Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman's Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers, and Moods »

Shawn A. Tassone, MD, FACOG, and Kathryn M. Landherr, MD, FACOG (Tucson, AZ), are the co-owners of La Dea Women's Health in Tucson, AZ, where Dr. Tassone is the medical director and his wife, Dr. Landherr, is a practicing physician. Both Drs. Tassone and Landherr completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and are board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. Each is also an Associate Fellow of Integrative Medicine under Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona.

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Expectant mothers are virtual magnets for unsolicited advice. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, new mothers, friends, and even strangers offer what seems to be an endless supply of supposedly authoritative opinions on every aspect of pregnancy: A craving for spicy food denotes a boy. Carrying the baby low denotes a girl.
Besides gender predictions, a pregnant woman is also apt to acquire an earful of advice about miscarriage, dietary habits and cravings, hair growth, weight gain, and childbirth. And, of course, everyone wants to touch her belly.
In this engaging, humorous, and very informative book, Drs. Shawn A. Tassone and Kathryn Landherr-experienced obstetricians and gynecologists, a husband-and-wife team of physicians, and parents of four children-explore the most common superstitions and myths surrounding pregnancy.
From their combined twenty years of work in a clinic, as well as their own parenting experience, the authors review the anecdotes and beliefs, from the slightly unusual to the stranger-than-fiction, and compare them with the scientific evidence. Moving through each stage, from the early weeks of pregnancy to delivery, they examine the legends about diet, gender identification, preterm labor, the umbilical cord, initiating labor, and the size and movement of the fetus. As they detail the scientific perspective on these varied and often amusing beliefs, the authors not only entertain but provide a great deal of practical information, which will ease the fears and anxieties of expectant parents as well as clear up many confusing notions.
If you are pregnant, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Better yet, suggest it as theperfect shower gift to all those well-meaning advice givers.

Contents

Acknowledgments....................9
Foreword....................11
Introduction....................15
Chapter One. Superstition and Myth....................21
Chapter Two. Infertility Myths-Planting a Seed....................27
Chapter Three. Conception Myths-The Voodoo against You....................45
Chapter Four. Dietary Myths-What's Eating You?....................59
Chapter Five. Miscarriage Misconceptions-The Loss of Guilt....................81
Chapter Six. Mood and Behavior Myths-Women Behaving Badly....................93
Chapter Seven. Gender Myths-Is It a Boy or a Girl?....................111
Chapter Eight. Preterm Labor and Delivery Myths-Fashionably Early....................131
Chapter Nine. Delivery Room Myths-Debunking the Delivery Room....................147
Chapter Ten. Placentas, Cords, and Cauls-Cutting the Cord on the Afterbirth....................179
Chapter Eleven. Twin and Multiple Gestation Myths-The Magical Mirror....................197
Chapter Twelve. The Navel of the World-Global Myths of Birth and Fertility....................217
Chapter Thirteen. The Seven Habits to a Highly Enjoyable Pregnancy....................237
Epilogue....................261
Index....................263