8,39 €
For most men, discovering you're about to be a father comes with a LOT of questions, A Man's Guide to Having a Baby will answer them and many more, guiding you through what it takes to become a reliable, supportive partner and amazing father.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
A Man’s Guide
To Having A Baby
A Man’s Guide
To Having A Baby
Everything a new dad needs to know to care for a newborn
Dominic Bliss
Published in 2013 by Dog 'n' Bone Books
An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd
20–21 Jockey’s Fields519 Broadway, 5th Floor
London WC1R 4BW New York, NY 10012
www.rylandpeters.com
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Text © Dominic Bliss 2013
Design and illustration © Dog 'n' Bone Books 2013
The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 909313 13 2eISBN: 978 1 911026 56 3
Printed in China
Editor: Marion Paull
Design concept: Geoff Borin
Spread design: Emma Forge
Illustration: Kuo Kang Chen
For digital editions, visit
www.cicobooks.com/apps.php
Contents
Introduction
Part 1The Pregnancy
There’s a bun in the oven!
Overcoming fear of fatherhood
Ultrasound scans
Your partner’s changing body
Your baby’s changing body
Mother medical issues
What your pregnant partner can and can’t do
Prenatal and antenatal classes
Birthing options
Get to know your hospital
Preparing the nursery
The sudden birth
Part 2The Birth
When to go to the hospital
Is childbirth really that painful?
C-section (or cesarean)
Meeting your new baby
Naming the baby
Part 3Baby Care
Paternity leave
Wet the baby’s head
Your new tenant
Nursery furniture
Breastfeeding
Bottle-feeding
Bathing the baby
Poop alert!
Baby clothes
Baby ailments
How to hold the baby
Time for bed
Baby meltdowns
Baby immunizations up to one year
Postpartum depression
Dads get baby blues, too
Baby transport
Form filling and thinking ahead
The stay-at-home dad
When does your sex life resume?
Baby first aid
Baby and daddy play
Teething
Baby grooming
Moving on to solids (weaning)
On the menu
Choosing a highchair
Childproofing the house
Professional childcare
Troubleshooting for babies
Baby facts
Useful websites
Index
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
CONGRATULATIONS
So, your partner’s pregnant. You’ve probably already completed your headless-chicken panicky run around the living room and, right now, you need some no-nonsense advice on how to be a thoroughly responsible dad.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. This book will give you all the practical advice you need to survive pregnancy (remember, you’re pregnant, too), childbirth, and the first year of your baby’s life.
Nowadays, modern dads are more involved in pregnancy and birth than ever before in human history. It’s a role you should relish. Some of it will be straightforward and involve common sense; some of it will be fun; and some of it will be downright scary. But at no time will it be boring. Pregnancy and fatherhood are all part of life’s rich pageant.
In this book, I concentrate on the factors that will most affect you, as a father. These include the essentials you need to know about what’s happening to your partner’s body and the baby inside her, but we will skim over the exclusively female aspects of pregnancy. Besides, there are countless books aimed at mothers that cover that kind of stuff—so, not so much about food cravings and sore nipples, but lots on catching the baby, changing diapers, and buying a stroller.
Throughout the book I use the term “partner” to refer to the woman who’s carrying your baby. It’s not the ideal term, I know. She may be your “wife,” your “girlfriend,” or even a one-night stand that got a little too amorous. “Partner” is simply a catch-all description.
Also, a quick note on the use of pronouns may be helpful. When I say “he,” I’m referring to your baby; when I say “she,” I mean your partner. This avoids confusion and makes sense since no women should be reading this book. Of course, there’s a good chance you don’t yet know the sex of your future offspring. If “he” turns out to be a “she,” I apologize in advance.
No more baby jargon!
Trimesters and Braxton Hicks? Come again? When a bunch of pregnant women gets together to talk about babies, dads get decidedly uneasy. It can sound like they’re all speaking a foreign language. Things get even more confusing once medical staff and hospitals wade in. Take control of all that jargon and find out what the hell they’re jabbering on about. Welcome to the idiot’s guide to technical terms used in pregnancy and baby care.
A to Z of baby jargon
A
Amniocentesis: The extraction of amniotic fluid to test for genetic abnormalities.
Amniotic fluid: The fluid that surrounds the baby and protects him while he’s in the womb.
B
Babinski reflex: Stroking the baby’s foot causes the big toe to rise and the other toes to fan out.
Baby blues: A mild depression that many women feel in the days after giving birth.
Blastocyst: The ball of cells that later develops into the embryo.
Braxton Hicks contractions: Contractions that occur a little while before childbirth as the uterus gets ready for the real thing.
C
Cervix: The lower, narrow end of the uterus where it joins with the top of the vagina.
CNM: A certified nurse-midwife.
Contraction: A tightening of the uterus, which thins and dilates the mother’s cervix.
Couvade syndrome: A condition in which the father feels physical symptoms of pregnancy.
Cradle cap: A crusty skin rash that appears on the baby’s scalp.
C-section or cesarean: The surgical procedure used to deliver a baby through the mother’s abdomen.
D
Doula: A maternity nurse, not necessarily trained.
Down’s syndrome: A chromosomal condition resulting in birth defects.
E
Ectopic pregnancy: The embryo implants outside the uterus.
Endometrium: The lining of the uterus.
Epidural: Pain relief injected into the mother’s lower back during childbirth.
F
Forceps delivery: The gentle use of two tongs to pull the baby’s head out of the mother’s vagina while she pushes.
G
Gestational diabetes: A form of diabetes that some women develop during pregnancy.
Gestational hypertension:
When a woman develops high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
H
Hypnobirthing:
Hypnotherapy to ease childbirth.
I
IVF: In vitro fertilization, when the egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the woman’s body.
M
Mastitis: An infection of the mother’s breast.
Meconium: The greenish-black first poo that a baby produces after birth.
Meningitis: Inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Midwife: The healthcare professional who supports the mother during birth.
Miscarriage: When a woman loses the baby during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Mongolian spot: Black or blue marks on a newborn baby’s legs or bottom.
O
OB/GYN:
Obstetrician/gynecologist, medical professionals trained in women’s reproduction.
Oligohydramnios: A condition in which there is too little amniotic fluid in the uterus.
Ovulation: The phase in a woman’s menstrual cycle when a mature egg is available to be fertilized.
P
Pertussis: See Whooping cough, page 68.
Pica: A disorder that causes pregnant women to eat unusual substances, such as coal or starch.
Placenta: The organ that connects the fetus to the wall of the uterus and provides life support.
Placenta previa: The placenta implants too low on the wall of the uterus, near the cervix.
Plagiocephaly: Flattened head syndrome in the baby caused by his position in the womb or, once he’s born, by resting his head on the same spot while asleep.
Polyhydramnios: A condition in which there is too much amniotic fluid in the uterus.
Postpartum (or postnatal) depression: A clinical depression that affects some mothers after childbirth.
Postpartum (or postnatal) psychosis: A more serious, and potentially lethal, version of postpartum depression.
Pre-eclampsia: When the mother has high blood pressure and protein in her urine.
Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH): See Gestational hypertension.
Preterm birth: A premature birth less than 37 weeks into the pregnancy.
S
SIDS: Sudden infant death syndrome, also known as cot death.
Spina bifida: A congenital disorder in which the spinal vertebrae do not fully form.
T
Trimester: One of the three 12-week stages of pregnancy.
U
Ultrasound: A sound pressure wave used to create a picture of the fetus growing in the womb.
Uterus: The mother’s womb where the fetus grows.
V
Vacuum extraction: A rounded cup is applied to the baby’s head and vacuum pressure used to pull him out of the vagina while the mother pushes.
Ventouse: See Vacuum extraction.
Vernix: The white, waxy substance that coats a baby’s skin when he is first born.
W
Weaning: Transitioning a baby from milk to solid food.
Z
Zygote: The earliest stage of an embryo.
The daddy suitability quiz
Find out whether you’ll make a great first-time father. Take our multiple-choice daddy test.