Your Pregnancy Week By Week, 5th Edition (Your Pregnancy Series)
by Glade B. Curtis, Judith Schuler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Glade B. Curtis, Judith SchulerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-01-07
ISBN: 1555613462
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
- collectible
Book Reviews of Your Pregnancy Week By Week, 5th Edition (Your Pregnancy Series)
Book Review: OK but it should not be your only pregnancy book
Summary: 2 Stars
You can get this info on many pregnancy/ birth websites, like Baby Center, pregnancy.about.com, and sheknows.com (some have even more info and pictures than this book). Those sites all provide week by week information. Before the internet became so accessible this book probably made more sense and was more relevant. For the very best pictures of the developing baby, in book form, go with "A Child is Born" by Nilsson. It is beautiful and informative (though, again, not the only pregancy book you should buy).
I should note that I have the 4th edition. I hope that it has been updated, especially with regards to episiotomies. It erroneously states that an episiotomy heals better than a tear. The American College of OB/Gyns came out against routine episiotomies in May 2005. They now know that episiotomies increase the chances of bigger lacerations and that they do not heal faster or easier. (They may take a bit less work and time for them to sew up but I would rather them have to take longer to sew up a 1 degree tear that wouldn't be that hard to recover from!). So, if the episiotomy info has been updated just ignore this part of the review. I'll check out the new edition next time I am at the bookstore. (Updated, I checked and they have not revised their episiotomy info).
Like almost every pg/ birth book it touches on baby's size and birth but pays only a smidge of lip service to baby's position. If more moms knew about malpositioned babies (like posterior ones that can cause slow, back labors) then more c-sections could be prevented. Some c-sections that are done because baby is "too big" are really the result of a poorly positioned baby. However, there are things you can do during pregnancy to increase your odds of a well positioned baby (see www.motherspirit.net) as well as things you can do in labor to rotate baby to a better position (try all 4s for 10-15 minutes with periodic back arches towards the ceiling).
I think that this book tries to do too much. It has such short blurbs on important topics. These include labor induction, pain meds in labor, birthing options (as you can tell I am a birth junkie...I even have a Listmania list on good pg books). I worry that some moms only read this book and think they know all that they really need to know. So, this book can not be your only resource.
It also seems like sections of this book were written by several different people. In some parts they back track on earlier advice. For example, they say at one point that breech babies must be delivered by c-section but later they discuss it a bit further (though they leave out excellent tips that may help turn baby like the webster technique, heat pads, visualizations, certain positions...). This lack of consistency can be a bit confusing.
I feel this book is too one sided (medically oriented) in that it tells you things in shades of black and white only (like why you need to have X but not why or what all your other options are). I feel like this book does not help you make informed choices about aspects of pregnancy and especially not of birth. Informed consent should inlude being told the risks, benefits, reasons and options. Since this kind of information may not be passed on in easy to understand, unrushed ways by your care provider you need to know where to turn for the complete picture on your own. You need other books to do that. "Your Pregancy Week by Week" will not do that.
What books will do that? Number one pick is "The Pregnancy Book" by Dr. Sears. After that would be "Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn" by Penny Simkin. You can't go wrong with books by Sears, Simkin and Kitzinger. I would definetly choose one of those over "What to Expect...," "The Girlfriends' Guide...," or this book. You don't have to want a more naturally oriented pregnancy and birth to appreciate my recommendations. They still offer all the basics of the medical model but they do a better job considering all sides.
There are so many better pregnancy/ birth books out there than the standards (WTE...) but because they aren't as well known people don't buy them. I bet if more people got Sears' book instead of those it would catch on since it really is better!
For the ultimate informed consent birth books get "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer. Some people may think Goer is too radical but she backs up all her recommendations with great studies and explanations.
I did have this book and I did read it. But I found it pretty lacking in terms of pregnancy and birth info. I mainly read it for the week by week updates on me and baby rather than as a comprehensive guide. I did not find it scary. Maybe I entered into my pregnancy knowing a bit more about it than the average mom but I already knew what conditions were rare, odds of the others and all that stuff. It was nice to have the info on complications, imo. I think if you worry easily that you would be better off with one of the books I mentioned earlier.
Summary of Your Pregnancy Week By Week, 5th Edition (Your Pregnancy Series)
Because of the rapid rate of change to both mother and baby, doctors refer to a pregnancy in increments of weeks, not months or even trimesters; expectant mothers look for changes and compare the details of their pregnancies based on the same weekly schedule. The best-selling Your Pregnancy Week by Week doles out focused information in this medically appropriate way, making it the most mom-recommended pregnancy guide on the market.Now carefully brought up-to-date, this expanded Fifth Edition will also be the most medically current and comprehensive pregnancy guide available. Always reliable and now re-designed to be even more accessible, weekly chapters include illustrations, descriptions of baby's growth and developmental milestones, information about a mother's average weight gain and what she might be feeling or becoming aware of, and the medical testing that corresponds to the week in question. New features include:* Information on cutting edge obstetric technologies-from 3D ultrasound to pre-natal genetic testing* The very latest diet, nutritional and fitness recommendations for expectant mothers* A new chapter devoted to overdue (post-term) pregnancies* An expanded 15-page glossary of pregnancy and childbirth terms* A handy Due Date Prediction Calendar
Pregnancy should be a time of wonder and hope, but these days, it's associated more often with paranoia. Dr. Glade Curtis is keenly aware of the anxieties heaped upon expectant women: he has written several pregnancy-related books. So while he covers pretty much any topic that an expectant mom might be concerned about, he does not overload the reader with extraneous information or horror stories that can be found in that other best-selling pregnancy guide. In this completely revised and updated edition, Curtis describes the physical developments from weeks 1 through 40--or 41 or 42!--such as the size and weight of the baby, emotional changes in the mother, typical medical tests offered, and nutritional requirements. (The iron found in prenatal vitamins may exacerbate morning sickness, he writes, because iron supplementation is usually not needed until the final trimester.) It is too bad that Dr. Curtis does not recommend more alternative-medicine approaches for treating common pregnancy discomforts. In the chapter covering Week 8, he rightly describes sciatic-nerve pain as excruciating, but does not advise yoga or chiropractic treatments for its relief. However, he *is* hip to the use of doulas, or labor coaches, he encourages breastfeeding, and includes numerous tips for making your partner feel included in what should be a thrilling experience for you both. --Erica Jorgensen
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