This new Mayo Clinic book on pregnancy provides you with practical information and reassurance on pregnancy and childbirth. Compiled by Mayo Clinic experts in obstetrics, it offers a clear, thorough and reliable reference for this exciting and sometimes unpredictable journey. This comprehensive book includes: A month-by-month look at mom and baby In-depth "Decision Guides" to help you make informed decisions on topics such as how to select a health care provider, prenatal testing options, pain relief for childbirth, and many others An easy-to-use reference guide that covers topics such as morning sickness, heartburn, back pain, headaches and yeast infections, among others Information on pregnancy health concerns, including preterm labor, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, along with an overview on being pregnant when you have pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or hyperthyroidism

Part 1: Pregnancy, childbirth and your newborn

1

(266)

Introduction Preparing to have a baby

3

(40)

Before pregnancy: Giving baby the best

3

(1)

Nutrition: Make every bite count

4

(13)

Exercise: Pace it for pregnancy

17

(3)

Lifestyle: Living for two

20

(5)

Medications: Take with care

25

(2)

Work: Plan ahead

27

(8)

Pregnancy timing: Does age matter?

35

(8)

Chapter 1 Month 1: Weeks 1 to 4

43

(14)

Your baby s growth

43

(5)

Your body

48

(4)

Your emotions

52

(2)

Appointments with your health care provider

54

(2)

When to call a health care professional

56

(1)

Chapter 2 Month 2: Weeks 5 to 8

57

(14)

Your baby s growth

57

(3)

Your body

60

(3)

Your emotions

63

(2)

Appointments with your health care provider

65

(5)

When to call a health care professional

70

(1)

Chapter 3 Month 3: Weeks 9 to 12

71

(8)

Your baby s growth

71

(2)

Your body

73

(2)

Your emotions

75

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

76

(1)

When to call a health care professional

77

(2)

Chapter 4 Month 4: Weeks 13 to 16

79

(14)

Your baby s growth

79

(2)

Your body

81

(5)

Your emotions

86

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

86

(2)

When to call a health care professional

88

(2)

Twins, triplets and quads - Oh my!

90

(3)

Chapter 5 Month 5: Weeks 17 to 20

93

(10)

Your baby's growth

93

(2)

Your body

95

(3)

Your emotions

98

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

99

(1)

When to call a health care professional

100

(3)

Chapter 6 Month 6: Weeks 21 to 24

103

(10)

Your baby's growth

103

(2)

Your body

105

(3)

Your emotions

108

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

109

(1)

When to call a health care professional

110

(3)

Chapter 7 Month 7: Weeks 25 to 28

113

(10)

Your baby's growth

113

(1)

Your body

114

(3)

Your emotions

117

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

117

(3)

When to call a health care professional

120

(3)

Chapter 8 Month 8: Weeks 29 to 32

123

(10)

Your baby's growth

123

(1)

Your body

124

(4)

Your emotions

128

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

129

(1)

When to call a health care professional

130

(3)

Chapter 9 Month 9: Weeks 33 to 36

133

(12)

Your baby's growth

133

(1)

Your body

134

(6)

Your emotions

140

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

141

(2)

When to call a health care professional

143

(2)

Chapter 10 Month 10: Weeks 37 to 40

145

(10)

Your baby's growth

145

(2)

Your body

147

(3)

Your emotions

150

(1)

Appointments with your health care provider

151

(1)

When to call a health care professional

152

(3)

Chapter 11 Labor and childbirth

155

(32)

Making those final preparations

155

(5)

How your body prepares for labor

160

(6)

Is it time to go to the hospital?

166

(1)

The stages of labor and childbirth

167

(13)

What you can do as the labor coach

180

(7)

Chapter 12 Caesarean birth

187

(20)

Why a Caesarean birth might be necessary

187

(5)

Risks of Caesarean birth

192

(2)

Managing anxiety about Caesarean birth

194

(1)

What you can expect during a Caesarean birth

195

(5)

Recovery from Caesarean birth

200

(4)

Post-Caesarean restrictions

204

(1)

Possible post-Caesarean complications

205

(2)

Chapter 13 Your newborn

207

(18)

Your baby's appearance

208

(4)

Initial health care for the newborn

212

(3)

Common newborn problems

215

(2)

The premature newborn

217

(8)

Chapter 14 Taking your baby home

225

(26)

Your baby's world

225

(10)

Baby-care basics

235

(15)

Bringing home babies: Twins or more

250

(1)

Chapter 15 Postpartum care for moms

251

(16)

Breast care

251

(2)

Healing from an episiotomy or tear

253

(1)

Fatigue

254

(1)

Bowel and urination problems

254

(2)

Afterpains

256

(1)

Chapter One

Month 1: weeks 1 to 4

My husband and I had been trying to conceive for almost a year. I was delighted when my menstrual cycle was late. My husband, ever cautious, took a wait-and-see attitude.

After a few days had passed without my menstrual cycle starting, I bought a home pregnancy test. My husband waited in the living room while I took the test that would tell us whether we were parents-to-be. Sure enough, a faint blue line appeared on the test. I showed it to my husband, who said excitedly, "It's a maybe?"

No maybe about it. We were expecting our first child.

—One couple's experience

Your baby's growth during weeks 1 to 4

If you're like most expectant parents, your mind is full of questions. What does my baby look like right now? How big is he or she? How is she or he changing this week? Becoming familiar with how your baby develops, week by week, will help you answer some of those questions. It may also help you understand some of the changes taking place in your body.

Weeks 1 and 2: Preconception and fertilization

Preconception
It may seem a bit strange, but the first week of your pregnancy is actually your last menstrual period before becoming pregnant. Why is that? Doctors and other health care professionals calculate your due date by counting 40 weeks from the start of your last cycle. That means they count your period as part of your pregnancy, even though your baby hasn't been conceivedyet.

Conception typically occurs about two weeks after the start of your last menstrual period. When your baby arrives, it will have been about 38 weeks since he or she was conceived, but your pregnancy will have "officially" lasted 40 weeks.

Even while menstruation is happening, your body begins producing a hormone called follicle-stimulating hormone, which fosters development of an egg in your ovary. The egg matures within a small cavity in your ovary called a follicle. A few days later, your body produces a hormone called luteinizing hormone. It causes the follicle to swell and burst through the wall of your ovary, releasing the egg. This is called ovulation. You have twoovaries, but in any given cycle, ovulation occurs from just one of them.

The egg moves slowly into your fallopian tube, which connects your ovary and uterus. There it awaits a fertilizing sperm. Finger-like structures at the junction between your ovary and fallopian tube, called fimbriae, catch the egg when ovulation occurs, keeping it on the right course.

If you have intercourse before or during this time, you can become pregnant. If fertilization doesn't occur, for whatever reason, the egg and the lining of your uterus will be shed through your menstrual period.

Fertilization
This is when it all begins. Your egg and your partner's sperm unite to form a single cell—the starting point for an extraordinary chain of events. That microscopic cell willdivide again and again. In about 38 weeks, it will have grown into a new person made up of more than 2 trillion cells—your beautiful new baby girl or boy.

The process begins when you and your partner have sexual intercourse. When he ejaculates, your partner releases into your vagina semen containing up to 1 billion sperm cells. Each sperm has a long, whip-like tail that propels it toward your egg.

Hundreds of millions of these sperm swim up through your reproductive system. With the help of your uterus and fallopian tubes, they travel from your vagina, up through the lower opening of your uterus (cervix), through your uterus and into your fallopian tube. Many sperm are lost along the way. Only a fraction of the sperm reach the egg's position in the fallopian tube. Fertilization occurs when a single sperm makes this journeysuccessfully and penetrates the wall of your egg.

Your egg has a covering of nutrient cells called the corona radiata and a gelatinous shell called the zona pellucida. To fertilize your egg, your partner's sperm must penetrate this covering. At this point, your egg is about 1/200 of an inch in diameter, too small to be seen.

Up to 100 sperm may try to penetrate the wall of your egg, and several may begin to enter the outer egg capsule. But in the end, only one succeeds and enters the egg itself. After that, the membrane of the egg changes and all other sperm are locked out.

Occasionally, more than one follicle matures and more than one egg is released. This can result in multiple births if each of the eggs is fertilized by a sperm.

As the sperm penetrates to the center of your egg, the two cells merge to become a one-celled entity called a zygote. The zygote has 46 chromosomes—23 from you and 23 from your partner. These chromosomes contain thousands and thousands of genes. This genetic material will determine your baby's sex,eye color, hair color, body size, facial features and—at least to some extent—intelligence and personality. Fertilization is now complete.

Excerpted from Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
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