Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year

Summoning information from the Mayo Clinic's expert staffs in obstetrics, pediatrics, family medicine and parent education, this detailed companion for prospective parents and the parents of very young children offers more than ample guidance on what seems an almost infinite range of subjects and important decisions facing parents. Though focusing for the most part on basic prenatal, birthing and developmental counseling, the book goes well beyond the minimum standard expected. For example, in the chapter ``Pregnancy and Ongoing Medical Conditions,'' the contributors discuss the effects of AIDS and herpes on pregnancy; an entire chapter is devoted to the medical, psychological and bureaucratic aspects of adoption; another counsels mothers on when and how to return to their jobs after childbirth. The tone throughout is refreshingly sober and unhyped, an antidote to the pushy cosiness of some child care tomes; readers with time to spare and a need to learn will relish this. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Dec.)