Fearless Pregnancy: Wisdom and Reassurance From a Doctor, a Midwife and a Mom

by Victoria Clayton, Stuart Fischbein, Joyce Weckl

This book will cross What To Expect When you?re Expecting (a perennial bestseller) with Girlfriend?s Guide to Pregnancy (a newer bestseller). It will have first-person information from a new mom, but will also include advice from both a doctor and a midwife (this will set it apart from the other two books). Chapters will 1. The Fear Factor ? the pregnancy\fear connection (how fear has been introduced into pregnancy over the past 30 years or so), what is fear, how does it serve and disserve us, how does it influence our thinking and feeling, how fear changes our biochemistry and how this relates to pregnancy. 2. Fearless First Trimester?fears around early miscarriage, when it?s ?safe? to tell people, pregnancy sickness, dealing with other people?s fearful reactions, conquering fears that come up when you?re just accepting the news, etc. 3. Fearless Testing?how to navigate the various and many tests (blood tests, amnio, genetic testing, etc.) and understand the risk, benefits and how to put them in perspective. 4. Fearless Diet, Fitness and Weight Gain ? the truth about food ? how risky are certain ?taboo? foods, how concerned do you need to be about your nutrition, how safe/unsafe is moderate alcohol. It?ll also discuss common sense exercise precautions and how to handle fear of weight gain. 5. Fearless Living ? How to go about your expectant mom life with the least amount of pregnancy-related stress and fear. Topics could * Sickness and Health? what to do when there?s something wrong with you (cold, flu, skin problems, urinary tract infections or more serious stuff like strep or a broken bone). * Sex * Travel * Beauty treatments * Sleeping * Fearless Environment?from environmental health concerns like plastic containers and cleaning solutions to noise and stress problems, this section will discuss what?s risky and what?s not and how to control your environment when possible. 7. Fearless Delivery Prep?from birthing classes to the fear of the actual birth (entire books have been written on this) to how to take advice from other moms. 8. Fearless Gear Guide ? how to grapple with the stuff you really need to be safe and comfortable with a newborn, such as bassinets, disposable diapers, nursing pumps, etc. 9. Fear-fighting Exercises?meditation, writing and discussion exercises specifically targeted to addressing and putting into perspective a variety of pregnancy fears.

Genres: Parenting

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

See also Victoria Walker for her two earlier children's fantasies: The Winter of Enchantment and The House Called Hadlows.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good to have as a wake-up call when you read too many other pregnancy books, or worse, read popular fear-mongering studies about pregnancy reported in the newspaper. Some of the information is very reassuring (once you hear the heartbeat, your chances of miscarriage go WAY down), and some is just not that relevant (there's a whole section on maternity clothes making you feel frumpy, but anyone who's looked at a maternity store or pregnant woman lately knows that there are fashionable maternity clothes already, so this chapter is pretty useless. What I'M worried about is being able to afford maternity clothes, and that's not addressed enough). So - worth looking at, but you should flip through it and see if it addresses enough of your concerns before you buy it.

[Esther Lupinfangirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the tone of this book, reassuring pregnant women. Pregnancy seems so fraught with complications, that it was nice to hear that we're more resilient than we think, otherwise we'd never make it as a species. However, I felt like there were too many frivolous concerns that I'd never even think of worrying about: how you'll look in your maternity clothes, what kind of baby gear to buy, never wanting sex again, your birth not going according to your plan, etc. I could have used more reassurance on the things I do worry about: autism, birth defects, miscarriage, having a baby when you have a physical or mental health diagnosis. It did cover some of those topics, but barely. I don't think I'll ever lose sleep because my husband will think I'm fat or the crib I have is a used one. That's for control freaks, like those crazy brides, who have a meltdown because the bridesmaid bouquets are the wrong color.

[Ginny Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really calmed my nerves about so many worries I have about giving birth. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get pregnant or who already is pregnant.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book about pregnancy, so it's not really fascinating. But I liked that it took all those things you hear from new moms and websites like The Bump, and give you the real deal.

I must admit, a lot of the "fears" mentioned in the beginning were things I'd never even thought of! And a lot of the fears mentioned near the end (the actual birthing part) seemed just as scary as I thought they were before!

Overall, I really appreciated the common sense take it gives.

[Sarah Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy, fun read and full of helpful wisdom. A little too laissez-faire for me, but I've suffered two miscarriages and am bound to be more cautious than the book touts. I like the statistics, like there's a 1% chance of this bad thing happening to your baby, but that's a 99% chance it'll be fine. I read it all in one night when I couldn't sleep (not from anxiety, just normal pregnancy insomnia).

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read! The authors review all types of pregnancy topics, and their main theme is "don't worry about it!" That's so reassuring to hear. So they'll say sure, 5% of women might have an issue with this, which means that 95% of women have no issue at all.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended by a friend and it certainly helped calm a tremendous amount of anxiety! I recommend it for those who have "heard what you can and cannot do" during pregnancy - this breaks down the things you've heard, myths, rumors, etc and gives you the facts.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of advice and I liked how it talked about midwifery care and not just MDs and OBs.

[Jitlapawn Okamura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book was around before my first, it has always been my theory that the more you fear it the more it'll hurt.... Childbirth.... needles... band-aids.. A must read for first time moms.