Doctors and researchers are increasingly learning that by the time a woman gets pregnant, she may have already missed a critical window of opportunity to give her baby the best start in life. In this friendly and authoritative guide, Dr. Michael C. Lu, an expert in the field, offers a step-by-step prepregnancy plan that will help you have a safer pregnancy and a smarter and healthier child. Dr. Lu's plan explains how you can help prevent pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, and minimize the likelihood of many childhood conditions, from asthma to autism. His expert advice includes: Ten brain foods you should eat more Ten toxic foods to avoid Ten steps to strengthen your stress resilience Ten steps to tune up your immune system Ten steps to detoxify your environment And much more!

Comforting and intimate, this “girlfriend” guide to getting pregnant gets to the heart of all the emotional issues around having children—biological pressure, in-law pressures, greater social pressures—to support women who are considering getting pregnant. Trying to get pregnant is enough to make any woman impatient. The Impatient Woman’s Guide to Getting Pregnant is a complete guide to the medical, psychological, social, and sexual aspects of getting pregnant, told in a funny, compassionate way, like talking to a good friend who’s been through it all. And in fact, Dr. Jean Twenge has been through it all—the mother of three young children, she started researching fertility when trying to conceive for the first time. A renowned sociologist and professor at San Diego State University, Dr. Twenge brought her research background to the huge amount of information—sometimes contradictory, frequently alarmist, and often discouraging— that she encountered online, from family and friends, and in books, and decided to go into the latest studies to find out the real story. The good news is: There is a lot less to worry about than you’ve been led to believe. Dr. Twenge gets to the heart of the emotional issues around getting pregnant, including how to prepare mentally and physically when thinking about conceiving; how to talk about it with family, friends, and your partner; and how to handle the great sadness of a miscarriage. Also covered is how to know when you’re ovulating, when to have sex, timing your pregnancy, maximizing your chances of getting pregnant, how to tilt the odds toward having a boy or a girl, and the best prenatal diet. Trying to conceive often involves an enormous amount of emotion, from anxiety and disappointment to hope and joy. With comfort, humor, and straightforward advice, The Impatient Woman’s Guide to Getting Pregnant is the bedside companion to help you through it.

This is the complete guide to getting pregnant and improving fertility naturally -- even if you've been told your chances of conception are low. A nationally renowned women's health and fertility expert, Aimee Raupp has helped thousands of women optimize their fertility and get pregnant. Now, in this book, she provides her complete program for improving your chances of conceiving and overcoming infertility, including the most effective complementary and lifestyle approaches, the latest nutritional advice, and ways to prepare yourself emotionally and spiritually.

Now completely revised and updated, the classic guide that helps mothers- and fathers-to-be conceive more easily and boost the odds of a healthy pregnancy Covering preconception and interconception (between-pregnancy) well-being for women and men, Amy Ogle and Lisa Mazzullo draw on new research from their complementary fields of expertise and reveal how good preconception health can lower the risk of pregnancy complications and improve lifelong health. Why a ninety-day guide? It takes that long for sperm to mature, and at least that much time for the prospective mother to ensure that her body becomes pregnancy-ready. In a warm, intelligent style, the authors address up-to-date topics such as age, heredity, vaccinations, supplements, and weight. In easily accessible chapters, this guide covers such topics as • Nutrition: meal makeovers plus new facts (and fiction) about fish, omega-3s, vitamins, and herbs • Personal readiness: how to assess emotional, financial, and physical readiness, including a preconception-friendly exercise program, plus advice for avid athletes • Becoming an informed patient: choosing a doctor, insurance coverage, baby-friendly medications, and the latest genetic screening guidelines • Women’s health: expanded coverage of gynecologic and medical conditions affecting fertility and pregnancy (including bariatric surgery and physical disabilities), and steps to create a welcoming womb by optimizing immune health • Environment: a roundup of environmental exposures and travel tips • Men’s health: practical lifestyle advice for men to help maximize the number and health of sperm • Conception: clear signs that predict when to “start trying,” and the truth behind common myths • Infertility: reassuring options for reproductive assistance • Interconception health: the best plan for pregnancy recovery, before trying for another • Resources: questionnaires for your preconception medical visit, and charts to track fertility signs

The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians covers everything you need to make the thrilling and challenging journey to motherhood: from choosing a donor to tracking fertility to signing the right papers on the dotted lines. Rachel Pepper's lively, easy-to-read guide is the first place to go for up-to-date information and sage advice on everything from sex in the sixth month to negotiating family roles. Why a second edition? When the acclaimed first edition appeared, the author's daughter was only a few months old. This new edition takes into account the parenting know-how Pepper has developed over the intervening six years, as well as the evolving legal status of lesbian parents, and the increasing importance of the Internet for information on fertility, sperm banks, and donors. The resource section is greatly expanded, as are the sections on each trimester of pregnancy, on childbirth, and on life with a newborn. And Pepper provides more insight into preconception planning for both single lesbians and couples. An indispensable resource, The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians is now bigger and better.

Whether you are young and fertile, over 40 and having trouble conceiving, or anywhere in between, here is the best resource to help you get pregnant. The only must-have fertility book, Getting Pregnant, completely revised and updated, not only addresses the needs of those who cannot conceive but serves as the ultimate guide for anyone planning to have a baby, now or in the future. Addressing the newest, state-of-the-art medical treatments for infertility, Getting Pregnant gives you all the latest news on: eight brand-new fertility drugs donor eggs and donor sperm a new 15-minute in-office surgery that can double conception odds breakthrough technologies for preventing chronic miscarriage how both sex and lifestyle factors affect fertility, including the "Nine to Five" guide for protecting your reproductive health on the job Getting Pregnant also provides a wealth of practical information about the exercises, foods, and supplements that encourage a faster, healthier conception, as well as brand-new, all-natural techniques that influence the gender of your child. You'll also find a helpful six-month personal pregnancy planner that addresses all of your pre-conception health and medical needs. Don't miss the new chapters that focus on protecting, increasing, and extending fertility, while new frontiers in both the treatment of male fertility and the science of motherhood are explored.

Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of real parents and the expertise of doctors, midwives and other birth and baby pros, this indispensable resource is filled with the most accurate and up-to-date information about having and caring for a baby, including: Decisions, Decisions: A judgment-free breakdown of every major choice, including prenatal testing, natural vs. medical childbirth, circumcision, breast or bottle feeding, and work/life options The Endless No: What not to eat, take, and do when you’re pregnant-get the real facts behind the prohibitions I Want My Life Back: Anxiety, regret, ambivalence, and other rarely discussed postpartum emotions Parents and partners: A look beyond the one-size-fits-all approach to family, with strategies for minimizing perfect-parent pressure and managing your real-life relationships through the changes Sorting Through the Voices: A user-friendly guide to the dueling gurus, trendy techniques, and conflicting theories that confuse new parents A forward-thinking book that includes a wide range of voices and approaches, From the Hips reflects the many ways of being pregnant and parenting without suggesting that there is one right way.

Told through the voice of the excited big sister, an informative look at how babies come about traces the embryo's development, explains conception, and shows the process of her mother going into labor.

A wordless picture book about a young boy who wonders why his mother's belly is growing larger.