Review

As a nurse-midwife working with women experiencing medically complicated pregnancies, I try to educate women and their families, empower them, grasp onto whatever hope we can find, and navigate the complex medical world into which they have been thrust. Kelly understands, and gives women this support in the form of a comprehensive, practical, honest tome. She's got a great style. This is your sister talking to you. She doesn't mince words. She aims to help the women who have suffered through pregnancy loss and trauma and she succeeds brilliantly! --Carol Sudtelgte, M.S., C.N.M., Thomas Jefferson University Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine

I LOVE this book and Kelly's no-nonsense approach to dealing with a high-risk pregnancy. Why Me? echoes Sidelines' straightforward method of educating and empowering a woman with pregnancy complications to become the most important member of her medical team. A must read, physicians and midwives should be handing it out along with prenatal vitamins to women at risk! --Candace Hurley, Founder/Executive Director, Sidelines National Support Network

High-Risk Pregnancy-Why Me? is a book that every woman who is facing this difficult life scenario should have near them at all times. Kelly not only gives accurate and extremely useful information about every aspect of early labor and its complicated medical maze, but she also gives the reader emotional support. Her voice is comforting, reassuring, and even funny at times. I highly recommend this book to all women faced with early labor and the possibility of a preterm birth. --Dianne I. Maroney, RN, MS, CS, Co-author of Your Premature Baby and Child

Microbiologist and doula Whitehead lost a son 22 weeks into her pregnancy and afterward experienced two high-risk pregnancies that ended with the birth of her son and daughter. Here she teams with Berghella (obstetrics & gynecology, Jefferson Medical Coll.) to pen one of the best high-risk pregnancy books available today. Addressing the usual topics (e.g., preeclampsia, cerclages, and twin-to-twin transfusion), she also covers more detailed information, including general classes of drugs and their uses (e.g., oxytocin-receptor antagonists, prostaglandin inhibitors, etc.). Footnotes are included throughout and each chapter ends with a full bibliography. Of note is her inclusion of Cochrane Reviews, which are systematic reviews of primary research in health care and health policy. Of particular note is Whiteheads relaxed yet reassuring style: she is never alarmist, pedantic, or overly optimistic. VERDICT This book does a fantastic job of explaining complex medical scenarios and strikes a near-faultless tone of reassuring clearheadedness. An outstanding contribution to the literature of pregnancy that is ultimately hopeful, despite the heartbreak of the subject. --Library Journal

High-Risk Pregnancy-Why Me? is a book that every woman who is facing this difficult life scenario should have near them at all times. Kelly not only gives accurate and extremely useful information about every aspect of early labor and its complicated medical maze, but she also gives the reader emotional support. Her voice is comforting, reassuring, and even funny at times. I highly recommend this book to all women faced with early labor and the possibility of a preterm birth. --Dianne I. Maroney, RN, MS, CS, Co-author of Your Premature Baby and Child

Here she teams with Berghella to pen one of the best high-risk pregnancy books available today. Of particular note is Whitehead s relaxed yet reassuring style: she is never alarmist, pedantic, or overly optimistic. VERDICT This book does a fantastic job of explaining complex medical scenarios and strikes a near-faultless tone of reassuring clearheadedness. An outstanding contribution to the literature of pregnancy that is ultimately hopeful, despite the heartbreak of the subject. --Library Journal

High-Risk Pregnancy-Why Me? is a book that every woman who is facing this difficult life scenario should have near them at all times. Kelly not only gives accurate and extremely useful information about every aspect of early labor and its complicated medical maze, but she also gives the reader emotional support. Her voice is comforting, reassuring, and even funny at times. I highly recommend this book to all women faced with early labor and the possibility of a preterm birth. --Dianne I. Maroney, RN, MS, CS, Co-author of Your Premature Baby and Child

About the Author

Kelly Whitehead, a self-described dorky scientist, is a research microbiologist and a Mom who lost a son at nearly 23 weeks. Two high-risk pregnancies followed, one traumatic, one smooth, both resulting in wonderful, healthy babies. Troubled by the lack of detailed medical and emotional resources available, she set out to write the definitive reference on the subject geared toward women, their families and their doctors.

Dr. Vincenzo Berghella has dedicated his life to helping women have healthier babies. A world-renowned maternal-fetal medicine specialist (perinatologist), he is a widely published researcher on preterm birth, a professor, a scientific reviewer and editor.