Penny Simkin - Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide

Women who use this book to prepare themselves for labor will be leagues ahead of women who dont, and ahead of most of the professionals who take care of women during labor.

Judith Rooks, CNM; author of Midwifery in America

The single best book for understanding pregnancy and birth.

Carol Jones, CNM; Director of Midwifery, Virginia Mason Clinic, Seattle, WA

This book is authoritative without feeling overwhelming. It keeps the woman and her family in focus and provides a range of options. If expectant parents could have one book, this would be the one.

Trish Booth, MA, LCCE, FACCE; childbirth education consultant, Manlius, NY

A truly wonderful book for expectant families. Its informative, thorough, and helpful. We give it to all our patients, and they think its great, too!

Carolyn Kline, MD, MPH; perinatologist, Eastside Maternal Fetal Medicine, Kirkland and Bellevue, WA

The material is beautifully organized and the presentation is crystal clear.

Sheila Kitzinger, author of The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth

For the most part, pregnancy books are written for and read by women, but if youre a caring father (or father-to-be), this is an outstanding book. It gives the fairest and most complete descriptions of the myriad medical options available during childbirth. It is the best of the many books available.

Tom Seager, father of three, Potsdam, NY

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn : the complete guide / by Penny
Simkin ... [et al.].

p. cm.

Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-88166-531-4 (Meadowbrook) ISBN 978-1-4391-7511-8 (Simon & Schuster)
eISBN 978-1-4516-1600-2

1. Pregnancy. 2. Childbirth. 3. Newborn infantsCare. I. Simkin,
Penny, 1938

RG525.S583 2010

618.2dc22

2010011641

Executive Editor: Megan McGinnis
Editor: Alicia Ester
Creative Director: Tamara JM Peterson
Production Manager: Paul Woods
Index: Beverlee Day

Text 1979, 1984, 2001, 2010 by Parent Trust for Washington Children

All photographs, illustrations, and other graphics are copyrighted and used with permission. Please contact the publisher of this book for copyright information.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or using any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Although the authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book is accurate and current, only your caregiver knows you and your health history well enough to make specific recommendations. The authors, editors, reviewers, and publisher disclaim any liability from the use of this book.

Published by Meadowbrook Press, 6110 Blue Circle Drive, Suite 237, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343

www.meadowbrookpress.com

BOOK TRADE DISTRIBUTION by Simon and Schuster, a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America

To our husbands:

Peter Simkin, Doug Whalley,
Jerry Keppler, Peter Durham, and Tim Hunt.

To our children and their families:

Andy, Bess, Freddy, Charlie, and Eva Rose Simkin;
Linny Simkin and Jeff, Peter, and Callie Jobson;
Mary Simkin-Maass and Greg, Sara Jane, and Amelia Maass;
Elizabeth Simkin, Nick Boyar, and Cole Simkin-Boyar.

Scott, Heidi, Kate, and Adelyn Whalley; Mike Whalley;
Kristin, Max, and Tyler Rose; Brian Platt.

Eric, Courtney, Lucas, and Noah Keppler; Heidi Keppler.

Amelia and Izzi Durham.

Lily and Maya Rose Bolding Hunt.

To the thousands of expectant and new parents whom
we have taught and who have taught us so much.

And to the Great Starts Program of Parent Trust for Washington
Children, which since 1950 has educated, supported, and
encouraged families in their transitions to parenthood.

This book, originally conceived as a class manual called Becoming Parents, was first published by the Childbirth Education Association of Seattle (CEAS) in 1976. Gillian Mitchell, Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, and Ann Keppler wrote and edited it. In 1984, Meadowbrook Press published the first edition of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn (an extensive revision of the original book) with the help of editor Tom Grady. The second edition was published in 1991 with the help of editor Kerstin Gorham. The third edition was published in 2001, with the help of editors Joseph Gredler, Nancy Campbell, and Christine Zuchora-Walske. Editors Megan McGinnis and Alicia Ester helped with the publication of the fourth edition.

Many other people have helped with the creation of this latest edition. We are grateful to:

The fabulous Great Starts instructors, who provided suggestions for revisions, input on content, recommended resources, and more. And especially to Kim James, for always providing intriguing food for thought.

The staff of Parent Trust for Washington Children, especially Jack Edgerton for his leadership, Linda McDaniels for cheerleading the project, and Michele Sonntag for running the Great Starts program so effectively that Janelle Durham could focus her attention on the book revision process.

The Penny Simkin, Inc. staff of Candace Halverson, Tanya Baer, and Molly Kirkpatrick for their assistance and support.

Professional consultants: Diana Koala, MD, and Michelle M. Grandy, RN, CNM.

We also wish to thank the following for their contributions to the artwork of this edition:

Illustrations: Ruth Ancheta and Shanna Alvarez; special thanks to Susan Spellman, for being so easy to work with on so many details of the illustrations.

Photographs: Carlos A. Arguelles; Charlotte R. Brown, Ineffable Images; Bob Cerelli; Sandra Coan; Jan Dowers; Sofia Zadra Goff; Sindea Horste; Samantha Kroop, Park Avenue Art; Willa Kveta; Spike Mafford; Katie McCollough; Medela; Marilyn Nolt; Elisha Rain; Stevens Hospital, Edmonds, WA; and Well-Rounded Maternity Center, Menomonee Falls, WI.

Models: Lisa Black Avolio; April Bolding; Heidi and Kate Whalley; Dina Apostlou with Kosta and Melina; Courtney, Eric, Noah, and Lucas Keppler; Michele Sonntag, Kathleen Porch, and the attendees of First Weeks in April 2010.

Although society, culture, and family life are in constant flux, our basic needs havent changed. For survival, well always require food, drink, shelter, physical safety, emotional satisfaction, spiritual fulfillment, and love and support.

Similarly, while maternity care practices are continually changing the way women are helped to give birth, childbirth itself hasnt changed. How a womans body functions during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum periodand what she needs during these timeshasnt changed since the beginning of humankind.

This fourth edition of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide reflects maternity care in todays society, but it also promotes the fundamental truth that many aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period remain unchanged. Our approach is to first describe those normal, healthy processes along with their typical variations and accompanying emotions; at the same time, we discuss the usual maternity care practices for monitoring them. We next describe comfort measures and self-help techniques for coping with labor, which you and your partner can master during pregnancy. We then cover possible complications and the care practices and procedures that may be needed to resolve them.