did you know that vacuuming is one of the most stressful activities you can perform while pregnant? Or that noise increases your level of stress-related hormones (turn down that radio!)? Dr. Luke explains, step by step, how to make small changes in your lifestyle that can have huge health benefits for your child. The program in this book is based on Dr. Barbara Luke's twenty years of clinical experiences studying prematurity and on a French national program that lowered the prematurity rate in that country by 32 percent in its first ten years. The book's foreword is by the director of that program, Emile Papiernik, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, head of Maternity, Maternite Port-Royal. The preface is by George Wilbanks, M.D., President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Pregnancy is a magical, special time, filled with hopes and dreams as well as fears and anxieties.Every Pregnant Woman's Guide to Preventing Premature Birthwill help to ease your fears by helping you take the positive approach to reducing some of the risks that can lead to prematurity and increasing your chances of having a healthy, full-term baby.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081292472X
• ISBN13: 9780812924725
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, The
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Proven Approach to Preventing Preterm Birth

I found this book so helpful and empowering after spending nearly 10 weeks on complete bedrest with my first pregancy. I was a middle school teacher, working full time, and spending almost all day on my feet. I didn't slow down at all when I was pregnant. I had a lot of work-imposed and self-imposed stress and I went into preterm labor around 25 weeks and started dilating. We were able to quiet contractions and enough to keep me pregnant until 38 weeks - but weeks in a hospital and complete bedrest was no fun. Since my sister had early labor and a preemie at 28 weeks, doctors thought that preterm labor may have been in our genes. But, with my second pregnancy I was determined not to experience full bedrest again or a preterm birth. I had read that France is one of the few industrialized countries that has actually been able to REDUCE its preterm birth rate. (The US rate continues to rise.) This book is based on the French studies and approach. To sum up the major points - the French approach to pregnancy is to TAKE IT EASY! Slow or stop working, get enough water, get a daily nap, get your vitamins, don't vacuum, don't ride the train, don't do heavy lifting, and don't try to be a super woman. Once early labor truly starts, it is almost impossible to stop, so learn to recognize early contractions (they don't necessarily hurt) and do what it takes to avoid them. A few months invested limiting your activity while pregnant is so much easier than spending weeks in bed - or worse - months in the hospital with a preterm baby. My second, third and fourth pregnancies weren't easy, but thanks to the info in this book, I haven't been on complete bedrest again and I have no preterm births!

A must for all expecting mothers!

Identify your risk factors a learn how to modify your life to prevent the leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S.A big must read for all pregnant women no matter you health or walk of life.Little legnthy on information on disability leave and State Government contact information.

Pregnant women need this book!

Buy it ASAP! Find out what you can do to possible reduce your chance of a premature birth. Contains excellent quizes to identify risk factors, but did they need to put them in twice? Also an extensive chapter on the Maternity Leave Act for all 50 States took up a good deal of the book.

Exactly what the title says.

This book might have prevented my premature contractions (did not know not to vacuum or when to call the doctor). Does not have info for those of us now in trouble trying to prevent premature labor, i.e. moms on bedrest, moms taking medicines to prevent premature labor. Suggest buying this book EARLY in your pregnancy!

*Extremely Informative*

This book contains a lot of information you are probably not aware of on preventing premature labor. It will give you much to discuss with your doctor/birth attendant