Pregnancy

By Gordon Bourne

Book Overview

Gordon Bourne's comprehensive guide to pregnancy, revised by Malcolm Gillard to take account of modern practice and attitudes. This book for expectant mothers provides information on all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, together with guidance and reassurance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0330339125
• ISBN13: 9780330339124
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: Macmillan Pub Ltd
• Length: 575 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Why didn't anybody tell me beforehand?!

This is a good book. There are lots of side effects to pregnancy that no-one tells you about beforehand! Read it first! Normal side effects: nausea, vomiting, constipation, temporary darkening of areas of the skin, silvery scars called stretch marks on the skin, permanent breast enlargement and sagging, softening of cartilage leading to slight, permanent separation of hips, softening of bodily tissues leading to hemmorhoids and varicose veins, and temporarily higher blood pressure and increased work load on the heart. Complications of pregnancy: bleeding, spontaneous abortion, incomplete abortion, "blighted ovum" (fetus fails to develop), ectopic pregnancy (a life-threatening condition requiring an immediate therapeutic abortion), hyatidiform mole, placenta previa (more bleeding), accidental antepartum hemmorhage (abruptio placentae), severe nausea leading to symptoms of starvation (once considered a way of getting attention and attaining an abortion), pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, placental insufficiency, fetal death... I've left out a few.This book includes line drawings and plenty of information about what to expect before, during, and after childbirth.

The bible of pregnancy.

This is a sober and informative work on pregnancy and childbirth. My wife rates it as the bible of pregnancy, because no matter what symptom she had it appeared in the book and gave her a clear and rational explanation of what was going on. On first glance this book probably loses out to competing publications which have lots of colour pictures and small amounts of text. But that's a bit like getting lots and lots of salad but finding that there's no main course. If you are college educated, or if you can read competently, and if you demand real answers from you doctor, you will like this book. If on the other hand you do not really want to be given the gruesome details, if you are a hypochondriac who will imagine every symptom described or if you cannot follow my review because you think the sentences are too long and complicated, then this is not the book for you. Buy one with pretty pictures instead.

Excellent...

When buying "Pregnancy" don't expect a book full of 'colourful pictures'. It is an excellent source of information for most of the questions you might have about pregnancy - what changes are happening to you and your body, and what is going on inside you during the nine months -including detailed information on any complaints or complications you might have. It also gives detailed information about the different kinds of delivery and all the possible stages of labour, which I kept referring to especially as the delivery date grew closer!I found it very informative and well written. I had a lot of questions about 'what was happening' since it was my first pregnancy and I got almost all of my answers from this book rather than any of the gynocologists I went to! It's a must as a reference book.