Carrying a Little Extra Review

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(More customer reviews)I just finished reading this book. I borrowed it from the library thank goodness! Anyhow, I just recently found myself unexpectedly pregnant and am obese. I am very concerned about my health and was looking for a supportive book to help reassure me, and to provide tips on helping me improve my outcome. This book does provide tips--by using scare tactics! The first half of the book is filled with statistics on all the horrible things that can happen to overweight women who get pregnant---how much more likely they are to have their babies die, how much more likely they are to end up with a C-section, how much more likely they are to end up diabetic or hypertensive, have a baby with birth defects, etc, etc. One section even alluded to pregnancy termination as an alternative (and believe me I am very pro-choice, but I felt like anyone reading this book would be intimidated into believing an abortion was better than facing pregnancy while overweight). So the first half of the book was the "pit of terror". The 2nd half of the book was all about minimizing weight gain, and how obese women need to watch what they eat and exercise because too much weight gain will lead to (re-read first half of the book *rolling my eyes*). The entire book read like some scare tactic to frighten fat women into having abortions, starving themselves while pregnant, or scaring the ... out of them so they spend the entire 9 mos obsessing about whether or not they are going to give birth to a deformed baby, have a C-section, or die.
Please do NOT get this book unless you are a masochist and enjoy being upset. I was looking for a book that would be supportive, because after all I already am pregnant and don't need to be reminded about how terrible it is that I got pregnant in the first place. To anyone looking for support, there are some very plus-sized friendly websites out there. I was over 300 lbs when I delivered my last 2 babies and had perfectly normal pregnancies and deliveries with no complications. My skinny sister on the other hand suffered from severe pre-eclampsia with all 3 of her pregnancies.
It is possible to have good outcomes, and what women need is support and not to be terrified. This book is very fat-phobic in my opinion.

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The first health guide for plus-size moms-to-be. For the pregnant woman, or the woman trying to conceive, weight problems provide a special set of challenges. This is certainly not the time for strict dieting and strenuous exercise...yet sensible weight management is an essential part of mother's and baby's health. In this book women can find the facts they need on:€ How weight affects fertility € Gaining enough weight for a healthy baby while avoiding the risk of excess pounds€ Gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia€ Avoiding premature delivery, caesarean section, and other complications€ The dos and don'ts of exercise€ Nutrition: managing your weight while you wait€ Emotional issues€ Breastfeeding and postpartum health maintenance

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