As an ecologist, Sandra Steingraber spent her professional life observing how living things interact with their environments.  Now, 38 and pregnant, she had become a habitat—for a population of one.

Having Faith is Steingraber's exploration of the intimate ecology of motherhood. Using her scientist's eye to study the biological drama of new life being knit from the molecules of air, food, and water flowing into her body, she looks at the environmental hazards that now threaten pregnant and breastfeeding women, and examines the effects these toxins can have on a child. Having Faith makes the metamorphosis of a few cells into a baby astonishingly vivid, and the dangers to human reproduction urgently real. 

Clinicians and scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of an evolutionary perspective in studying the aetiology, prevention, and treatment of human disease; the growing prominence of genetics in medicine is further adding to the interest in evolutionary medicine. In spite of this, too few medical students or residents study evolution. This book builds a compelling case for integrating evolutionary biology into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, as well as its intrinsic value to medicine. Chapter by chapter, the authors - experts in anthropology, biology, ecology, physiology, public health, and various disciplines of medicine - present the rationale for clinically-relevant evolutionary thinking. They achieve this within the broader context of medicine but through the focused lens of maternal and child health, with an emphasis on female reproduction and the early-life biochemical, immunological, and microbial responses influenced by evolution. The tightly woven and accessible narrative illustrates how a medical education that considers evolved traits can deepen our understanding of the complexities of the human body, variability in health, susceptibility to disease, and ultimately help guide treatment, prevention, and public health policy. However, integrating evolutionary biology into medical education continues to face several roadblocks. The medical curriculum is already replete with complex subjects and a long period of training. The addition of an evolutionary perspective to this curriculum would certainly seem daunting, and many medical educators express concern over potential controversy if evolution is introduced into the curriculum of their schools. Medical education urgently needs strategies and teaching aids to lower the barriers to incorporating evolution into medical training. In summary, this call to arms makes a strong case for incorporating evolutionary thinking early in medical training to help guide the types of critical questions physicians ask, or should be asking. It will be of relevance and use to evolutionary biologists, physicians, medical students, and biomedical research scientists.

When pediatrician Dr. Bob Hamilton's video showing how to soothe a crying infant hit the web, he became a YouTube sensation, garnering over 15 million views in ten days. With 7 Secrets of the Newborn Dr. Hamilton brings parents clear, sensible, warm advice on the first year with baby. Dr. Hamilton covers topics such as: * Sleeping (teach them gently to do it themselves) * Vaccinations (get them, all of them) * Breast feeding (wonderful for baby, if possible for mom) * Screen time (don't do it!) * Eating (let them make a mess) * Crying (the famous "hold") * Clothes (completely optional for the first six months) * Toys (simple and cheap are best) Dr. Hamilton brings 30 years' experience as a pediatrician, father, and grandfather to the page. His advice is science-based, slightly retro, and strives for a supportive and healthy growing environment for babies AND parents. With Dr. Bob, parents will be prepared to face baby's first year with common sense, confidence, and calm.

Yoga is an awareness of the link between breath, mind and body. The connection benefits the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing at all stages of life, but very noticeably during pregnancy. Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth offers you and your birth partner an effective, uniquely holistic technique which will help you maximise your health and wellbeing throughout pregnancy and beyond. It shows how to use yoga to give you a deeper insight into the process of pregnancy and create a yoga and breathing program which works uniquely for you and your baby. Learn a full range of adapted yoga postures intended to provide comfort, build stability and support the changes in your body. Breathing exercises will promote calm, boost vitality and help control labour pains, while yogic pelvic floor practices promote healthy tone and flexibility. And downloadable audio helps you set the pace of your breathing. Your pregnancy is a remarkable journey; learn how to use yoga to increase your comfort and control, and develop the skills to approach your labour with confidence. ABOUT THE SERIES People have been learning with Teach Yourself since 1938. With a vast range of practical, how-to guides covering language learning, lifestyle, hobbies, business, psychology and self-help, there's a Teach Yourself book for whatever you want to do. Join more than 60 million people who have reached their goals with Teach Yourself, and never stop learning.

Tracy Hogg knows babies. She can calm even the most distressed or difficult infant, because she understands their language. Hence, her clients call her 'The Baby Whisperer'. Her incredible sensitivity and ability to read infants' cries, coos and assorted baby noises quickly earned Tracy the admiration and gratitude of high-profile couples, including a host of celebrities. 'Miracles are her business' Jodie Foster In this remarkable book, Tracy demystifies the magic she has performed with some five thousand babies.

She teaches parents how to work out what kind of baby they have, what kind of mother and father they are, and what kind of parenting plan will work best for them. Believing that babies need to become part of the family - rather than dominate it - she has developed a practical programme that works with infants as young as a day old. Her methods are also applauded by scientists: ' Tracy's is a voice that should be heard. She appears very knowledgeable about modern infant research and has incorporated this to a level parents can understand. In spite of all the baby how-tos on the market , this one will stand out. '

"Original, important, moving, witty and exquisitely-written. WHAT a feat." - BERNARDINE EVARISTO "Incredible... beautiful and funny and humane." - EMILIE PINE "Pristine poetry and prose." KATHERINE MAY, AUTHOR OF WINTERING "Babies who are this small, he says, have a good chance of survival. Small is not good for babies. It is not whimsical or cute or the cause of admiration. It is the first time it occurs to us that they might not survive. Babies die from smallness." Claire Lynch knew that having children with her wife would be complicated but she could never have anticipated the extent to which her life would be redrawn by the process. This dazzling debut begins with the smallest of life's substances, the microscopic cells subdividing in a petri dish in a fertility treatment centre. She moves through her story in incremental yet ever growing steps, from the fingernail-sized pregnancy test result screen which bears two affirmative lines to the premature arrival of her children who have to wear scale-model oxygen masks in their life-saving incubators. Devastatingly poignant and profoundly observant - and funny against the odds - Claire considers whether it is our smallness that makes our lives so big.

One family, one meal. Super-easy, super-tasty weaning recipes you'll love to eat yourself. 'a breath of fresh air for new parents' - Skye Gyngell Award-winning food blogger Beth Bentley makes weaning fun and simple with a combination of baby-led and spoon-fed nutritious, wholesome recipes that are packed full of flavour. Say goodbye to fruit-sweetened, unidentifiable purees and instead make real, delicious food that the whole family can enjoy. Focusing on just a few great ingredients, clever flavour combinations and easy cooking methods, this is food that can be scaled up easily so that the family is able to enjoy the one meal - together; a practice that will help your baby develop good eating and social habits. And even better, the majority can be made using just one hand and just one pan! Including recipes such as Rainbow Ragu, Sweet Potato Cookies, Baby Burrito Bowls and No-roast Chicken Pot Roast, this step-by-step guide will take you from the daunting first stages of weaning right up to one year, with confidence and excitement. Including over 60 meals for both baby and mum, here are healthy, flavoursome recipes for a happy baby.

The moral uncertainty and apathy in our society to the plight of unborn children springs from the failure to identify them as real people. As a Board Certified Family Practitioner, Dr. John Hey provides numerous captivating vignettes from his fifty year-long practice of medicine, experiences that brought him to understand that these Little People are precious to God, protected by God, and deserving of being treated with the dignity, care, and legal protections afforded to all those who have already been born. All our practices and obligations toward the unborn must be constrained by this fundamental understanding. Along the way, Dr. Hey answers the "hard questions" about abortion and infanticide and gives a clear Gospel call to all who have been broken by sin in their treatment of the Little People.

"Impossible to put down, makes you laugh and cry, Sophie's story is inspirational. It gives us so much hope and encouragement. I don't think we would be where we are on our own journey without her advice." OLLIE LOCKE "A read so twisty your heart pounds as you turn the pages." THE SUNDAY TIMES Brave, funny and honest, columnist Sophie Beresiner takes us on her complex journey to parenthood and shows us that there's more than one way to become a mother. Sophie's journey to motherhood began aged 30 with a cancer diagnosis that stole her fertility. Today, Sophie is older, wiser (and agonisingly excellent at hindsight), and somewhat battered. Through interminable cycles of hope and failure, her infertility story spanned three countries, five surrogates and a debt she'd rather not dwell on. Part memoir, part manifesto, The Mother Project is the epic story of Sophie's quest for happiness. Exploring the complexities, expectations and injustices faced by millions of women across the world, it is a book that is both personal and universal.

Sleep, or rather the lack of it, is the issue of paramount concern to the overwhelming majority of new parents. Getting enough sleep is vital for the health of a growing baby or toddler, and the sanity of mums and dads. Yet striking the right balance between their differing needs can be hard to achieve. Once sleep problems set in, they can fast demoralise and exhaust parents, undermining confidence in their ability to cope. Gina Ford has come to the rescue with her answer: the key to a good night's sleep for the whole family lies in teaching parents to understand the changing sleep needs of their growing baby. This book informs and reassures parents, dispelling many common myths and anxieties and offering practical solutions that work. By creating a structure of regular feeding, sleeping and playing times, Gina explains how parents can help their baby to find a rhythm that will be comfortable for all concerned. Whether parents want to establish good sleeping habits from the start, or find they need to cure sleep problems and get their child back on track, Gina has the answers.

The rights of pregnant workers as well as (the lack of) paid maternity leave have increasingly become topics of a major policy debate in the United States. Yet, few discussions have focused on the U.S. military, where many of the latest policy changes focus on these very issues. Despite the armed forces' increases to maternity-related benefits, servicewomen continue to be stigmatized for being pregnant and taking advantage of maternity policies. In an effort to understand this disconnect, Megan McFarlane analyzes military documents and conducts interviews with enlisted servicewomen and female officers. She finds a policy/culture disparity within the military that pregnant servicewomen themselves often co-construct, making the policy changes significantly less effective. McFarlane ends by offering suggestions for how these policy changes can have more impact and how they could potentially serve as an example for the broader societal debate.