Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth

Sheldon H. Cherry

Description

The classic bestselling guide to pregnancy and childbirth, thoroughly revised and updated

Highly regarded and relied upon for more than twenty years, this authoritative guide is the ultimate resource if you are or hope to become pregnant. Now in a new edition that covers the latest medical advances, Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth answers all your questions, addressing both the medical and emotional issues in a clear, reassuring way.

Drs. Sheldon Cherry and Douglas Moss cover everything from preconception to postpartum care, dispelling the myths and revealing the latest advancements that help to ensure a successful and enjoyable pregnancy. They explain how the fetus develops, the different stages of labor, and the current trends in childbirth, and they also address the special needs of pregnant women over age thirty-five.

This updated edition also features:
* The latest information on preconception care, including genetic testing and vaccination programs
* New treatments for both male and female infertility
* New guidelines for exercise during pregnancy
* The latest on first-trimester screening for fetal anomalies, postpartum depression, and medications during pregnancy
* Guidance in successfully managing multiple births

Comprehensive, comforting, and reliable, Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth is your indispensable pregnancy companion.

Sujets

• Vie de famille
• Relations familiales
• Maternité
• Famille
• Fitness
• Health
• Childbirth
• Pregnacy

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781620459461
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth
BOOKS BY SHELDON H. CHERRY, M.D.
The Menopause Myth
For Women of All Ages
Medical, Surgical, and Gynecologic Complications of Pregnancy
The Menopause Book
Planning Ahead for Pregnancy
Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth

FOURTH EDITION

Sheldon H. Cherry, M.D. Douglas G. Moss, M.D.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2004 by Sheldon H. Cherry, M.D. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone].
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Cherry, Sheldon H.
Understanding pregnancy and childbirth / Sheldon H. Cherry, Douglas G. Moss-4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-47120-8 (paper)
1. Pregnancy. 2. Childbirth. I. Moss, Douglas G. II. Title.
RG525.C615 2004 618.2-dc22
2004040905
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
To our wives
Contents
FOREWORD TO FIRST EDITION
PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION
Introduction
Part I Planning for Pregnancy
1 Planning for Pregnancy
Part II Pregnancy
2 Becoming Pregnant
3 Adjusting to Pregnancy
4 Changes Caused by Pregnancy
5 Prenatal Care
6 Problems of Early Pregnancy: Miscarriage and Ectopic Pregnancy
7 Perinatology-the Fetal World
Part III Labor and Delivery
8 Labor and Delivery
9 Psychoprophylaxis-the Lamaze Method
10 The Newborn
11 Postpartum Care
Part IV General Considerations
12 Conditions Associated with Pregnancy
13 Preventing Pregnancy
14 Infertility

Epilogue
Index
Foreword to First Edition
In simpler times, an aura of security and even sanctity surrounded the physician and instilled in patients great confidence in the doctor s authority, optimism about treatment, and a bond of mutual respect born of having lived through moments of stress together. This era encouraged the physician to be authoritative and even paternalistic in relations with patients, for all too often the doctor saw this demeanor as a critical means of psychoemotional support when the treatment offered had only pragmatic evidence of value, without substantial scientific support.
In the sophisticated urban and suburban society that is now the environment in which most of our population lives and works, this security about health matters is needed more than ever, but it can no longer be derived solely from the physician s image as a healer. Even obstetricians, who were more frequently the objects of their patients devotion and love, because they shared with patients and supported them in one of the most profound emotional experiences of their lives-the dramatic, romantic moment of childbirth-have found themselves cast more often now in the role of teacher than that of medicine man. And this is appropriate in an era when the explosion in biological knowledge has been translated into a new understanding of intrauterine fetal life, complex clinical techniques, and electronic instruments that have vastly improved the comfort and the safety of pregnancy and childbirth.
With this new, more scientific approach to the health of mother and infant has come a concomitant rise in the expectation that the obstetrician and associated health workers will inform and translate, simplify, and explain pregnancy and childbirth and other reproductive phenomena in a manner suitable to a more educated generation that derives its security from knowledge, rather than from mystique. With every issue of the public press suggesting new medical advances, the patient demands that her physician, and most especially her obstetrician, concerned now with two patients, act not only as confidant but also as guide through the maze of genuine and spurious discoveries so that wise choices can be made between the scientific and the cultist.
Dr. Cherry s updated Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth is a superb presentation of modern obstetrical knowledge, in a style that is a model of comprehension and clarity. He chooses to refrain from adhering to a single school of obstetrical management with the thought that childbirth is best served by an informed partnership between the patient and her obstetrician. This movement to ask people to take some responsibility for their own health can only result in better care for the public and better education for the physician. Information will replace ignorance, skill will replace magic, and the bond of commitment between the patient and her physician will be strengthened. This volume will surely attain the wide readership that its substance deserves and will make a real contribution to the well-being of those readers who wish a clear understanding of the modern obstetrical era.
S. B. GUSBERG, M.D., D.SCI.,
Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, N.Y.
Preface to Fourth Edition
The first edition of Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth was published in 1973. Since then, a whole generation of women has completed healthy pregnancies by proactively participating in their health care and learning about the glorious and wondrous process of childbearing. In keeping with this tradition, the fourth edition of our book is dedicated to the offspring of the readers of the early editions, who will now be educating themselves on the miraculous process of childbirth. As it did with their parents, this knowledge can help dispel the myths, eliminate fear and confusion, and aid them in having a successful and enjoyable pregnancy.
Since the third edition of Understanding Pregnancy and Childbirth , published ten years ago, many major changes have occurred in the management of pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, there have been revolutionary developments in infertility management and treatment. Most couples can now achieve successful fertility by the use of assisted-reproduction techniques. These changes have been incorporated into the fourth edition.
We have expanded on the concept of the fetus as a second patient, both diagnostically and therapeutically. In addition, we are more able to prepare women for pregnancy and have enhanced their comfort, health, and social well-being. There are major revisions of some chapters. A few of the highlights are as follows: An update on preconception care, including genetic testing and vaccination programs The new guidelines for exercise in pregnancy The treatment of infertility, including sex selection, ovum donation, preimplantation genetic studies, and ovum donation IVF A new section on male infertility, including sperm-ovum injection (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) The nonsurgical management of ectopic pregnancy with methotrexate A prenatal testing update, including AFP testing and first trimester sonogram screening Advancements in the induction of labor A new section on depression and the psychosocial aspects of pregnancy Advancements in the management of pregnancy conditions, such as intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity, postdate pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes, and herpes infections New advances in contraception, such as the morning-after pill Abortion update, including medical abortion An update on the management of multiple births, medications during pregnancy, diet and nutrition, and the walking epidural
For this edition I was assisted by Dr. Douglas Moss, a sensitive, bright obstetrician who represents the new generation of physicians in women s health care and who is my colleague in private practice. We welcome you to the amazing process of pregnancy. Your nine-month journey to parenthood should be one of excitement, awe, knowledge, and fulfillment. We hope to help you achieve these goals.
Introduction
Childbirth, that most natural yet most awesome experience, has in the past been cloaked in superstition and cultural mystique. These beliefs arose over the years to fill the vacuum created by a great deal of scientific ignorance about human reproduction. They have added a supernatural and almost fatalistic aura to the regeneration of the human species, a process that is so much more than a biological occurrence.
Expectant parents of past generations accepted the folktales of childbirth that were passed on from g