Bumpology · the Myth-Busting Pregnancy Book for Curious Parents-To-Be by Geddes, Linda -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Dedication Foreword One: Bump

Food and Drink

1. Why do pregnant women crave unhealthy food? 2. Do pregnant women really eat coal? 3. What causes morning sickness? 4. Is there anything I can do to reduce morning sickness? 5. How much alcohol is it safe to drink during pregnancy? 6. Can unborn babies taste what Mom is eating? 7. Can Mom’s food fads influence her baby’s palate? 8. Is coffee bad for my baby? 9. Can I eat peanuts during pregnancy? 10. Should pregnant women really eat for two? 11. How dangerous is it to eat Camembert and blue cheese?

The Pregnant Body

12. Can the shape of my bump or anything else predict the gender of my child? 13. Why don’t pregnant women topple over? 14. Why do women get a linea nigra and other brown patches on their skin during pregnancy? 15. Is there anything I can do to prevent stretch marks? 16. Do big parents have bigger babies? 17. Why do some women show more than others? And why do women show earlier on in second pregnancies? 18. Does a woman’s body shape permanently change after pregnancy? 19. Can Jacuzzis and saunas really cause miscarriage? 20. Is it safe to have sex? 21. Why do so many human embryos miscarry before twelve weeks?

Exercise

22. Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy? 23. What stomach exercises can I do when pregnant? 24. Will lying on my back harm my baby? 25. Do pelvic-floor exercises actually work? 26. How do I know if I’m doing my pelvic-floor exercises properly?

Baby on the Brain

27. Does pregnancy make women forgetful? 28. Is stress during pregnancy bad for my baby? 29. Can men get pregnancy symptoms, too? 30. Why do women go into nesting overdrive in the final weeks of pregnancy? 31. Are some women naturally more maternal than others? 32. Do men change when they become dads?

The Developing Baby

33. When does a baby become conscious? 34. Does a wriggly bump equal a boisterous baby? 35. Can a baby detect its mother’s mood? 36. What do babies learn during their time in the womb? 37. Will playing Mozart to my bump make my baby more intelligent? 38. Will my baby look like Mom or Dad? 39. Do unborn babies dream? 40. Are babies more active at night? 41. How do fingerprints develop?

Two: Birth

Get a Move On

42. Who decides when it’s time to come out? 43. Can my state of mind delay labor? 44. Is it normal for pregnancies to run past their due date? 45. Can curry or anything else help trigger labor? 46. Does having a membrane sweep work? 47. Will being induced mean I’m less likely to have a natural birth? 48. Will rocking on my hands and knees cause my baby to turn over? 49. Can I take a bath once my water has broken?

The Big Push

50. Why do humans find it so difficult to give birth? 51. Why are human babies born so helpless? 52. What’s the biggest baby ever born? 53. Is there any way to predict how long labor will last? 54. Are vaginal births really better than C-sections? 55. Are home births riskier than hospital births? 56. Does walking or squatting speed up labor? 57. Should I push? 58. Is it better to tear or be cut in terms of healing? 59. Does perineal massage work? 60. Is there anything else I can do to prevent tearing? 61. Will delaying cord-clamping benefit my baby?

Ouch!

62. What’s more painful: childbirth or having your leg chopped off? 63. Do hormones block the pain of labor? 64. Why do women come back for more? 65. Can hypnosis or alternative therapies reduce labor pain? 66. Does an epidural make a C-section more likely? 67. Do gas and air or Demerol relieve pain?

The Post-Pregnancy Body

68. What causes the baby blues? 69. Why can’t I poop? 70. How do I know if my stitches are okay? 71. Can other countries (for example, France) teach us anything about getting back into shape after birth? 72. Is it normal to be turned off by sex after birth? 73. Is there anything I can do to keep my breasts from sagging after breast-feeding? 74. Do women who breast-feed really lose their baby weight faster than those who bottle-feed? 75. Do cells from my baby live on in my body after birth?

Three: Babies

Portrait of a Newborn

76. Does birth distress the baby? 77. Why do newborns look like their dads? 78. What do newborns know? 79. How much can newborns see? 80. Why do newborns have blue eyes? 81. How do babies go from breathing nothing to breathing air? 82. Why do newborn babies smell so good? 83. Does skin-to-skin contact really soothe my baby? 84. How do newborns know to seek the nipple for food? 85. What causes the Moro or “startle” reflex?

Baby Bodies

86. Are baby growth charts accurate? 87. Do big babies grow into big adults? 88. Why don’t babies have moles? 89. What causes colic? 90. What is the best way to settle a crying baby? 91. Why do some belly buttons become “outies”? 92. Do babies heal faster than adults? 93. Why do babies gnaw on things even before they start teething? 94. Why is baby hair a different color from adult hair, and why do babies lose their hair? 95. Can newborns sweat? 96. Do fontanelles hurt? 97. Are pacifiers good or bad for babies?

Sleep

98. Can babies tell the difference between night and day? 99. Are a baby’s sleep patterns inherited? 100. How can I get my baby to sleep through the night? 101. Is co-sleeping good or bad for my baby? 102. Will leaving my baby to cry cause any long-term damage? 103. What’s more effective: introducing strict routines or immediately responding to my baby’s demands?

The White Stuff

104. How does breast-feeding work? 105. Should I feed on demand or wait three to four hours between feeds? 106. Is breast really best for babies? 107. How long do I need to breast-feed in order for my baby to reap the benefits? 108. Could combining breast- and formula-feeding offer babies the best of both worlds? 109. What is in formula milk, and why does it taste fishy? 110. Does “nipple confusion” really exist? 111. Does what I eat change the flavor of my milk? 112. How much alcohol gets into breast milk? 113. Is morning breast milk any different from evening breast milk? 114. Can men lactate?

Weaning

115. When should I wean my baby on to solid foods? 116. How do I get my baby to like vegetables? 117. Is there any evidence for baby-led weaning being better than parent-led weaning? 118. Should I force my baby to eat? 119. How many calories does a baby need? 120. Should I avoid feeding my baby nuts or eggs to protect it against allergies?

The Brown Stuff

121. Are reusable diapers really greener than disposables? 122. What about eco-friendly disposables? 123. Why is baby poop yellow? 124. Why does baby poop smell like mustard? 125. Is baby poop “cleaner” than adult poop?

Baby Brains

126. Is the temperament of a newborn carried through into childhood and beyond? 127. When do babies develop a sense of themselves as individuals? 128. Can parents modify their baby’s personality traits? 129. Does the order of birth influence children’s personalities? 130. Why do twins develop different personalities? 131. Do babies like some people better than others? 132. How much do babies remember? 133. Why don’t we remember being babies? 134. Does day care make babies sociable or stressed? 135. Are babies born in summer any different from winter babies? 136. Does being born at the start of the school year give you an academic advantage?

Language

137. When will my baby understand what I’m saying? 138. Why do babies say “Dada” before “Mama”? 139. When does baby babble take on meaning? 140. Do babies communicate without language? 141. Do more physical babies develop language faster than sedentary babies? 142. Why do women speak to babies in a silly voice? 143. When do babies start learning language? 144. When is the best time to introduce a second language?

The Next One

145. Are women more fertile after having a baby? 146. Am I likely to become pregnant when breast-feeding? 147. I had no problem getting pregnant last time, so why am I struggling to conceive now? 148. Why do some women seem to give birth only to boys? 149. Is there anything I can do to influence the gender of my baby? 150. Do twins run in families?

Acknowledgments About Linda Geddes Notes Glossary Copyright

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