Pregnancy For Dummies E-Book

Joanne Stone

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 658

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The reassuring guide to a happy, healthy pregnancy

This new edition offers soon-to-be moms and dads detailed, friendly information on preparing and planning for pregnancy. You'll find guidance on the basics, as well as special considerations like age, multiple births, complications, illness, labor and delivery, postpartum care, and everything in between.

Now in a portable, handy trim size that makes it easy to keep with you on the go, Pregnancy For Dummies, 4^th Edition is your go-to guide on everything you'll encounter during the first, second, and third trimesters—and beyond. Packed with new information and the latest developments in medical technology, it puts your mind at ease by offering straightforward answers to all the questions you may have about pregnancy, including health risks during pregnancy, fertility problems and solutions, "on demand" cesarean sections, weight gain during pregnancy, the correlation between mercury and autism, ways to stay emotionally and physically healthy during pregnancy, and much more.

• Includes a complete guide to pregnancy, through all three trimesters and beyond, including a week-by-week account of what to expect during pregnancy
• Covers the latest information related to healthcare and pregnancy, including the latest on vaccinations, fertility problems, and prenatal diagnoses
• Offers advice on picking a doctor, planning prenatal visits, and designing a birthing plan
• Explains the stages of labor and how to care for yourself and your newborn after childbirth

If you're an expectant parent, Pregnancy For Dummies, 4^th Edition covers everything mom and baby experience before, during, and after childbirth.

Leseprobe

Pregnancy For Dummies®, 4th Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014931920

ISBN 978-1-118-82572-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-82563-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-82559-4 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Pregnancy For Dummies, 4th Edition

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/pregnancy to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

What’s New in This Edition

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Pregnancy

Chapter 1: Seeing Double Lines: I Think I’m Pregnant!

Recognizing the Signs of Pregnancy

Determining Whether You’re Pregnant

Getting an answer at home

Going to your practitioner for answers

Calculating your due date

Selecting the Right Practitioner for You

Considering your options

Asking questions before you choose

Keeping Your Medicines and Vaccinations in Check

Reviewing your medications

Recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunity

Chapter 2: Your Pregnancy at a Glance: Overview of Pregnancy Week-by-Week

Weeks 0–4

Weeks 5–8

Weeks 9–12

Weeks 13–16

Weeks 17–20

Weeks 21–24

Weeks 25–28

Weeks 29–32

Weeks 33–36

Weeks 37–40

Weeks 40–42

Common Tests during Pregnancy

Chapter 3: Preparing for Life during Pregnancy

Planning Prenatal Visits

Preparing for Physical and Emotional Changes

Coping with mood swings

Living through leg cramps

Noticing vaginal discharge

Putting up with backaches

Handling stress

Understanding the Effects of Medications, Alcohol, and Drugs on Your Baby

Taking medications

Smoking and its risks

Drinking alcohol

Using recreational/illicit drugs

Looking at Lifestyle Changes

Pampering yourself with beauty treatments

Relaxing in hot tubs, whirlpools, saunas, or steam rooms

Traveling

Getting dental care

Having sex

Working during Pregnancy: A Different Type of Labor

Considering occupational hazards

Understanding pregnancy and the law

Chapter 4: Diet and Exercise for the Expectant Mother

Looking at Healthy Weight Gain

Determining how much is enough

Avoiding weight obsession

Understanding your baby’s weight gain

Taking Stock of What You’re Taking In

Using the USDA Choose My Plate

Supplementing your diet

Determining Which Foods Are Safe

Eyeing potentially harmful foods

Debunking popular food myths

Considering Special Dietary Needs

Eating right, vegetarian-style

Staying healthy, vegan-style

Maintaining a gluten-free diet

Combating constipation

Dealing with diabetes

Working Out for Two

Adapting to your body’s changes

Exercising without overdoing it

Comparing forms of exercise

Part II: Pregnancy: Countdown

Chapter 5: The First Trimester

A New Life Takes Shape

Following the numbers: How the embryo grows

Take two: Noting how twins develop

Adapting to How Your Body Changes

Breast changes

Fatigue

Any-time-of-day sickness

Bloating

Frequent urination

Headaches

Constipation

Cramps

Going to Your First Prenatal Appointment

Understanding the consultation

Considering the physical exam

Eyeing the standard tests

Considering Options for Detecting Genetic Abnormalities in the First Trimester

Looking at age

Chorionic villus sampling

Recognizing Causes for Concern

Bleeding

Miscarriage

Ectopic pregnancy

For Partners: Reacting to the News

Chapter 6: The Second Trimester

Discovering How Your Baby Is Developing

Understanding Your Changing Body

Forgetfulness and clumsiness

Gas

Hair and nail growth

Heartburn

Lower abdominal/groin pain

Nasal congestion

Nosebleeds and bleeding gums

Skin changes

Checking In: Prenatal Visits

Second-trimester blood tests

“Looking” at sound waves: Ultrasound

Testing with amniocentesis

Other prenatal tests and procedures

Recognizing Causes for Concern

Bleeding

Fetal abnormality

Cervical insufficiency/Incompetent Cervix

Knowing when to seek help

For Partners: Watching Mom Grow

Chapter 7: The Third Trimester

Your Baby Gets Ready for Birth

Movin’ and shakin’: Fetal movements

Flexing the breathing muscles

Hiccupping in utero

Keeping Up with Your Changing Body

Accidents and falls

Braxton-Hicks contractions

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Fatigue

Feeling the baby “drop”

Hemorrhoids

Insomnia

Pregnancy rashes and itches

Preparing for breast-feeding

Sciatica

Shortness of breath

Stretch marks

Swelling

Urinary stress incontinence

Varicose veins

Hitting the Home Stretch: Prenatal Visits in the Third Trimester

Taking Group B strep cultures

Gauging lung maturity

Assessing your baby’s current health

Preparing for Labor

Making a birth plan

Going back to school: Classes to take

Asking for a c-section on demand

Timing labor

Using perineal massage

Getting Ready to Head to the Hospital

Packing your suitcase

Determining who’s coming to the hospital

Choosing — and using — a car seat

Recognizing Causes for Concern

Bleeding

Breech presentation

Decreased amniotic fluid volume

Decreased fetal movement

Fetal growth problems

Leaking amniotic fluid

Preeclampsia

Preterm labor

When the baby is late

For Partners — Getting Down to the Wire

Part III: The Big Event: Labor, Delivery, and Recovery

Chapter 8: Honey, I Think I’m in Labor!

Knowing When Labor Is Real — and When It Isn’t

Noticing changes before labor begins

Discerning false labor from true labor

Deciding when to call your practitioner

Checking for labor with an internal exam

Getting Admitted to the Hospital

Settling into your hospital room

Checking out the accommodations

Monitoring Your Baby

Fetal heart monitoring

Other tests of fetal health

Nudging Things Along: Labor Induction

Medically indicated induction

Elective induction

Inducing labor

Augmenting labor

Getting the Big Picture: Stages and Characteristics of Labor

The first stage

The second stage

The third stage

Handling Labor Pain

Systemic medications

Regional anesthetics

General anesthesia

Considering Alternative Birthing Methods

Delivering without anesthesia

Giving birth at home

Using a doula

Immersing yourself in a water birth

Chapter 9: Special Delivery: Bringing Your Baby into the World

Having a Vaginal Delivery

Pushing the baby out

Getting an episiotomy

Handling prolonged second-stage labor

The big moment: Delivering your baby

Delivering the placenta

Repairing your perineum

Assisting Nature: Operative Vaginal Delivery

Having a Cesarean Delivery

Understanding anesthesia

Looking at reasons for cesarean delivery

Recovering from a cesarean delivery

Congratulations! You Did It!

Shaking after delivery

Understanding postpartum bleeding

Hearing your baby’s first cry

Checking your baby’s condition

Cutting the cord

Banking cord blood and tissue

Finding out about new uses for your placenta

Chapter 10: Hello, World! Meet Your Newborn

Looking at Your Bundle of Joy

Varnished in vernix

The shape of the head

Black-and-blue marks

Blotches, patches, and more

Baby hair

Extremities

Eyes and ears

Genitalia and breasts

Umbilical cord

Newborn size

Seeing how your baby breathes

Knowing What to Expect in the Hospital

Preparing baby for life outside the womb

Understanding baby’s developing digestive system

Considering circumcision

Spending time in the neonatal intensive care unit