| 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 |
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