If you're looking for the inside scoop on what it's really like to have a baby, you've come to the right place. This comprehensive guide features a friendly, fresh, and fun approach to the greatest adventure life has to offer. Based on the best advice from over 100 Canadian parents and panel of experts, this information is served up with a uniquely Canadian spin. The Mother of All Pregnancy Books is funny, entertaining, and packed with tons of nuts-and-bolts information and presents expectant parents with all the facts on such perennial hot topics as pain relief during labor, episiotomy, and circumcision, empowering them to make informed personal choices.

Unique and innovative, this book is packed with helpful tools readers won't find anywhere else, including charts highlighting the risks of using various over-the-counter drug products during pregnancy, tables summarizing the functions of the 10 most important nutrients during pregnancy, lists of the 10 best-and worst-baby products, and much, much more. Featuring a glossary of pregnancy-related terms, a sample birth plan and a set of emergency childbirth procedures, The Mother of All Pregnancy Books isn't afraid to tackle difficult subjects, like infertility, high-risk pregnancy, and pregnancy and infant loss -- topics that most other pregnancy books shy away from.

New features include:

• The Pregnancy Roadmap: a week-by-week; month-by-month; and trimester-by-trimester overview of the key pregnancy milestones and highlights
• Pregnancy Q & As
• Baby Gear 101
• Your Post-Partum Body
• And a brand new section called "The Truth About Pregnancy Brain"

Medical Disclaimer iii

Acknowledgements XI

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Are You Really Ready to Have a Baby? 5

A Question of Timing 6

A Baby? Maybe... Protecting Your Fertility 17

The Truth about Baby Fever: Not Everyone Catches It 25

Chapter 2: Your pre-game plan 29

Training for the Big Event 29

Your Pre-conception Checkup: The Insider's Guide 50

Chapter 3: Sperm, Meet Egg 65

The Numbers Game 65

The Science of Conception 67

What You Can Do to Increase Your Odds of Conceiving Quickly 76

Chapter 4: Missed Conceptions 89

Do You Have a Fertility Problem? 89

The Major Causes of Infertility 100

The Brave New World of Assisted Reproduction 106

Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster 113

Chapter 5: Winning at Baby Roulette 119

A Little Bit Pregnant 119

Your First Prenatal Checkup 142

Early Pregnancy Worries 147

Chapter 6: Op eration Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby 151

The No-Worry Guide to Eating during Pregnancy 151

Your Pregnancy Gain Plan 176

Work it, Baby: Prenatal Fitness 187

Quitting Time: Smoking, Drinking, and Drugs 196

Sleeping for Two 204

(Don't Get Too) Stressed about Stress 209

Staying Healthy during Pregnancy 216

Staying Safe at Home 225

Staying Healthy at Work 241

Chapter 7: The Pregnancy Road Map 247

The Complaint Department 247

Pregnancy Complaints from A to Z 248

Chapter 8: Your Incredible Growing Baby 298

The First Trimester: The Beginnings of Life, and the Start of a Whole New Way of Life 299

The Second Trimester: Goodbye Nausea, Hello Maternity Jeans 307

The Third Trimester: Your Incredible Growing Belly 310

Chapter 9: This is Your (Soon-to-Be) Life 314

Decisions, Decisions . . . 315

Other Things You Can Do to Make the Early Weeks Less Stressful 349

Sex and Relationships: Top Worries 368

The Last Hurrah 373

Chapter 10: When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect 386

To Test or Not to Test? 387

What to Do if the Test Brings Bad News 397

What Does the Term "High-Risk Pregnancy" Really Mean? 403

The Unique Challenges of a Multiple Pregnancy 413

Preterm Labour 418

When a Baby Dies 427

Grieving the Loss of Your Baby 449

Preparing for Another Pregnancy 456

Chapter 11: Labour Day 461

Eight Months and Counting 462

Decision Time 466

The Top Labour-Related Worries 494

Going Overdue 509

What Labour Is Really Like 514

Parting Words 535

Appendix A: Glossary 536

Appendix B: Planning for Your Birth 550

Appendix C: Em ergency Childbirth Procedures 556

Appendix D: On-line Resources 559

Appendix E: Prenatal Record 565

Index 569Ann Douglas is an award-winning journalist and the author of 28 books including The Mother of All Baby Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books and The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers. Ann's various books are also available -- or forthcoming -- in China, Russia, Greece, Indonesia, and Finland. A parent educator and mother of four, Ann is also the co-author (with John R. Sussman, M.D.) of two other highly popular pregnancy books: The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby and Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss . Ann recently served as the honorary Campaign Chair of the National Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies 9-Month Club and was recently named to the National Advisory Board for Invest in Kids. Known for her lively anecdotes and real-world advice, Ann has also been a regular contributor to WebMD.com, PregnancyandBaby.com and Yahoo! Canada. Ann writes regular columns for Conceive Magazine, Living Spree, Urban Baby and Toddler, City Parent and What's Up Kids?. She has also written for such publications as Today's Parent, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, and The Globe and Mail. She makes frequent appearances on both radio and television and is regularly quoted in such publications as Parenting, Parents, Fit Pregnancy, American Baby, and Working Mother. Ann lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband and four children. Visit www.having-a-baby.com or www.anndouglas.ca.