The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, 2nd Edition

Introduction.

I. The Truth About Getting Pregnant.

1. Is This the Right Time to Have a Baby?

A question of timing.

The career costs of having a baby.

Dollars and sense.

The age issue.

Just the facts.

2. Conception Countdown: Planning for a Healthy Pregnancy.

Getting ready to get pregnant.

Just the facts.

3. The Overachiever’s Guide to Getting Pregnant Fast.

The biggest misconceptions about fertility and infertility.

Fertility awareness and other methods of increasing your chances of conceiving.

Bedroom gymnastics: Positioning 101.

“Trying” versus letting nature take its course.

Just the facts.

4. When Plan A Fails.

Do you have a fertility problem?

Choosing a fertility specialist.

The infertility workup.

The causes of infertility.

Fertility treatments.

The facts about assisted reproductive technologies.

The stress of infertility.

The facts about surrogacy and adoption.

Just the facts.

II. Your First Trimester Week-by-Week.

5. The First Month: Great Expectations.

Week 1.

Week 2.

Week 3.

Week 4.

Just the facts.

6. The Second Month: Newly Pregnant.

Week 5.

Week 6.

Week 7.

Week 8.

Just the facts.

7. The Third Month: Anxiety Alley.

Week 9.

Week 10.

Week 11.

Week 12.

Week 13.

Just the facts.

III. Your Second Trimester Week-by-Week.

8. The Fourth Month: Settling In.

Week 14.

Week 15.

Week 16.

Week 17.

Just the facts.

9. The Fifth Month: The Halfway Mark.

Week 18.

Week 19.

Week 20.

Week 21.

Week 22.

Just the facts.

10. The Sixth Month: The Waiting Game.

Week 23.

Week 24.

Week 25.

Week 26.

Week 27.

Just the facts.

IV. Your Third Trimester Week-by-Week.

11. The Seventh Month: Seriously Pregnant.

Week 28.

Week 29.

Week 30.

Week 31.

Just the facts.

12. The Eighth Month: Getting Psyched.

Week 32.

Week 33.

Week 34.

Week 35.

Just the facts.

13. The Ninth Month: Nine Months and Counting.

Week 36.

Week 37.

Week 38.

Week 39.

Week 40.

Just the facts.

V. What Other Pregnancy Books Won’t Tell You.

14. To Test or Not to Test?

Tests, tests, and more tests.

The prenatal testing merry-go-round: Do you really want to get on?

Alpha-fetoprotein.

Early serum screening and ultrasound.

Amniocentesis.

Chorionic villus sampling.

Ultrasounds (sonograms).

Doppler blood flow studies.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS) (cordocentesis).

Transabdominal embryo fetoscopy.

The future of prenatal testing.

What to do if the test brings bad news.

Preparing for the birth of a child with a severe disability.

Just the facts.

15. Carrying Multiples.

Why the number of multiple births is on the rise.

What causes a multiple birth.

How a multiple pregnancy is diagnosed.

What it’s like to be pregnant with multiples.

How to shop for your babies without going broke.

Problems that can arise in a multiple pregnancy.

Just the facts.

16. Coping with a High-Risk Pregnancy.

What being high risk means to you and your baby.

Chronic conditions that place a pregnancy at risk.

Conditions that can develop during pregnancy.

Coping with the stress of a high-risk pregnancy.

The facts about bed rest.

Just the facts.

17. What Every Pregnant Woman Needs to Know About Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Death.

Important decisions.

Just the facts.

VI. Birth and Beyond.

18. Labor and Delivery.

What happens to your body before you go into labor.

True versus false labor.

Pain relief during labor.

Labor interventions.

The pros and cons of inviting other people to the labor.

When to head for the hospital or birthing center.

What to expect during each stage of labor.

Why labor sometimes stops.

What it’s really like to be induced.

What to expect if you have a breech delivery.

What to expect if you have a cesarean delivery.

Meeting your baby.

Just the facts.

19. The Postpartum Survival Guide.

Your postpartum body: An owner’s manual.

What’s going on with your head.

Sex after baby.

The truth about babies.

Getting breastfeeding off to the best possible start.

Caring for a sick or premature baby or a baby with special needs.

Just the facts.

A. Glossary.

B. Further Reading.

Index.