Healthy Beginnings

Book excerpt: Canada's premier resource for planning a happy, healthy pregnancy Healthy Beginnings is the ultimate guide to having a baby, with expert guidance through planning, conception, pregnancy, labor, and more. Developed by The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), this book answers the hundreds of questions you have about your body, your baby, and your life during this exciting time, written by Canada's lead authorities on maternal and newborn health. You will find clear answers about keeping yourself and your baby healthy through each trimester, and what to expect as your body changes seemingly overnight. When it's time, it's time, and the SOGC's experts walk you step-by-step through each of the four stages of labor and delivery, with insightful advice to help you have the birth experience you want and enjoy your first moments with your newborn. When pregnancy ends, motherhood begins, and this book helps you start caring for your newborn—and yourself—with help from leading authorities on postpartum care, breast feeding, and all the information you will need as a brand new parent. Based on the national guidelines for care, this book provides clinically accurate information in an accessible, user-friendly way. From planning a pregnancy to taking care of your new baby, your questions are answered here, by the premier experts in the field. Understand what to expect from your body during each trimester Learn how to eat, exercise, travel, work, and play as your pregnancy progresses Get expert insight and advice for each step of labor and delivery Take great care of your newborn—and yourself—and find help when you need it Expectant mothers are understandably overwhelmed with information—everyone has "advice," freely given, and sometimes questionable. How do you separate fact from superstition? Healthy Beginnings is the resource you can trust, with the most up-to-date answers on planning, pregnancy, delivery, and beyond.