Childbirth, that most natural yet most awesome experience, has in the past been cloaked in superstition and cultural mystique. These beliefs arose over the years to fill the vacuum created by a great deal of scientific ignorance about human repro- duction. They have added a supernatural and almost fatalistic aura to the regen- eration of the human species, a process that is so much more than a biological occurrence. Expectant parents of past generations accepted the folktales of childbirth that were passed on from generation to generation, modifying them slightly as new facts about human reproduction have become known. They accepted the perfunc- tory explanations given in answer to their questions by doctors who doubted their
patients’ …show more content…
Young educated adults, who are learning about some of these medical developments in their college science courses, are begin- ning to demand of their doctors more information about the basic biological as- pects of pregnancy.
This book is designed to accommodate these two forces—a great deal of new knowledge and an increasing demand for information—which have come together at this point in time. It includes material never before published in a handbook for parents, in addition to routine and important information about pregnancy, such as diagnosis, hygiene, diet, and physical annoyances.
This book will give you specific information about how the fetus develops. The labor and delivery chapter describes much more than signs of labor: It discusses the whole process of labor as an adaptation between mother and baby; it describes the stages of labor, which many women have never heard of before; and it …show more content…
We have included a chapter on chemical and environmental effects on preg- nancy, which explains, in part, the effect on the fetus of drugs taken during gesta- tion. There is also a complete review of contraceptive practice—a subject that may not be of interest to you now but will be after the birth of the baby—as well as a discussion of abortion and the changing laws in this country.
All this information is presented for one purpose: to make childbirth a less mysterious and frightening occurrence, through education. The book holds to no particular dogma. All the current trends in childbirth are discussed, such as breast-feeding and natural birth, complete with appended instructions. But all information is given in the context of every option available to the mother and should be used in conjunction with advice from your physician.
Many women shy away from the explicit approach we have used in this com- plete handbook to modern pregnancy. They do so on the misconception that knowledge detracts from the intuitive beauty of childbirth. This need not be
patients’ …show more content…
Young educated adults, who are learning about some of these medical developments in their college science courses, are begin- ning to demand of their doctors more information about the basic biological as- pects of pregnancy.
This book is designed to accommodate these two forces—a great deal of new knowledge and an increasing demand for information—which have come together at this point in time. It includes material never before published in a handbook for parents, in addition to routine and important information about pregnancy, such as diagnosis, hygiene, diet, and physical annoyances.
This book will give you specific information about how the fetus develops. The labor and delivery chapter describes much more than signs of labor: It discusses the whole process of labor as an adaptation between mother and baby; it describes the stages of labor, which many women have never heard of before; and it …show more content…
We have included a chapter on chemical and environmental effects on preg- nancy, which explains, in part, the effect on the fetus of drugs taken during gesta- tion. There is also a complete review of contraceptive practice—a subject that may not be of interest to you now but will be after the birth of the baby—as well as a discussion of abortion and the changing laws in this country.
All this information is presented for one purpose: to make childbirth a less mysterious and frightening occurrence, through education. The book holds to no particular dogma. All the current trends in childbirth are discussed, such as breast-feeding and natural birth, complete with appended instructions. But all information is given in the context of every option available to the mother and should be used in conjunction with advice from your physician.
Many women shy away from the explicit approach we have used in this com- plete handbook to modern pregnancy. They do so on the misconception that knowledge detracts from the intuitive beauty of childbirth. This need not be