"I went into premature labor while standing on the train during the ride home one evening from work. At first I thought it was just a backache, but then the pains spread to my stomach and were worse than any menstrual cramps I had ever had ... I went straight to the hospital. The doctors gave me drugs to stop the contractions, but within hours I gave birth to our son, Joshua. He was twelve weeks premature and weighed only two and a half pounds ... I keep going over in my mind, What did I do wrong? My husband and I are both college educated, we don't drink or smoke, and I had read everything about pregnancy and childbirth." One out of every ten babies in the United States is born prematurely, and prematurity is the leading cause of death among infants before their first birthday. In addition to being small, premature babies are developmentally unprepared for life, which can result in physical and mental disabilities. Premature babies are more likely to have respiratory problems during childhood, as well as a highter incidence of learning disabilities and problems with speech, hearing, and vision. The good news is that in many cases prematurity can be prevented. Most women don't realize how much they can do to reduce their risks and improve the health of their unborn babies.Ever Pregnant Woman's Guide to Preventing Premature Birthis the only book of its kind to present practical, scientifically-sound information on the sixty most important risk factors identified with prematurity and how to reduce them. This book begins with a questionnaire to help you assess your personal risk factors for premature birth (e.g., family background; gynecological, obstetrical, and medical risks; stress levels; home and work environment), and makes practical recommendations for reducing those risks. Many of these suggestions are as surprising as they are effective. Did you know that vacuuming is one of the most stressful activities you can perform while pregnant? Or that noise increases your level of stress-related hormones (turn down that radio!)? Dr. Luke explains, step by step, how to make small changes in your lifestyle that can have huge health benefits for your child. The program in this book is based on Dr. Barbara Luke's twenty years of clinical experiences studying prematurity and on a French national program that lowered the prematurity rate in that country by 32 percent in its first ten years. The book's foreword is by the director of that program, Emile Papiernik, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, head of Maternity, Maternite Port-Royal. The preface is by George Wilbanks, M.D., President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Pregnancy is a magical, special time, filled with hopes and dreams as well as fears and anxieties.Every Pregnant Woman's Guide to Preventing Premature Birthwill help to ease your fears by helping you take the positive approach to reducing some of the risks that can lead to prematurity and increasing your chances of having a healthy, full-term baby.