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Health Books about pregnancy


What is pregnancy?

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more embryos or fetuses by female mammals, including humans, inside their bodies. In a pregnancy there can be multiple gestations (for example, in the case of twins, or triplets). Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies.

Human pregnancy lasts approximately 40 weeks between the time of the last menstrual cycle and birth (38 weeks from fertilisation). The medical term for a pregnant woman is "genetalian," just as the medical term for the unborn human is an embryo (early weeks) and then "foetus" (until birth). A woman who is pregnant for the first time is known as a primigravida or gravida 1: a woman who has never been pregnant is known as a gravida 0; similarly, the terms para 0, para 1 and so on are used for the number of times a woman has given birth.

In many societies' medical and legal definitions, human pregnancy is arbitrarily divided into three trimester periods, as a means to simplify reference to the different stages of fetal development. The first trimester period carries the highest risk of miscarriage (natural death of embryo or fetus), while during the second trimester the development of the fetus can start to be monitored and diagnosed. The third trimester marks the beginning of viability, which means the fetus can survive if an early natural or induced birth occurs. Because of the possible viability of developed fetus, cultural and legal definitions of life often consider a fetus in the third trimester to be a distinct living person.

See also Pregnancy terms and definitions
(Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy)

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

Mayo Clinic

Collins, 2004-04-01

Price: $19.95

Keywords: Books for Parents, Books, Music More, Health, Mind Body, Medical, Medicine, Obstetrics Gynecology, Personal Health, Pregnancy Childbirth, Specialty Stores, Surgery, Women's Health

Reviews:

Best pregnancy book I bought
When I was considering becoming pregnant I bought a few pregnancy books...including the Mother of All Pregnancy Books. I found them to be superficial and lacking scientific fact and good medical information. They were written for a woman who wanted to know the basics and was happy with being told that she was getting good information. The Mayo Clinic Guide is so much more. The decision-making guides are informative and provide a good foundation for making decisions about breastfeeding, birth, etc. I didn't ever feel like I was reading something biased, but something based on medical fact. It even includes information on what products you need and what ones you might be better not buying. Overall, this book is what you want if you want information. The other books may be better if you want to feel good.
This is the book to get!
During my last pregnancy, I bought "What To Expect When You're Expecting," but lent it to a friend afterwards. So, now, for this pregnancy I bought this book. I like this one much better! It is well-organized, easy to reference, and has consistent categories month-by-month. I would definitely recommend this as the book to get!!!
Real great book!
I borrowed many pregnancy books at the library and found this book from far the best and I decided to buy it! It is written by doctors and explains everything simply but also scientifically. Do not buy "what to expect when you are expecting" which is too alarmist and not as complete as the Mayo Clinic Guide.
Saved my Baby
This is the best book out there by far. I had 3 other pregnancy books in addition to this one. This book answered every question I had during pregancy. And I had lots of them. At the week 38, I wasn't feeling great but I wasn't dying either. Just not feeling too well. I was having some minor chills, and NO fever. No other symptom. I opened the book and it said to call my OBGYN right away. I did so and my OBGYN wasn't too sure that it was urgent. My OBGYN then changed her mind 5 min later called me back and told me to go to the hospital for a quick checkup. My babies heartrate was over 200/min. They managed to stabilize him and 15 min his heartrate dropped to 80/min. Needless to say, my OBGYN did and emergency C-section. Had I not had this book and been so persistent with my doctor, my baby might be not be alive. Well worth every penny it costs.
Good reference to have.
This book is chalk full of information. It is a little bit of a dry read, but its managable. The beginning of the book goes by the months and weeks of your pregnancy. It includes what is happening to your baby and the changes in your body. It also includes information on labor and delivery, bringing baby home, questions to ask doctors for various reason, breastfeeding and lots more. I enjoy having it and would recommend it to anyone who loves to have information at their fingertips.


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