The Essential Over 35 Pregnancy Guide (Paperback)

~ Ellen Lavin (Author) "Preparing for pregnancy before conceiving is one of the smartest and most comforting steps a woman can take..." (more)
Key Phrases: midlife pregnancy, fertility check, fertility signals (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT HAVING A BABY WHEN YOU'RE OVER 35

Age 35-plus can be a great time to have a baby, and the chances for getting pregnant and carrying to term are good. Every day in the United States, more than a thousand women over the age of 35 give birth to healthy babies. Ellen Lavin, a marriage, family and child counselor specializing in pregnancy issues, and the 44-year-old mother of a three-year-old son, provides the answers every later-in-life mother is looking for, from pre conception thoughts to childbirth.

Get the most up-to-date information about:
Specific steps to take in preparing yourself for a healthy pregnancy
How to improve your chances of getting pregnant
The biology of conceiving after 40
The common-sense, positive reality about delivering a healthy baby at 35 and over
Prenatal tests: the benefits and risks, including a thorough look at amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling
Myths vs. reality about health risks during pregnancy
Causes and likelihood of miscarriage
Getting past your fears and embracing your pregnancy
When to consider infertility treatment and what to expect
and much more

Including: Month-by-month pregnancy progress, with particular attention to the concerns of women having a baby later in life.

About the Author

Ellen Rose Lavin, Ph. D. in psychology and has been a practicing licensed counselor for the past 13 years and specializes in pregnancy issues. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband and three-year-old son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380788195
• ISBN-13: 978-0380788194
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #646,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ..may make you feel worse about pregnancy in later life..., August 5, 2000

By	R. Peterson "International citizen" (This month? In Tbilisi, Georgia (Former Soviet Republic)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading Natalie Angiers' book, "Woman: An Intimate Geography", this book left something to be desired. As a primer for women who are over 35 and either want to be or are pregnant, it was not bad, however, for a woman who is over 35 and wants to be pregnant and has read a good deal about her body and her possibilities, this book was sort of more the Reader's Digest variety. This book might well serve as a resource for all the different tests an older mother can have to ensure fetal health. It also however, stressed a little too much on all the various reasons that older women have a higher risk of conceiving/delivering unhealthy babies. Once I had finished it I had a hard time convincing myself that it was 'going to be ok' to conceive at 37 and deliver a health child to term - not the sort of feeling one wants at 37 before her first child. In any case, the key to understanding the point of reference for this book was the fact that the author was a doctor (hence all those tests) and had had her first child at 41.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too little, too late, May 20, 2001

By	Kate - See all my reviews

There is very littl information on pregnancy itself in this book, but LOTS aobut how horribly difficult it is to get and stay pregnant if you are older.

I found this book uninformative and scary. I much prefer Your Over-35 Week by Week Pregnancy Guide. It has lots of information, is well organized and easy to read and is thorough without being scary.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comfort, February 27, 2000

By	"nemodat" (Canada) - See all my reviews

There aren't many books for pregnant women over 35. The other pregnancy guides make me feel paranoid or leave me uninformed. This book imparts useful information without leaving me with illusions or fear. A very good balance for such a small book! I also found information in this book I couldn't find in other guides. I recommend it for all mothers-to-be over 35