Understanding Pregnancy, 1ed

Health education and wellness books written for general public to educate them about major health specific topics.\r\n\r\nMotherhood is a beautiful experience and it starts right from the planning of a pregnancy. Earlier, when the pregnancy occurred the 9 months used to pass for women who were housewives and were living in extended families without any concern because of their strong support systems.\r\n\r\nHowever, now when many women are living in nuclear families and working in office as well as at home, this period can lead to considerable physical and mental strain. We advise that the first thing to do is to visit an obstetrician for pre-conceptional counselling on what changes might be required in the lifestyle during pregnancy. For those who have not done so or cannot, information about the dos and don ts during pregnancy is available from a variety of disparate sources. However, authoritative, trustworthy and simple advice is not always easy to find from a single source about things like morning sickness, weight gain, leg swelling and what to eat and avoid eating among many other queries.\r\n\r\nIn this book, the gynaecologists have explained the entire process of pregnancy from its planning, antenatal care and postpregnancy contraception in a question and answer format. Many nonscientific beliefs centred around pregnancy, which include guessing the baby s sex, placing pictures of cute babies in the birth room to produce a beautiful child and eating twice as much for two lives have also been discussed in this book and debunked as the myths they are.\r\n\r\nThey have also described the place of the new chromosomal and genetic tests that are performed before birth and can predict blood and brain disorders like thalassaemia, mental retardation and Down syndrome. You will find details about when and how they should be done as well as their advantages and dangers.\r\n\r\nAlthough a mother is an embodiment of love and care, she requires professional guidance and emotional support during this remarkable journey called pregnancy. We hope this book will help her face this journey armed with accurate knowledge and reassurance from our experts and we all wish her a safe and a wonderful outcome.