A good Book and any advice?

Galway K9

My girlfriend is expecting (just found out) and i want to know what to expect (no graphically), what is / is not healthy for the pregancy e.g. supplments, foods. I want to be the best father i can Also i am still in shock and terrified so any advice or support be great too

doubletrouble?

a book that we got and was recommended to us by a doctor is called " what to expect when your expecting" got it in easons.

Hobbitfeet

The best book to get is Ina May Gaskins Guide to Childbirth. I cant recommend this book enough its fantastic I wish every women would read it. Great for people who are nervous about their pregnancy and birth. Great for partners to read also. My partner is reading it and feels a lot more confident about being able to support me during labour, he was very nervous about the whole situation

Galway K9

I know how he feels hahaha

Noopti

Congratulations! We got both of these books:

What to Expect when you are Expecting
This is very informative, and loads of details on each stage of pregnancy.

Pregnancy Day by Day
This is a fantastic book. If goes through each day of pregnancy, and what makes it very useful is that you just pick it up each day and read a page. So you are getting bite-size chunks of info and text - which makes it much more likely you will remember key information.

ceadaoin.

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

The best book to get is Ina May Gaskins Guide to Childbirth. I cant recommend this book enough its fantastic I wish every women would read it. Great for people who are nervous about their pregnancy and birth. Great for partners to read also. My partner is reading it and feels a lot more confident about being able to support me during labour, he was very nervous about the whole situation

I just finished reading this and it really is brilliant, I feel so much more confident about labour and giving birth. I'm definitely going to get my boyfriend to read it next. However, I'm planning on a natural birth in a midwife led birthing centre so was perfect for me. It's a bit anti hospitals so if this is what your girlfriend is planning it might scare her a bit.

I would also recommend What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Hobbitfeet

ceadaoin. wrote: »

I just finished reading this and it really is brilliant, I feel so much more confident about labour and giving birth. I'm definitely going to get my boyfriend to read it next. However, I'm planning on a natural birth in a midwife led birthing centre so was perfect for me. It's a bit anti hospitals so if this is what you're girlfriend is planning it might scare her a bit.

I would also recommend What to Expect When You're Expecting.

I am going to hospital wasn't able to get a midwife for a home birth in my area. I did find it a bit anti hospital but I found it is giving me the courage to stand up for myself and more confident about my ability to give birth in hospital just as happily because I did really want a home birth and at the start was terrified of going to hospital. I'm going to Sligo hospital so I'm lucky it is very relaxed there not many rules about what mother can and cant do in labour. Also has one of the lowest rates of intervention in Ireland

jw297

I also read What to Expect when You're Expecting. I found it good and covered everything I had questions about. However, I would warn that it also covers lots of things that might happen during the pregnancy, so if you're prone to worrying just be aware that not all of these things will happen!

There are a lot of websites where you can sign up for weekly email updates of your baby's progress (The What to Expect when You're Expecting website is one). I find that quite nice as a little update once a week.

Just from my own personal experience, I would say that the most important thing is to take heed of your doctor's advice regarding supplements and nutrition as they will be able take into account things like iron levels, any dietary requirements and allergies, things like that. During the first few weeks of my pregnancy I spent a lot of time on the internet and to be honest you can find advice for and against pretty much anything and everything once you start looking, and it's not always useful advice.

Congratulations by the way! The shock and terror is completely normal One of the things I'm liking about pregnancy lasting for 9 months is that it's giving me plenty of time to get my head around it!

Cat Melodeon

Congratulations!

+1 for the 'What to Expect' books, they're great for every stage of pregnancy and childrearing.

I also love the Better Birth Book by Tracy Donegan (she posts on here sometimes) as it's full of really positive birth stories for every type of birth - natural or c-section, hospital or home birth. It also gives stats about the different Irish hospitals although a lot of that is a bit out of date now (time for a new edition maybe Tracy?!)

I don't recommend the Irish Pregnancy Journal by Peter Boylan, consultant obs at the NMH. It's the opposite of Ina May Gaskin, the whole vibe from it is 'do exactly what your consultant tells you', it gives no time to natural/normal birth scenarios, does a lot of scaremongering and completely contradicts HSE advice on breastfeeding. You don't need any of that on a first pregnancy.

Rosy Posy

The 'What to Expect' books should be called 'How to Worry'- I was given it in my first pregnancy and had to get rid of it because it was making me paranoid and scared about the whole process. A really nice light hearted but comprehensive book is 'Up the Duff' by Kaz Cooke. I also really enjoyed 'Spiritual Midwifery' by Ina May Gaskin...it has some great pictures too.

SanFran07

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

Congratulations!

+1 for the 'What to Expect' books, they're great for every stage of pregnancy and childrearing.

I also love the Better Birth Book by Tracy Donegan (she posts on here sometimes) as it's full of really positive birth stories for every type of birth - natural or c-section, hospital or home birth. It also gives stats about the different Irish hospitals although a lot of that is a bit out of date now (time for a new edition maybe Tracy?!)

2nd edition coming in September with all the new stats.

zinzan

+1 for 'What to expect..'

What I would say though is don't expect anything to go 'by the book', every pregnancy and every child is different so don't be stressing out if it's not like the book says! (and don't read too many books!)

for a lighter look at the whole thing, Haynes do a Baby manual!

Baby Manual

It's readily available online (amazon etc.)
It's extremely basic, but is a bit of fun to read - it also has pics of baby poo so it prepares you for the weird colours etc. that the little things can produce!!

stargazer 68

Well, for a bit of a laugh read

The Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You

Comical anecdotes and its a book you will read over and over again.

I am a friend

Dont but the 'Irish Pregnancy Book' by Dr Peter Boylan. Its quite dear and I didnt learn anything new from it.

Ayla

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

I am going to hospital wasn't able to get a midwife for a home birth in my area. I did find it a bit anti hospital but I found it is giving me the courage to stand up for myself and more confident about my ability to give birth in hospital just as happily because I did really want a home birth and at the start was terrified of going to hospital. I'm going to Sligo hospital so I'm lucky it is very relaxed there not many rules about what mother can and cant do in labour. Also has one of the lowest rates of intervention in Ireland

+1

I luckily stumbled upon this book with my first preg and was so happy I did. It told the story of many women who had healthy, natural pregs and labours - not a very common thing to read (many people are more prone to scaremonger, you don't usually hear the good - and more frequent - side of the story). This was the only thing I read (reread) in prep for my second childbirth.

I would also second those here who've said the "What to Expect" series can actually frighten people b/c it tells what could possibly happen, not what generally goes. Also, it tracks the average preg, so if your girlfriend doesn't wind up being 100% average - as many of us haven't been - it might worry her (ie: kicks are felt around week 20, so if your gf thinks this is what will happen but doesn't wind up feeling anything until week 23+ she'll start to panic thinking something is wrong).

There is so much info - and misinfo - out there. Makes for a landmine at this very vunerable time for you and your gf, but welcome to the joys that is parenthood!

Oh, and another thought - have your gf go to her GP as soon as possible so she (and you) will understand exactly what the timeline for her preg management will be. There is a massive variation in care based entirely on who her GP is & what hospital she'll be attending, so there's no point in her thinking she'll have 2 scans if her medical team only does one, just like there's no good in thinking she'll see this consultant at week x, y & z if her medical team has the system set up differently.