Thinking Pregnant : Conceiving Your New Life with a Baby

by Steelman, Megan V., B.A., A.C.C.E.; Nussbaum, Rhoda, M.D.

• ISBN13: 9781572242302
• ISBN10: 1572242302
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: New Harbinger Pubns Inc

Summary

A perinatal education specialist helps women who are starting to think about becoming pregnant arrive at a thorough understanding of the psychological, emotional, physical, relationship and financial challenges that such a decision brings.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Foreword	xi
Introduction	1	(4)
How Ready Are You?	5	(16)
The Pregnancy Decision
The Sifting Process
That Lady in the Magazine
The New Normal
Changing Lives, Changing Bodies
Practice Makes Perfect
The Ride of Your Life
Making a Baby	21	(14)
Ovulation
When Can I Start?
How Long Will It Take?
What Can I Do To Increase My Chances?
A Word about In-Home Pregnancy Testing
Prenatal Testing
High-Risk Pregnancies
Like Mother Like Daughter?
If My Pregnancy Goes Well, Won't Labor Be a Breeze?
Then and Now
Pregnancy after Thirty-five	35	(14)
Issues Confronting the Thirty-five-and-Over Crowd
Fertility Counseling after Thirty-five
Stress after Thirty-five
A Good Trade-off
Fewer Raised Eyebrows
A Healthy Lifestyle	49	(22)
Developing Healthy Eating Habits
The Amount Counts
Hang Out at the Water Cooler
Cravings
Don't Forget Your Vitamins
How Much Weight Will I Gain?
Exercise
The Mechanics of Movement
A Good Time to Break Bad Habits
Environmental Toxins
Changing Your Lifestyle and Sticking to It
Get Practical before Pregnant	71	(18)
What You Need to Know about Your Health Insurance
Midwives
Start Researching Providers
Choosing a Health Care Provider
Location, Location, Location
Choosing a Hospital
Pregnancy and the Workplace
Child Care Options
Financial Considerations	89	(12)
How Financially Secure Do I Have to Be?
I'm Going to Spend How Much?
What Your Newborn Will Need
Space: The Next Frontier
Staying Home
Your Money and Your Children
The Big Financial Picture
Be Ready for the Unexpected
Curtail the Retail
Use This Information to Your Best Advantage
Your Changing Relationships	101	(16)
Making a Baby Together
The Pregnancy Makeover
His and Her Worries
Your Common Goal
Before the Time Change
Share Your Concerns
High Risk, High Tension
Knowledge Trumps Fear
Sex at a Time Like This?
The Power of Mentoring
Self-Help
The Facts about Domestic Violence
The Changing Face of Friendship
Me, Myself, and I
The Mother in Me
Like a New Language
Baby Care Decisions	117	(16)
Breastfeeding
Bottle-feeding
The Diaper Dilemma: Will You Use Cloth or Disposable?
Disposable Diapers
Circumcision
Where Will Your Baby Sleep?
Won't I Spoil My Infant?
Will I Ever Make the Right Decisions?
New Baby, New Stress	133	(16)
Did Somebody Say Sleep?
The Cry Baby Blues
Divvying Up the Domestic
The Postpartum Roller Coaster
Where Does the Time Go?
Am I a Good Mother?
Assemble Your Tool Box
Relaxation Techniques
Dads	149	(18)
So, What Might He Be Going Through?
Making More Than Love
Now That She's Pregnant ...
A Great Source of Support
Will I Be Any Good at This?
A Father Has Feelings Too
In Support of Dads
Bonding in the Birthing Room
Stand Back, Mother Tiger!
Nontraditional Parenting	167	(14)
Single Mothers
Lesbian Mothers
Peeling Back Layer after Layer
Surrogate Mothers
Motherhood in the Twenty-first Century
Conclusion	181	(2)
Appendix	183	(6)
References	189	(4)
Resources	193
Baby Care
Breastfeeding
Parenting
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Fertility