********** 10 Stars!
Price: US$ 10.36, Available worldwide on Amazon.com
Check Availability from: Canada or from United Kingdom
ISBN: 0892817887

Description

Midwifery Today
Graham is qualified to offer answers and comments that are sympathetic, empathetic, supportive and very, very honest. This is a wonderful book.

Midwifery Digest, June 2001
This is a comprehensive and useful reference. . . . for health professionals and couples.

Book Info
Offers practical advice on pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Discusses diet, pain management, alternative therapies, sexuality, and how and why a person with multiple sclerosis can be a good parent. For consumers. Softcover.

About the Author
Judy Graham has had MS for more than twenty-five years. By following a variety of self-help therapies she has succeeded in stabilizing her condition and continues to work as a freelance writer and television and radio producer. The author of the bestseller Multiple Sclerosis, she lives in England with her partner and her twelve-year-old son Pascal.

Product Description:
An essential resource for anyone with MS who is considering having a child.
Firsthand advice from a woman with multiple sclerosis who has successfully borne and raised a child.

Contains information that can change the lives of many of the 250,000 women in the United States suffering from MS.

Highly readable format puts the facts at your fingertips.

Diagnosed with MS at twenty-eight, author Judy Graham gave birth for the first time at the age of thirty-eight. Her new book Multiple Sclerosis and Having a Baby provides other women who are considering starting a family with the kind of genuine and useful insight that comes only from firsthand experience. Multiple Sclerosis and Having a Baby makes available not only the medical answers prospective parents need, but also the practical suggestions and sound advice that will help them meet the many unique and sometimes difficult challenges that face couples living with MS. In this highly informative and readable book, Graham asks and provides answers for nearly every question a woman with multiple sclerosis might want to consider before having a baby. With the latest medical facts and valuable data culled from hundreds of interviews with women who have multiple sclerosis and are currently raising a child, Graham straightforwardly addresses such issues as the possibility of relapse, genetic predisposition to MS, sexuality and fertility, pregnancy, postnatal care, and breastfeeding as they relate to women with MS.



great book, November 23, 2003
Reviewer: merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

First, let me say that the only reason I'm giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is because it's 4 yrs old now and with the pace of research & science, I think there may be additional info out there - it'd be great if this book were updated further. That said, this is a terrific book. Its no scarier (for me) than the newsletters that the MS Society sends out - those freak me out sometimes! This book definitely tells you what to watch out for and things to be aware of. I have a great docstor now who focuses on MS so I read through this book but then took some ofthe ideas/my questions to him because he really tells it to me straight and is current with what the findings are, what the real info is. So, this is a good book - but take it with a grain of salt and definitely bounce things around with a good MS doctor too. I wouldn't rely on this book as my sole source of info.
It does cover lots of different aspects. Here are the chapters:
- Will I get worse if I have a baby?
- Can you pass MS on to your child?
- Deciding whether to have a baby
- Can you stop yourself from getting worse?
- Relationships, Sexulaity and Fertility
- Pregnancy and prenatal care
- Effects of medications on MS
- Labor and Childbirth
- Breast-feeding
- Getting the help you need
- Fatigue, depression, and other invisible symptoms
- Having more children
- Adoption
- Single mothers
- Practical tips on looking after a child
- Older children
- Working for a living
- Fathers with MS
- Being a parent with MS

One note - there's a good chapter in here that I experienced recently - relatives and people who care about me saying "you can't have a baby, you have MS" and all sorts of gloom and doom stuff like "you'll be paralized, its not fair to the baby" (talk about misinformation!!) I've just decided not to talk about it with my relatives because their hearts are in the right place but they're so misinformed and they just won't listen. Anyway, there's a good section on dealing with people like that in the book - I guess its not unusual. I won't live in fear of the unknown.




The only book on this subject..., December 10, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
This book shares some research and a LOT of personal experiences to help women and men with MS decide if parenthood is right for them. The stories from different people aren't all positive or negative and really tell how different people's bodies react to the physical and emotional stress of becoming a parent. I was diagnosed with MS over 10 years ago and am now a happy (and healthy) mother!



scared me to death!!, May 16, 2002
Reviewer: cindy wood (bellevue, ne United States) - See all my reviews
This book has opinions of women who have ms and have had babies and some are very frightening. I wanted to know the facts of being pregnant with ms as well as what happened afterwards, but some of the stories had too much gloom and doom. One thing that I do know about ms is that everyones disease is different and it can change over time. I am one of the lucky ones who has no symptoms and after reading the majority of the book and crying while I read it, my husband asked me to throw it away.



Helpful and Informative, May 15, 2000
Reviewer: Lisa Goad (Sugar Land, Texas) - See all my reviews
I liked this book because it has an easy to read format and helpful information. I'm planning for pregnancy for a second child, and even already going through it once, I know this book will be a good reference, especially regarding nutrition and supplements. The author also doesn't force opinions on you. She lays out the facts so that you can make informed choices and be confident in those choices.



realistic & honest, May 10, 2000
Reviewer: tracy l.dunn (Rochester Hills, Michigan) - See all my reviews
This is a great collection of real-life stories and helpful hints for women with Multiple Sclerosis. If you are thinking about having a child and you have MS, this is a book you need to read. It gives many different options for those who decide to have a baby. I am going to keep this a reference thoughout my pregnancy. Thanks Judy!