The ultimate guide to conception, birth, and everything in between.

Unlike all those otherbossy, tell-you-what-to-do titles, this funny, entertaining guide presents expectant parents with all the facts on such perennial hot topics as pain relief during labor, episiotomy, and circumcision, and empowers them to make informed personal choices. It's packed with tools you won't find anywhere else, including:

* Charts highlighting the risks of using various over-the-counter drug productsduring pregnancy

* Lists of the ten best — and worst --baby products

* A set of emergency childbirth procedures

* Forthright discussions of difficult topics like infertility, high-risk pregnancy, and pregnancy and infant loss that other books are loathe to tackle

A book that lives up to its name, author Ann Douglas has packed a remarkable amount of text, charts and tables into this 500-plus page volume that covers nearly every aspect of pregnancy, from considering pregnancy (is there ever a "good" time to do it?) to nutrition, exercise, breast-feeding and the top 10 worries for each trimester.

Incredibly comprehensive yet easy to follow, Douglas, author of a number of pregnancy books, also covers infertility, high-risk pregnancy, miscarriage and infant loss. Charts and tables show how chronic disease, as well as prescription and non-prescription drugs, can affect a pregnancy. Wondering if you're too old to conceive or give birth? Douglas discusses the facts of pregnancy past ages 20, 30 and 40.

"The Complaint Department" chapter discusses nearly every conceivable ache, pain and medical issue that can arise during pregnancy and how to deal with them. Facts and figures, as well as quotes that are pertinent to each topic, are dispersed throughout. A huge listing of organizations and Web sites that deal with everything from breast-feeding to adoption rounds out this volume. Very little is discussed when it comes to postpregnancy and baby care; that will be covered in the author's upcoming book, "The Mother of All Baby Books." (Copyright 2002 Chicago Tribune Company, Chicago Tribune, June 16, 2002 Sunday)

"...my summer reading has been filled up..." (Eastern Eye, August 2003)

This volume presents expectant parents with all the facts - including prenatal care, the use of over-the-counter drugs during pregnancy, physical and emotional changes, exercise, breastfeeding and pain relief during labour.

"The must-read pregnancy book! Ann Douglas has created the most comprehensive guide to pregnancy we've ever seen." ?Denise & Alan Fields, authors of Baby Bargains Visit Hungry Minds online at www.hungryminds.com

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Are You Really Ready to Have a Baby?

Chapter 2: Your Pre-Game Plan.

Chapter 3: Sperm, Meet Egg.

Chapter 4: Missed Conceptions.

Chapter 5: Winning at Baby Roulette.

Chapter 6: Operation Healthy Baby.

Chapter 7: The Worry Zone.

Chapter 8: The Complaint Department.

Chapter 9: To Test or Not to Test?

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

Chapter 11: When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect.

Chapter 12: Life After Baby.

Appendixes.

Appendix A: Glossary.

Appendix B: Birth Plan.

Appendix C: Emergency Childbirth Procedures.

Appendix D: Directory of Organizations.

Appendix E: Web Site Directory.

Appendix F: Statistics at a Glance.

Appendix G: Recommended Reading.

Index.