Ask a midwife all your pregnancy and birth questions answered with wisdom, insight, and expertise. - Description based on print version record PDF
Preview Ask a midwife all your pregnancy and birth questions answered with wisdom, insight, and expertise. - Description based on print version record
ask a a s k midwife a ask a midwife m i When will I feel my baby kick? What are all my prenatal tests d and scans for? Did my new baby just smile at me? w When it comes to dispensing care, advice, and friendly reassurance during pregnancy All your pregnancy and birth and labor, midwives are the health professionals women can feel comfortable with i (cid:49) f questions answered with wisdom, Hundreds of real-life questions to midwives, answered e with up-to-date information you can trust insight, and expertise (cid:49) C Covers everything you need to know, from conception a to the first weeks of life with a new baby t h a Ask a Midwife is like having your own midwife on call,24 hours a day. r i n e Catharine Parker-Littler (RM BSc) is a Registered Midwife, Consultant, an author and speaker in the field of Midwifery, and an active practitioner for over 20 years. She is P founder and International director of midwivesonline.com, a leading website for expectant a and new parents, midwives, and related healthcare professionals. r k Margaret (Peg) Plumbo (RN, MS, CNM) has been a Certified Nurse-Midwife since 1976 and e a midwifery educator since 1983. She teaches in the Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health r - Program at the University of Minnesota and runs a clinical practice in St. Paul, Minnesota. L i t tl Catharine Parker-Littler Printed in China e Jacket images: Front: PunchStock: Polka Dot Images br; r Science Photo Library: Ian Hooton bl, tr; Paul Whitehill bc. in conjunction with www.midwivesonline.com Back: Corbis: Jack Hollingsworth tr; JLP/Sylvia Torres tl; Mother & Baby Picture Library: tc. Spine: PunchStock: Blend Discover more at Consultant Editor: Margaret Plumbo $22.95 USA $24.95 Canada www.dk.com ask a midwife ask a midwife All your pregnancy and birth questions answered with wisdom, insight and expertise Catharine Parker-Littler in conjunction with www.midwivesonline.com Consultant Editor: Margaret Plumbo, RN, MS, CNM London, New York, Melbourne, Munich, and Delhi Project Editor Claire Cross Design Carole Ash at Project 360 Senior Editors Esther Ripley, Emma Woolf US Editors Jane Perlmutter, Shannon Beatty Senior Art Editor Nicola Rodway Production Editor Jenny Woodcock Production Controller Bethan Blase Creative Technical Support Sonia Charbonnier Managing Editors Penny Warren, Esther Ripley Managing Art Editor Marianne Markham Publisher Peggy Vance Contributing midwives Diane Jones RM, Joanne Daubeney RM, Dawn Lewis RM, Julie Scott RM, Emma Whapples RM, Tamsin Oxenham RM, Sarah Fleming RM, Anne Thysse RM, Dr. Mary Steen First American Edition, 2008 Published in the United States by DK Publishing, 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 08 09 10 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 AD398—August 2008 All rights reserved Copyright © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Text copyright © 2008 Catharine Parker-Littler Foreword text copyright © 2008 Margaret Plumbo Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. CIP data for this title is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-7566-3687-6 DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 or [email protected]. Printed and bound in China by Sheck Wah Tong Printing Press Ltd Discover more at www.dk.com Foreword As an expectant mother in the United States your options in pregnancy and childbirth are virtually limitless—that is, if you have good health insurance. However, what if you don’t have health insurance, if you are “undocumented”, live in an underserved area, have limited access to funds or transportation, or don’t speak English? The answer is simply, “find a midwife”. Whether it was the granny midwife of the South, the Navajo or Lakota midwife, or the certified nurse-midwives serving the poor in New York City in the early 1900s, it is within communities of need that midwives have their roots. The term “midwife” finds its origins in Middle English “mydwijf” (with woman) and midwives are indeed in service to women. Midwives have always been advocates for choices in childbearing. Largely through the intervention of midwives and supportive physicians and nurses, women no longer have to submit to enemas, shaves, episiotomies, restraints, or routine use of forceps. Through the study of writers and activists such as Grantley Dick-Read, Suzanne Arms, Ina May Gaskin, Michel Odent, Sheila Kitzinger, and others, midwives secure strength for their advocacy of women. By daily exposure to the women who decline the lure of epidurals or “cesarean on demand”, midwives gain strength to pass on to other mothers. Midwives across the globe advocate for the rights of all women to give birth with dignity. They fight mechanization and objectification of the birthing process, joining with women, not standing above them. Technology should never supersede the innate power of women to make reproductive decisions and give birth. In partnership with women, advocating choice in health-care decisions and with respect for the normal processes of the human body, midwives are rightfully proud of their contribution to reducing neonatal and maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Working with physician and nursing colleagues, midwives serve women for a lifetime. This book demonstrates the universality of childbearing. Pregnancy and childbirth unite women throughout the world and midwives are “with woman”, whether they’re providing family planning services in Uganda or catching a baby in a waterbirth tub in California. Within Ask a Midwife, you will find wisdom borne of experience and service. I hope you will find answers to the questions you have, and maybe some others you’ve never thought of asking. Margaret Plumbo RN, MS, CNM University of Minnesota, School of Nursing, Nurse-Midwifery & Women’s Health Contents Introduction 8 Trying for a baby We want to be parents: preparing for pregnancy 14 I’ve had a miscarriage: why did it happen to me? 22 We’re not getting pregnant: what do we do now? 27 How will I know I’m pregnant? confirming your pregnancy 34 Now you’re pregnant My test is positive: what happens next? 40 Why is pregnancy so scary? a safe pregnancy 42 What to eat… What not to eat: your diet in pregnancy 47 Should I go swimming? keeping active in pregnancy 55 What do I tell my boss? your rights and benefits 61 Will life ever be the same? special situations 67 Your 40-week journey Who will handle my care? a guide to prenatal care 74 Sick and tired: the side effects of pregnancy 81 What’s a high-risk pregnancy? complications in pregnancy 87 What’s happening to my baby? fetal development 94 What’s happening to my body? how your body changes 105 Sex in pregnancy: a fulfilling relationship 113 Testing, testing: investigations in pregnancy 116 Twins and multiple births: we’re having more than one! 128 Do babies need all this stuff? shopping for your baby 136 The end of pregnancy: what to expect 142 Labor and birth Where should I give birth? home or hospital? 152 My baby isn’t due yet: premature births 161 How will I know I’m in labor? the signs of labor 167 It’s all your fault, stop the pain! choices for pain relief 173 How long will it last? all about labor 180 I’m over my due date: do I need to be induced? 190 What can I do to help? partners at the birth 194 Why isn’t the baby out yet? assisting the birth 202 They said I need a cesarean: all about cesarean births 206 New parents He looks like a pixie: is my baby OK? 216 Breast-feeding your baby: why breast is best 226 I don’t want to breast-feed: bottle-feeding your baby 236 I just want to go home: the first days with your baby 243 I’m scared of dropping him: caring for your newborn baby 248 Losing a baby: coping with a devastating loss 258 A new life I still look pregnant: your body after the birth 264 Sleep—what is sleep? life after the birth 273 I’m feeling so depressed: your emotions after the birth 281 I’m sure I saw my baby smile: getting to know your baby 286 We’re a family now: your new life together 292 Time out for us: nurturing relationships 298 Glossary 306 Resources 310 Index and acknowledgments 312 As midwives, we know that seemingly trivial questions can cause unnecessary fear if left unanswered
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