YOU: Having a Baby: The Owner's Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy - Hardcover

Roizen, Michael F.; Oz, Mehmet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416572368 ISBN 13: 9781416572367

Publisher: Scribner, 2009

Synopsis

Can I get a cavity filled while pregnant? Will avoiding spicy foods make my kid a picky eater? Can I really increase my baby's IQ while she's in utero?

Whether you're pregnant for the first time, are trying to start your family, or already have enough children to start your own basketball team, you're bound to have questions about what it means to be pregnant -- and how you can increase your odds of having a healthy and happy pregnancy. But no matter how much you've read, watched, studied, or talked about this amazing biological journey, you have never read anything like this.

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz act as mythbusters for the hundreds of questions surrounding pregnancy in the same scientific, informative, and entertaining ways that have made them America's Doctors. In these pages, you'll learn everything you need to know about the miracles of fetal development, your health throughout the pregnancy, and providing the best possible environment for your growing child.

Pregnancy is a complicated balancing act, but it doesn't have to be frightening. The doctors will help you de-stress as they describe accurately and rationally what happens during a thrilling nine months of life. While every pregnant body is different, odds are you'll experience some of the cravings, crying, and discomfort that almost all women go through. Your best tactic? Learn why these things are happening -- and what you should do about them. YOU: Having a Baby will teach you everything you need to know about what to eat (should I be eating for two?), how much to exercise, and what guilty pleasures will actually make pregnancy easier on you (and the loved ones who get to be around you for the whole thing). Each phase of pregnancy has different challenges, but the right information will prepare you for what's ahead. The interactive week-by-week calendar inside provides an even more detailed guideline for how and what you should feel through every step of the process.

Exciting, cutting-edge scientific research in the fi eld of epigenetics has changed the way the medical profession looks at pregnancy, and now it can change your perspective, too. Epigenetics explores what makes us develop in certain ways -- why some people thrive at math while others are prone to chronic diseases. It turns out that there are easy things you can do that will not just help your baby's development in utero but will actually improve his or her chances of living a healthy, fulfi lling adult life.

Filled with recipes for nutritious, satisfying snacks and meals even Pop can cook (yes, he can!), safe exercises for staying fit, and tons of YOU tips that will help you stay comfortable, YOU: Having a Baby is the ultimate guidebook for what to do from the moment of conception to the weeks after your child has arrived home. From morning sickness and food cravings to choosing a doctor and changing a diaper, YOU: Having a Baby will give you the real scoop about what's in store for you during this amazing time in your life.

About this title

Review:

Product Description
Few life experiences feature emotional swings as extreme as those of pregnancy--it's a monumental mix of both intense excitement and skip-a-beat anxiety. How do you respond to such a situation? If you're like most, you scour websites, read books, browse blogs, and pick the brains of every friend, family member, and store clerk who's ever had a baby. You talk about the ups and downs, the cravings and the nausea, the maternity clothes and the stretch marks. During this 280-day journey, this sometimes scattered mind-set is perfectly natural--and healthy. But often you need help cutting through the clutter. In YOU: Having a Baby, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen, America's Doctors, will help ease your tension by teaching you not only about whatyou can do but also why you should do it. They'll explore the biology of your body with amazing insights about a cutting-edge new field called epigenetics, which gives you the power to change the genetic destiny of your child. And they'll give you all the ins and outs of nutrition, exercise, hormones, fetal development, and many more pregnancy-related issues. Using their signature wit and wisdom, they'll test your knowledge, bust many myths, and reassure you that your maternal instincts are usually pretty darn good. After all, the doctors want the exact same thing as you do during this journey--a healthy baby (and a healthy mom). Be assured that YOU: Having a Baby will be one of your favorite passengers on this wonderful ride.

Amazon Exclusive Essay from Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, Authors of YOU: Having a Baby

While many pregnancy books tell you what to do, we aim to add a deeper level of meaning in true YOU style and explain why. After all, when you truly understand the why, the what is much easier to adopt. Instead of giving you a week-by-week or hiccup-by-hiccup guide to pregnancy, we take a more holistic approach, focusing on how your mental and physical health affect your baby, and how--at the same time--pregnancy affects your mind and body. Of course, we provide plenty of our signature YOU Tips and YOU Tools to help you make the best choices for a safe and healthy pregnancy, but we're going to take you there a little bit differently than other pregnancy guides may. Here's what you can expect from us:

We want you to understand at the base level how epigenetics works and why it's important. Starting with the moment you go from making love to making a baby, we explain how you can influence your child's development through this field--perhaps the most important developed in the last decade. Many of us believe that the genetics of our children are predetermined the moment that the sperm locks on its desired egg. But the truth is that research from various sources is suggesting that during pregnancy, you may actually be able to turn your future baby's genes on and off--you have the ability to control genes anytime.

You'll also learn quite a bit about the key player that mediates between you and your baby, transmitting all signals that create those epigenetic changes. That player is the placenta. This beautifully functioning organ is the place where mom and child interact, where nutrients are exchanged, and where growth and development patterns are determined.

After explaining the workings of the placenta, we'll focus more closely on nutrition (both yours and baby's), explaining how too much, too little, or the wrong nutrients all play roles in the health of both you and your child. We also talk about such things as fetal brain development, how to manage (and prevent) postpartum depression, and important pregnancy-related medical conditions like gestational diabetes.

In the second half of the book, we'll help you manage the wide range of side effects you may be feeling--everything from heartburn and insomnia to medical complications like preeclampsia. Finally, we present a bunch of great features you can use, including:

Broadway to Birth: Our interactive board game will take you through the amazing adventure that is labor and delivery to help you understand which elements you can control and which elements you need to leave to the pros (whom we'll help you choose, based on your own labor and delivery goals).

A Top Eight List of Postpartum Issues: After you deliver your baby, you'll appreciate our chapter on everything you need to know to take care of yourself and your newborn in the first month of life. This is where the second adventure begins.

The Ultimate Pregnancy Flight Plan: Step by step, we provide the instructional dials, controls, and levers that will allow you to pilot your way to a safe landing. After all, you're carrying a very precious passenger. This plan is the shorthand version of all the best tips and strategies we give throughout the book.

YOU Tools: At the end of the book, we will give you specific advice about exercise, diet, vitamins, and the like that can serve as an action plan. We also provide guidance on everything from choosing a doctor or midwife to preparing your home for a baby to recipes your partner can make for you during your pregnancy.

We want you to relax and take time to enjoy the beauty of the pregnancy process. The most important thing to keep in mind is that most pregnancies turn out absolutely fine. Absolutely fine. Women's bodies are designed to carry children safely and efficiently. That doesn't mean everything will be smooth sailing on this journey, but it does mean that the odds are greatly in your favor. If you can learn how to maximize your chances that nature runs the course it's supposed to, you will increase those odds even further. This book will help show you how.

-Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz

(Photo © James Robinson)

About the Author:

Michael F. Roizen, MD, is the four-time #1 New York Times bestselling author and co-founder and originator of the popular RealAge.com website. He is Chief Wellness Officer and chair of the Wellness Institute of the Cleveland Clinic and Chief Medical Consultant to The Dr. Oz Show. He currently lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Mehmet Oz, MD, is a cardiothoracic surgeon. He has won nine Daytime Emmy Awards for The Dr. Oz Show. A professor of surgery at Columbia University, he directs the Complementary Medicine Program at New York—Presbyterian Hospital and performs more than fifty heart operations a year. Dr. Oz has written eight New York Times bestselling books, including Food Can Fix It, YOU: The Owner’s Manual, YOU: The Smart Patient, YOU: On a Diet, YOU: Staying Young, and the award-winning Healing from the Heart.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1416572368
• ISBN 13: 9781416572367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464