Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth »

Sandy Jones, MA, is the author of eight international best-selling parenting books including, Crying Baby, Sleepless Nights; Good Things For Babies; Learning for Little Kids: A Parent's Sourcebook for the Years 3-8; and The Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products.

Marcie Jones, MA, is a freelance writer and editor. She has written for magazines and newspapers, and has taught writing at the University of Baltimore. She is the mother of a four-year-old daughter.

Created under the editorial guidance of Peter S. Bernstein, MD, MPH, FACOG, Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Women’s Health of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Claire M. Westdahl, CNM, MPH, FACNM, Director, Nurse Midwifery, Emory University School of Medicine. Recommended by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

“Congratulations, you’re pregnant!”

Whether you’ve just heard these words, or saw the telltale blue lines on the pregnancy test, you’ve now just entered a world filled with ever-changing medical studies; conflicting nutritional advice; a myriad of birth options; and lists of products you’ve been told you must buy. With your active, hectic lifestyle, it’s important to get the information you need without having to wade through mounds of extraneous information. How can you be sure you’re doing all you can to have a happy and healthy baby?

Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth is the most comprehensive and authoritative pregnancy and childbirth book available today, and the ultimate pregnancy guide for today’s intelligent, discerning parent. Neither an update, nor a revision, Great Expectations contains:

• the most current, evidence-based information medical information available today
• critical week-by-week timetable of mother and fetus development
• up-to-the minute guidelines for nutrition and exercise
• comprehensive baby gear information by the nation’s top expert
• the most detailed pregnancy dictionary ever produced in a pregnancy book

Designed with the accessibility and thoroughness of a field guide, Great Expectations organizes and delivers all the basic medical and lifestyle information pregnant women will need for these exciting months ahead.Sandy Jones is the author of six international best-selling parenting books including, Crying Baby, Sleepless Nights, Good Things for Babies, Learning for Little Kids: A Parent’s Sourcebook for the Years 3-8, and The Consumer Report’s Guide to Baby Products. She has written over 150 articles on pregnancy and parenting for such publications as Parents, American Baby and Fit Pregnancy and has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America and CNN. Her daughter, Marcie Jones, is a writer and editor and a professor of writing at The University of Baltimore and the mother of a three-year-old daughter.

	Introduction: A Word from the Authors	xiii
	Foreword: A Note from Dr. Peter Bernstein	xviii
	Foreword: Pregnancy for the 21st-Century Woman	xx
Chapter 1	Your Pregnancy Week-by-Week
	Are You Pregnant?	5
	What If I Think I'm Pregnant, But the Test Is Negative?
	The Test Is Positive, Now What?
	Hearing the News
	Whom Should You Tell?
	Your First Visit to Your Doctor or Midwife	9
	How Your Due Date is Calculated
	Making Your Own Pregnancy Calendar
	The First Trimester	14
	Weeks 1 through 13
	The Second Trimester	52
	Weeks 14 through 24
	The Third Trimester	77
	Weeks 25 through 40
Chapter 2	Managing Your Pregnancy
	Managing Your Body	112
	Head (Hair, Migraines, Dizziness, Eyes, Fatigue)
	Skin (Acne, Color Changes, Spider Veins, Itchiness, Stretch Marks)
	Neck: The Role of Your Thyroid
	Circulatory System: Blood Vessels
	Breasts: Function and Changes
	Muscles
	Arms (Pain and Swelling, Changes to Fingers, Hands and Nails)
	Back and Back Pain
	Digestive Tract (Nausea and Vomiting, Heartburn, Constipation, Hemorrhoids, Diarrhea, Gas and Bloating)
	Reproductive Organs (Placenta, Uterus, Sex and Pregnancy)
	Urinary Tract
	Legs (Muscle Cramps, Swelling, Varicose Veins)
	Feet (Swelling and Pressure)
	Managing Your Nutrition	145
	Vitamins and Minerals 101 (What's in a Prenatal, Recommended Daily Allowances of Vitamins and Minerals, Organic Food, Vegetarianism, Veganism)
	Managing Your Weight and Fitness	154
	Should You Worry about Gaining Too Much Weight?
	Unpleasant Truths about Pregnancy Weight Gain
	What if You're Overweight and Pregnant?
	Exercise
	Managing Your Care	162
	Facilities (Hospitals, Birthing Centers, Giving Birth at Home)
	Care Providers: Who They Are and What They Can Do For You (OB/GYNs, Family Practitioners, Certified Nurse-Midwives, Certified Professional Midwives, Other Professionals You May Encounter)
	Childbirth Classes: Major Organizations and Philosophies
	Genetic Defects and Testing (Most Common Defects, Testing: Risks and Benefits)
	Managing Your Medicine Cabinet	195
	Common Over the Counter Drugs
	Prescription and Recreational Drugs and Their Uses in Pregnancy
	Managing High-Risk Conditions	211
	What Makes a Pregnancy "High-Risk"?
	If You're Over 35
	Multiples
	Medical Conditions
	Drug Use
	Viral Infections
	If You're at Risk for Pre-Term Labor
	A Family History of Genetic Disorders
	Vaginal Birth after Caesarian
	Coping with Bed Rest
	Managing Other Risks	225
	If You Get Sick
	If You Have An Accident
	High Altitudes and Scuba Diving
	Insects and Insect Sprays
	Cord Blood Banking
	If You Became Pregnant While Using Birth Control
	Previous Abortions
	A Tipped Uterus
	Hot Tubs
	Saunas and Electric Blankets
	Uterine Fibroids
	Traveling while Pregnant
	Managing Family and Emotional Issues	233
	The Strange Dreams of Pregnancy
	Depression
	This Again? Pregnant with Another
	You and Your Child-Free Friends
	Unsolicited Advice and Scary Medical Stories
	Forgiving Your Parents
	Your Partner and Fatherhood
	Single Motherhood
	Religious Matters
	Managing Your Finances	249
	When to Tell the Boss You're Pregnant
	What Laws Apply to You
	Other Considerations: Who's Going to Stay Home
	Financial Planning: Wills and Life Insurance
Chapter 3	Your Guide to Giving Birth
	How Birth Starts	261
	Your Baby's "I'm Ready!" Signal
	Signals That Labor Is on the Way
	The Benefits of Getting Started at Home
	When Your Baby Is Overdue
	Non-Medical Ways to Encourage Labor to Start
	Getting Admitted to the Hospital
	Your Rights as a Patient
	Tips for Managing Your Hospital Birth
	All About Labor	281
Stage 1
Stage 2	(The Pushing Stage)
Stage 3
Stage 4
	Coping with Labor Pain	298
	Factors That Affect Labor Pain
	Non-Drug Approaches
	Medications for Pain Relief
	During and After Birth	323
	Your Baby's Heartbeat
	First Breaths
	Clamping and Cutting the Cord
	Your Recovery after Giving Birth
	The Non-Hospital Birth Experience	331
	Preparing for a Home Birth
	Instructions for Emergency Childbirth
	Special Situations	334
	Artificial Augmentation and Induction
	Cesarean Section
	Vaginal Birth after Cesarean
	Giving Birth to Twins and Multiples
	Rarer Medical Conditions and Complications
Chapter 4	You and Your Baby
	Your Complete Mother's Manual	361
	Post-birth Body Discomforts
	Those "New Mother" Feelings
	New Dads Have Feelings Too
	Physical Recovery from Birth Interventions
	Your Six-Week Checkup
	New Mother Nutrition
	Getting Your Shape Back
	Rare Postpartum Problems
	Postpartum Depression
	Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
	Postpartum Psychosis
	Your Baby Care Guide	388
	Your Real Baby Vs. Your Dream Baby
	Your Baby's Basic Body Language
	Why Babies Cry
	Sleep Tight, Baby, Please?
	Your Baby From Head To Toe
	The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Baby (Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding Basics)
	Pacifiers
	Diaper Changing 101
	Positioning Your Baby in the Crib
	Understanding Colic
	Baby Bathing Basics
	Eye Cleaning
	Skin Rashes
	Parent-Baby Communication
	You and Your Baby's Healthcare
	When a Baby is Too Small or Too Large
	Your Guide to Choosing Good Child Care
	Air Travel With Your Baby
	When a Baby Dies
	A Final Note
Chapter 5	Baby Gear Guide
	Our Baby Shopping Primer	458
	Baby Shower Themes and Games
	Where to Shop for Bargains
	Product Dangers
	Baby Gear A to Z	473
	Automatic Baby Swings
	Baby Bouncers
	Baby Clothes
	Bathing Aids
	Birth Announcements
	Bottles and Nipples
	Breast Pumps and Breastfeeding Aids
	Car Seats
	Changing Tables
	Cribs and Other Sleeping Options
	Diaper Bags
	Diapers
	Digital Cameras and Camcorders
	High Chairs & Booster Seats
	Monitors
	Play Yards
	Rockers and Gliders
	Safety Gates
	Soft Carriers
	Strollers
	Toys
	Walkers & Exercisers