Kathy Fray - Oh Baby...: Birth, Babies & Motherhood Uncensored

The information and advice presented in this book have been reviewed by medical doctors. They should not, however, substitute for the advice of your GP, alternative healer, LMC or other trained health professionals. You are advised to consult with healthcare professionals with regard to all matters that may require medical attention or diagnosis, and to check before administering or undertaking any course of treatment.

Accurate Australasian maternity medical statistics can be difficult to locate. Other international research statistics (mainly UK/USA) often have dramatically varying percentages. So, as a disclaimer, I need to say that none of the statistics quoted in this book are guaranteed. However, I certainly have, to the best of reasonable logic, attempted to give you the most accurate information possible. This is not a medical journal it is a girlfriends guide.

In any gathering of women there is a camaraderie that exists among those who have experienced childbirth. Its like a secret handshake or an ultraviolet mark that only they know distinguishes them as veterans of the same war A pregnant woman such as yourself is a probationary member of this sorority And after this forty-week (more or less) probationary period will come the magic time when you will become a charter member, when you will have passed the ultimate hazing ritual: DELIVERY.

This sorority of women is full of all sorts of self-congratulation, because only another mother knows what each of us has gone through to qualify for membership. Like veterans of war, we show our battle scars like medals: Caesarean sections, stretch marks, our inability to sneeze without wetting our pants Secretly we know, we are Earths real heroes.

Vicki Iovine The Girlfriends Guide To Pregnancy

C hildbirth, babies, motherhood and parenting have become some of the most frustratingly confusing and hotly contended subjects for us westernised adults to deal with. In our parents days it was so much simpler. There were fewer theories, so policies were more straightforward. But today our lives exist with the smorgasbord buffet or supermarket syndrome of data asphyxiation. We have a staggering amount of options to choose from and so many decisions that will need to be made. Nearly every theory will conflict somewhat with another, or two practices directly oppose each other both, of course, always able to prove their case with indisputable evidence! Aarrrgggghhhh!

As for the physical process of giving birth! Surely for a first-time mother-to-be it is an enigma how so many contrasting opinions could have been formed surrounding an event that has already occurred billions of times over. How on earth is a new mum-to-be expected to know if she is making the correct informed consent decisions? (Dont you loathe that term? Well if you dont yet, you probably will eventually.)

I liken the child-birthing experience to a complicated labyrinth. Now you know that this maze has a start, you also know it definitely has an end you do know you will eventually be arriving at that exit door of giving birth to your baby. But how fast or slow the journey will be, how easy or difficult it will be, how empowering or demoralising it will feel, and how much assistance you will need along the way The answers are all shrouded in Mysterys cloak you wont ever know until afterwards. Bugger!

What you can do should do must do is cheat by having a really good aerial look over the labyrinth before you start. And that is what the first chapters of this book are committed to helping you through the maze (hazing did you say?) of giving birth. You must understand physiologically the birthing process your body will go through. Knowledge is empowering ask any second-time mum.