From the time she learns that she is pregnant, a woman has many decisions to make: Where will she have her baby? Who will be her caregiver? Throughout her pregnancy, she is likely to be offered a range of medical advice, tests and assessments: - Blood tests - Ultrasound - Genetic screenings - Fetal monitoring - Nutritional advice At childbirth, she will have still more choices: Caesarean or vaginal birth? Pain relief or none? Yet, few women actually make these decisions, rather, the decisions are made for them. Tests and procedures are offered not as a matter of choice, but as a matter of course. Are they necessary? Are they good for you and your baby? How accurate are they? Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence answers all these questions and more. Some routine tests have not been proven effective either to assess, predict or diagnose various pregnancy-related conditions, and can prove stressful for expectant mothers. How do you know, then, what is appropriate for you and your baby, which tests are useful, and which advice is sound? Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence educates expectant mothers on all aspects of their care, tests, procedures and options, and enables them to make informed choices for a stress-free, healthy pregnancy and birth. The authors also offer the most up-to-date, accurate and reliable information normally available only to doctors on the effectiveness of the procedures. Drawing from a medical text called Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth, family doctor Joyce Barrett and writer Teresa Pitman have made this valuable information accessible and highly readable for the layperson for the first time.
Teresa Pitman has been writing about birth, breastfeeding and parenting for more than 25 years. She co-writes the popular "Steps and Stages" columns in Today's Parent, Canada's national parenting magazine, and has also written for many other magazines, including Mothering, Family Fun, Chatelaine, and More. She also has 14 published books. As a long-time La Leche League Leader, she was thrilled to be asked to co-write the 8th Edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (published in 2010).
Teresa has been invited to speak at conferences across Canada and the US and as far away as New Zealand. She's the mother of four grown children and the grandmother of four and lives in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
