Women Pregnancy

When Helen Ledwick discovered she had a prolapse after the birth of her second child, she was devastated, not just by the constant discomfort but also by the pervasive shame she felt and the lack of available information and support. When she learned that one in three women have pelvic floor disorders, she was horrified...and determined to do something about it. In this warm, factual and anecdote-rich look at a taboo subject, Helen shares her story along with those of many other women.

Twenty-one-year-old Mallie Williams—scrappy, headstrong, and wise beyond her years—has just landed on her feet following a tumultuous youth when the unthinkable happens: She is violently assaulted. The crime leaves her comatose, surrounded by friends and family who are hoping against hopes for a full recovery. But soon Mallie's small community is divided. The rape has left Mallie pregnant, and while some friends are convinced that she would never keep the pregnancy, others are sure that a baby would be the only good thing to come out of all of this pain. Who gets to decide?

A candid, ultimately buoyant debut story collection about the realities of the "baby years", whether you're having one or not.

Christa Parravani was 40 years old, in a troubled marriage, and in bad financial straits when she learned she was pregnant with her third child. She and her family were living in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she had taken a professorial position at the local university. Haunted by a childhood steeped in poverty and violence and by young adult years rocked by the tragic death of her identical twin sister, Christa hoped her professor’s salary and health care might set her and her young family on a safe and steady path.

Quinn "Q" Boothroyd is a young British lawyer married to an American and living in New York City. She's checked off most of the boxes on her "Modern Woman's List of Things to Do Before Hitting 30", and her busy working life has been relatively painless. But when her doctor tells her she must spend the last three months of her pregnancy lying in bed, Q is thrown into a tailspin. Initially bored and frustrated, Q's days soon fill up as she tries to reconnect with her workaholic husband.

She'd resolved to "act more sophisticated" and "get out more". But the rumpled bedding, the coffee brewed by other hands, and The Note reminded Rachel Harper that she'd done something completely out of character. She'd brought a man home from a bar. And apparently made a baby.

What if you could see inside the head of the guy you love? Know his every thought? Feel his every dream and fantasy? The mystery girl who's Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn can. She tells us the intoxicating story of her beloved Gideon, an adorably clueless boy who flukes his way into New England's fanciest prep school.

In this moving memoir, Shirley Smith, wife of NBA Champion and All-Star J. R. Smith, tells the story of giving birth to one of the youngest premature babies to survive - using her experience to heighten awareness of the crisis of Black maternal and infant health and pay tribute to Black women’s resilience.

The journey to fertility can be daunting and filled with obstacles. In The Expert Guide to Fertility, OB-GYNs Joseph S. Sanfilippo, MD, MBA, and Aarti Kumar, MD, offer the information you need in your journey to achieve pregnancy. They provide an overview of the human reproductive system, describe issues that may impede conception, and explain various medical, surgical, and lifestyle interventions shown to improve one's chances of becoming pregnant.

In this memoir of her 40 weeks and five days in hell, Andrea Askowitz takes an unflinching look at her pregnant life from struggling with hormones to poor body image to a self imposed exile from family to take us on a ride through the turbulence of single lesbian motherhood. Along the way we meet her liberal parents as they struggle with their daughter's choices, the lover she longs to reconnect with who goes M.I.A. before the pregnancy, the friends who turn out to be no help at all and strangers who offer up some unlikely kindness.

Becoming a mother can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life. Through all of that, your body and emotional state can go through a lot of changes. Learning how to navigate your way through the feelings you may be experiencing after childbirth and through the childhood years can take a toll on your mental and physical state. Taking care of yourself is not just a luxury, it is a necessity for being the best parent you can be. Feeding your mind, body, and soul with simple meditation, nourishing foods, and exercise is a must for new and seasoned moms.

Women are drawn to yoga for its physical benefits, its ability to induce calm and presence, and its offering of spiritual depth. Whole Mama Yoga offers a way to extend yoga’s gifts into the motherhood experience and offers guidance that eases not just physical discomforts but existential ones. Many moms and birth parents balance boundless love and boredom, overwhelming joy and moments of isolation, self-confidence and self-doubt. Yoga provides an opportunity to practice the much needed body love and self-connection many parents need.

Isabelle Harrington is furious when arrogant playboy Spencer Chatsfield becomes her new boss. He's also the man who shattered her heart years ago. The only thing she can't stand more than Spencer is the sizzling chemistry still burning between them!

It's 1956, and while Melbourne is in a frenzy gearing up for the Olympics, the women of Australia are cooking up a storm for their chance to win the equivalent of a year's salary in the extraordinary Australian Women's Weekly cookery contest. For two women, in particular, the prize could be life-changing. For war widow and single mum Ivy Quinn, a win would mean more time to spend with her twelve-year-old son, Raymond. Mother of five Kathleen O'Grady has no time for cooking competitions, but the prize could offer her a different kind of life for herself and her children.

Twin to Twin is one 29-year-old mother's harrowing and inspiring adventure through a high-risk twin pregnancy. But this isn't only an audiobook about pregnancy. It's also an inspirational story to which all women can relate, especially when confronting any type of adversity.

Autumn, a mother-to-be, has an unsteady grip on the meaning of family. Her father abandoned her. She hasn’t seen her estranged mother in more than twelve years. And her marriage is crumbling. As Autumn struggles with painful memories of her childhood and fosters hopes for her own baby’s future, she must come to terms with the past to be the mother she and her child need her to be.

For many women in their 20s and 30s, the greatest professional hurdle they'll need to overcome has little to do with their work life. The most focused, confident, and ambitious women can find themselves derailed by a tiny little thing: a new baby. While more workplaces are espousing family-friendly cultures, women are still subject to a "parenting penalty", and high-profile conflicts between parenting and the workplace are all over the news, from the controversy over companies covering the costs of egg freezing to the debate over parental leave and child care inspired by Mark Zuckerberg's two-month paternity leave.

Prologue to an Epitaph is an exciting, moving account in which the author relays a compelling narrative from four different viewpoints - the diametrically opposing perspectives of a neonatal intensive care unit nurse, the teen mother, her younger brother, and the preemie herself.

Until a diagnosis of early menopause in her late twenties, Harriet spent much of her young life feeding neuroses and insecurities with obsessive internet searching (including compulsive googling of exes, prospective partners, and their exes), and indulging in whirlwind ‘parasocial relationships’ (translation: one-sided affairs with celebrities she has never met).

Eating for Two draws on the latest research and supplies evidence-based information on prenatal nutrition as well as ways a mother can minimize her exposure to harmful toxic substances in our food and water that could harm the baby.