Straightforward, stress-reducing answers to the most common pregnancy and post-pregnancy questions.
A compilation of advice on pregnancy, birth and infants.
When London-based journalist Geddes discovered she was pregnant, she began "obsessing over what this jelly bean–shaped blob (which already showed signs of extraordinary wit and intelligence) was doing in there." In order to answer the many questions she now had regarding pregnancy, labor and the care of newborns, the author dove into scientific journals, newspaper articles and the brains of doctors to sift the data and scads of conflicting reports. The result is this assemblage of 150 questions and answers. The many topics include eating ("How dangerous is it to eat Camembert and blue cheese?"; "Do pregnant women really eat coal?”; "Can unborn babies taste what Mom is eating?”), concerns about the growing fetus ("Can a baby detect its mother's mood?”; “Do unborn babies dream?"; “How do fingerprints develop?”); labor; C-sections vs. vaginal births; the pros and cons of a home delivery vs. a hospital birth; and the physical and emotional aftereffects of labor on the mother. In the section on newborns, Geddes covers pacifiers, breast-feeding and bottle feeding, the significance of the color of baby poop, infant sleeping habits and whether one can influence the gender of a child. "Having a baby can be one of the greatest joys that life bestows, but it is hard work,” writes the author. “We can do without any unnecessary guilt, anxiety, and doubt." Geddes addresses the multitude of concerns any woman experiencing pregnancy for the first time may have and offers solid, no-nonsense answers, effectively alleviating much of the guilt, anxiety and doubt any new parent may face. She also includes a helpful glossary for readers unfamiliar with the many new terms they will encounter, including, among dozens of others, bilirubin, hindmilk, syntocinon and ventouse.
Straightforward, stress-reducing answers to the most common pregnancy and post-pregnancy questions.Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4516-8499-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
A forceful examination of women who find in their 40s and 50s a psychological growth hormone to replace lost estrogen. Apter (Working Women Don't Have Wives, 1993, etc.) chose 80 British and American women between the ages of 39 and 55 for this study, interviewing and observing them over approximately four years. Although most students of women at midlife choose 50 as a point of departure, Apter believes it is in their 40s that women begin to reassess their lives and their choices. Her subjects are classified into four role types: the traditional, who tend to cast themselves as mothers, wives, helpers; the innovators, career women pioneering in the working world of men; the expansive, who break away from past patterns and set new goals; and the protestors, who try to harness powerful adolescent energy constrained earlier by circumstance. What all these subjects have in common is an urge at some point in their 40s to reevaluate their lives, first with alarm, then with resignation, and finally with determination to face change and take risks. As a result of these internal, often unvoiced struggles, subtle shifts in attitude may herald dramatic revisions of lifestyle, like turning down a long-sought law partnership, or more delicate fine-tuning of personal relationships. The introductory chapter is an outstanding synopsis of the new context in which women find themselves: a society that still renders women over 50 invisible, but in which those very women are filled with energy, hope, and a willingness ``to construct a new self and a new future.'' Apter tends to dismiss menopause as a midlife marker, ignoring the fact that it may trigger the painful but rewarding process of reappraisal that she describes. For middle-class women over 40, a sometimes eloquent, always readable mirror of their struggle to come to terms with growing older in a society still oriented to youth and beauty. (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-393-03766-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
A moving, unvarnished look at living with autism and a helpful guide to action.
In this emotionally charged memoir, Hall tells the story of her first 15 years with her severely autistic son.
The author was a successful acting coach for children in feature films and television. In her mid-30s, intensely spiritual with strong ties to her Jewish religion, she also felt the pull of motherhood. When that didn’t pan out, she and her husband adopted a two-year-old boy from a Russian orphanage. When Neal started to display autistic behavior, and Hall moved past her denial, she had the good fortune of hooking up with a doctor who counseled loving engagement with Neal—not to control, but to seek understanding—something that struck a familiar note from her professional work. Here she details the process of broaching Neal’s protective sequestration. She has gainful experience—even wisdom—to impart, as well as the engrossing tales of the intense realities of living with an autistic child, including the constant search for caretakers who appreciate “that the seemingly bizarre behaviors of autism have meaning and purpose.” Hall excels in capturing the piquancy of the Russian orphanage, the explosiveness of Neal’s caustic tantrums and, most impressively, getting readers into her son’s head to recognize the profound mental energy involved in organizing each little step of activity and the excruciating pain that attends sensory sensitivity. Answering a felt need for community, she started The Miracle Project, which brings autistics and their families together in a safe, dynamic environment to foster creativity through the theater arts.
A moving, unvarnished look at living with autism and a helpful guide to action.Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-174380-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Neal Porter/Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2010
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