The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby

by Ann Douglas and John R. Sussman

Book Overview

The inside scoop for when you want more than the official line Having a baby is one of life's most joyous-and overwhelming-events. The choices you make now will affect your baby's health long after it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076454148X
• ISBN13: 9780764541483
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 864 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

An enormously helpful book

I owe my doctor a huge thank you for giving me a copy of this book. (Yes, I have the nicest doctor in the world. He gave me a copy of this book as soon as I announced that I was planning to get pregnant!) It has saved me so much anxiety. Whenever I've been tossing and turning at night, worrying about some aspect of my pregnancy, the answer has been right here in this book. Let me give you a few examples:I experienced a really scary episode of spotting when I was about eight weeks pregnant. The authors of this book gave me an idea of what was probably going on (spotting after my pelvic exam), something that really helped to ease my mind. I was positive I was going to miscarry.When I was about three months pregnant, I fell down about half a flight of stairs. I was totally panicstruck until I dug out my copy of this book and read about how well the fetus is protected during pregnancy.Around the same time, I got a terrible yeast infection. I was desperate for relief, and yet I was scared to use Monistat in case there were harmful effects on the baby. When I looked up the active ingredients in the drug on the prescription drug chart in the book, I discovered that there was no apparent link to birth defects--something that really helped to reassure me.When I was about six months pregnant, I was involved in a minor car accident. Once again, the book had reassuring words for me.The book has a list of the top ten worries of pregnant women. The list really helped me to realize that I was not the only one freaking out about whether or not my baby would be normal, how having a baby would affect my relationship with my partner, etc.I gave a copy of this book to my sister, who is trying very hard to conceive (unfortunately, without any luck so far) and she says that it's explained the mechanics of conception more clearly than any other book she's ever read. She found out that she has been miscalculating the timing of ovulation by nearly a week up until now. Hopefully it'll be just a matter of time before she ends up pregnant.I have so many positive things to say about this book. When I think of how many pregnancy books are scary or insulting, I'm just grateful that I happened to be given a copy of this book.

It's a godsend

I'm trying to get pregnant for the first time. The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby has proven invaluable. I've poured over practically every chapter -- preparing for pregnancy, misconceptions about fertility and infertility, getting pregnant, fertility treatments, symptoms of early pregnancy, how to choose a doctor and hospital or birthing center, childbirth education, and so much more! There are also chapters jam-packed with great information that I'll need to know later on, like carrying multiples, coping with a high-risk pregnancy, going through each trimester, delivery, and getting ready for the baby. To me, this book seems like a godsend. Lots of my friends have given me copies of other pregnancy books, but I like the Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby the best -- it's incredibly reader-friendly (finding information is a breeze!), and I have yet to look up something in this 800-page book and not have it be in there! Plus, there are short information blurbs on almost every page that offer terrific extra information, from recent studies to how to to save money to quotes from women like me. I can't imagine anyone not loving this book.

An extremely comprehensive resource

This book is an extremely comprehensive resource on all that is involved in having a baby. It is more than a pregnancy book. It covers pre-conception, including how to get your body in shape for pregnancy, what to do if you have trouble conceiving, "tricks" for optimizing your chances at conception, and ways to keep the fun in your love life when trying to make a baby can make sex anything but fun. It covers the pregnancy itself, including the emotional and physical issues through each stage of pregnancy, the various tests that a pregnant woman might undergo, how to find decent maternity clothes, how to find a health care provider that is right for you. It covers (in an unbiased way) the circumcision decision and natural childbirth vs. medicated childbirth. It has a chapter on pregnancy loss, and a chapter on special-needs children. It covers the post-partum period, including C-section recovery tips, nursing tips, bottle-feeding tips, and baby care tips. It even discusses the various emotions and physical changes that happen when you resume your sex life!No other book out there is as comprehensive as this book is. Don't have a baby without it!

An Apgar score of 10!

Finally, heres a book about pregnancy that addresses real issues for real moms. (I wish it had been available when I started my family, and not when I was pregnant with my last child.) In addition to what you might want a pregnancy book to include, this book covers so many important topics that others gloss over or simply omitinfertility treatments, bed rest, pregnancy loss, surrogacy (theres even a sample contract in an appendix), high-risk factors and treatments, emotional responses to pregnancy and motherhood. Although the book contains over 800 pages, its organized so that you can get just the straight facts quickly or read all the details at your leisure. The easy, approachable tone is also professional, so you intuitively sense the authors authority on the subject. And, unlike some pregnancy books that contain a lot of fluff and are mostly good for entertainment, this one is rich with useful information from the medical and maternal community. Throughout, the book reinforces the notion that although nearly every pregnancy has its own quirky personality, most pregnancies are normal. In short, it alleviates--rather than createsparanoia. For example, where many pregnancy books lay down the law on what you must eat, how often you must exercise, and so on, this book is entirely forgiving of the expectant mother who is so sick with nausea that she cant choke down her daily broccoli allotment, or too busy or exhausted from working or running after her other children that she cant exercise. Sprinkled throughout each chapter are helpful hints, warnings, practical sidebar information (which reads like the whispered advice from a good friend), and the quoted experiences of many real-life moms, all which give the book a broad swab-stroke of knowledge about this most mysterious, profound, terrifying, worrisome, and joyous time of life. This is the book that I expect to recommend to my girlfriends.