Stuart Campbell - Your Pregnancy Day by Day: Watch Your Baby Grow as You Enjoy a Healthy Pregnancy

The approximately 280 days of a normal pregnancy are among the most memorable in a womans life. From the minute she finds out that she is expecting, a pregnant woman becomes eager to know everything that will ensure an enjoyable pregnancy, a safe delivery, and a healthy baby.

Not only will this book help you do all that it will also make you aware of how your baby develops, what he can do, and how he looks while youre waiting for him to be born.

You will find on each page of the diary, practical information on all aspects of pregnancy, labor, and delivery from what you should eat, how you should exercise, the lifestyle choices you should make, and what you can do to ease any complaints, through to choices in childbirth, the different methods of pain relief during labor, and what happens during delivery. And, for those mothers whose babies dont arrive on their estimated dates of delivery, there are two extra weeks of useful information. Though the book is not a definitive guide to pregnancy, it will give you lots of useful information in an easily digestible form.

During the early weeks of development, the progress of your growing baby is illustrated by artwork, which more clearly shows the minute changes taking place. Once these weeks have passed, alongside of the daily advice to the mother, you will find an ultrasound image of a baby of the appropriate age and an explanation of his stage of development or behavior. Im sure you will be delighted by the great range of expressions and actions of which babies are capable. You can be sure that your baby is looking very similar to, and doing the same things as, the babies shown.

Of course, not all babies develop at exactly the same rate and there are differences in length and weight, but doctors are generally agreed about the normal course of development. Therefore, in each of the pregnancy weeks, you can expect your baby to have acquired the abilities and appearance as cataloged over the course of the days of that week and to be approximately the length and weight as expressed in the weeks vital statistics.

There is a difference, however, between the duration of pregnancy and that of gestation. Because pregnancy is dated from your last menstrual period and conception usually happens two weeks later, doctors count the weeks of pregnancy 14 days in advance of your babys actual gestation. Therefore, during the 27th week of pregnancy, for example, your baby will be 24 weeks gestational age until the end of the week, when he attains his 25th week.