Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

All You Need to Know

Unsure of all those tests that your doctor wants to order? How big will "Junior" be at 16 weeks gestation? You've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes -- now what? These are just a few of the questions The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy will answer.

Decisions Guide

One of the things that makes this book stand out from all of the other pregnancy books out there is the Decisions Guide. This section will help you make informed decisions regarding how to select a healthcare provider, whether to breast or bottle feed, prenatal testing options, pain relief during childbirth and much more.

Charting Concerns

The book breaks down a pregnancy by weeks and months and allows you to chart concerns and/or problems until you can see your doctor. Charts, pictures and drawings will show your baby at different stages and list things that may or may not be normal for that gestational age.

Everything In Between

From trying to become pregnant to understanding the feelings of becoming a first-time dad, the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy also provides other useful information on health concerns including preterm labor, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. Other reference topics include a month-by-month look at the baby and mom, morning sickness, yeast infections and back pain. This book doesn't sugar coat problems and it does talk about pregnancy complications.

About the Authors

The Mayo Clinic was established in Rochester, Minn., in the late 1800s by Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his two sons, doctors William J. and Charles H. Mayo. The clinic grew from a small countryside practice to what it is now because of the Mayo brothers innovative ideas and hard work in creating and learning new surgical techniques. Today, the Mayo Clinic has two additional locations in Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale, Ariz., as well as numerous regional community-based health care practices nationwide. Dr. Roger W. Harms is medical editor-in-chief at MayoClinic.com and has been with the Mayo Clinic since 1981. He is a consultant and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and his specialty areas include office gynecology, high-risk obstetrics and obstetrical ultrasound.

Where to Find The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

Published in 1994, The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy can be found just about anywhere. On eBay, used copies start about $3.95, and new copies of the book can be found for about $19.95 at MayoClinic.com Bookstore. For about $15, you can also download most of the book. However, your best bet would be to find a copy at your local library, book sale or possibly even from a friend who has had a baby.

Supplemental Books

While The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy only really outlines preconception through postpartum, other books may be helpful in understanding your little one's first year of life:

• The Birth Book by Martha and William Sears
• What to Expect the First Year by Arlene Eisenberg
• The Everything Baby's First Year Book by T.S.Nee