Carrying a Little Extra [Paperback]

Paula Bernstein (Author), Marlene Clark (Author), Netty Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

The first health guide for plus-size moms-to-be. For the pregnant woman, or the woman trying to conceive, weight problems provide a special set of challenges. This is certainly not the time for strict dieting and strenuous exercise...yet sensible weight management is an essential part of mother's and baby's health. In this book women can find the facts they need on:

€ How weight affects fertility
€ Gaining enough weight for a healthy baby while avoiding the risk of excess pounds
€ Gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia
€ Avoiding premature delivery, caesarean section, and other complications
€ The dos and don'ts of exercise
€ Nutrition: managing your weight while you wait
€ Emotional issues
€ Breastfeeding and postpartum health maintenance

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paula Bernstein, Ph.D., M.D., is an obstetrician and gynecologist in private practice. She is an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and an assistant clinical professor at UCLA Medical Center.

Marlene Clark, R.D., is a registered dietician, has been at Cedars-Sinai for over 25 years, and specializes in eating disorders and weight management. Netty Levine, M.S., R.D., has been a registered dietician at Cedars-Sinai for almost 25 years, counseling pregnant women with weight problems, and is also a lactation educator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425188345
• ISBN-13: 978-0425188347
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Let's induce panic in overweight pregnant women, May 20, 2003

By 

M. Dodson "Mama24Gr8Kiddos" (Apex, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carrying a Little Extra (Paperback)

I just finished reading this book. I borrowed it from the library thank goodness! Anyhow, I just recently found myself unexpectedly pregnant and am obese. I am very concerned about my health and was looking for a supportive book to help reassure me, and to provide tips on helping me improve my outcome. This book does provide tips--by using scare tactics! The first half of the book is filled with statistics on all the horrible things that can happen to overweight women who get pregnant---how much more likely they are to have their babies die, how much more likely they are to end up with a C-section, how much more likely they are to end up diabetic or hypertensive, have a baby with birth defects, etc, etc. One section even alluded to pregnancy termination as an alternative (and believe me I am very pro-choice, but I felt like anyone reading this book would be intimidated into believing an abortion was better than facing pregnancy while overweight). So the first half of the book was the "pit of terror". The 2nd half of the book was all about minimizing weight gain, and how obese women need to watch what they eat and exercise because too much weight gain will lead to (re-read first half of the book *rolling my eyes*). The entire book read like some scare tactic to frighten fat women into having abortions, starving themselves while pregnant, or scaring the ... out of them so they spend the entire 9 mos obsessing about whether or not they are going to give birth to a deformed baby, have a C-section, or die.

Please do NOT get this book unless you are a masochist and enjoy being upset. I was looking for a book that would be supportive, because after all I already am pregnant and don't need to be reminded about how terrible it is that I got pregnant in the first place. To anyone looking for support, there are some very plus-sized friendly websites out there. I was over 300 lbs when I delivered my last 2 babies and had perfectly normal pregnancies and deliveries with no complications. My skinny sister on the other hand suffered from severe pre-eclampsia with all 3 of her pregnancies.

It is possible to have good outcomes, and what women need is support and not to be terrified. This book is very fat-phobic in my opinion.

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For when worrying about pregnancy and obesity isn't enough, June 25, 2003

By 

"mrsdubois" (Aurora, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carrying a Little Extra (Paperback)

What a disappointment! I bought this book seeking some reassurance that, yes, while there's higher risk for large pregnant women, a normal pregnancy with a healthy baby *IS* possible. I didn't receive this reassurance--rather the worst case scenario version of why large women shouldn't breed, with case studies and anecdotal stories about women who have had problems--never once do they tell a story about a woman who was plus-sized who followed some basic care guidelines and had a healthy baby.

I think I'm more worried now than when I picked up the book. Please don't spend money on this. There are better resources out there for larger pregnant women. And you're already paying your doctor--talk to them.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Scares without balance, April 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Carrying a Little Extra (Paperback)

Most of the book is devoted to all the things that the authors suggest are likely to go wrong, with all kinds of scary statistics about an increased risk of birth defects. The book mentions that even taking folic acid might not help a large mom prevent spina bifida in her baby. I don't think this is helpful, especially since nowhere do they point out that even if you face increased risks, the odds are still overwhelmingly in your favor that you will have a healthy baby. I would not recommend this book to anyone since all it seems to offer are reasons to be scared, and doesn't provide any better nutrition advice than you could get from any number of other, much less panic-inducing, pregnancy books.