Product Description

An indispensable legal guide, financial planner, and organizer for your journey through pregnancy and into parenthood

There are dozens of good books telling you what you need to know about the physical and emotional aspects of having a baby. But until now there were none devoted to the many financial and legal concerns of expectant parents, issues such as: "What are my rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act?" "Can the hospital run tests on my newborn without my permission?" "Should I take out a life insurance policy on my newborn?"

Written by family law attorney Brette McWhorter Sember, this book answers all those questions and more. Your Practical Pregnancy Planner:

• Fills you in on what you need to know about everything from maternity leave to estate planning, pregnancy discrimination to cord blood banking
• Features a handy, month-by-month format that provides you with the answers you need, as you need them
• Includes valuable links to organizations, agencies, and websites for expecting and new parents

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #595832 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"Finally, a book to help ease expecting parents’ minds about the legal and monetary details" -- Misty Bott, managing editor, ePregnancy Magazine

From the Back Cover

"This essential reference should have a prominent place on your bookshelf while you're pregnant--and way beyond." --Nancy W. Hall, author, Balancing Pregnancy and Work: How to Make the Most of the Next 9 Months on the Job

In Your Practical Pregnancy Planner, family law attorney and ePregnancy contributor Brette McWhorter Sember provides essential information to help you understand your rights and responsibilities, guides you through the decisions that need to be made, and helps you protect yourself and your new family. Your Practical Pregnancy Planner also:

• Explains everything from maternity/paternity leave to estate planning, pregnancy discrimination, cord blood banking, birth plans, breastfeeding rights, and more
• Helps you budget for expenses, learn about tax breaks for new parents, and plan for child care emergencies
• Offers information about health insurance, choosing the right pediatrician, and background checks on nannies and day care providers
• Explains flextime, job sharing, elective C-sections, and home safety

"Wondering when--and how--to announce your pregnancy at work? Eager to get the lowdown on medical consent forms, guardianships, wills, and other important legal issues related to pregnancy and parenthood? Sember has written a no-nonsense, plain-English guide to all the financial and legal issues you need to think about now that your baby's on the way." --Ann Douglas, author, The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and The Mother of All Baby Books

"Sember offers savvy advice that covers a host of topics that parents-to-be might not even think of. Packed with resources where readers can go to find more information on a wide range of important subjects, it is a valuable guide." - Sally Wendkos Olds, author, The Complete Book of Breastfeeding

About the Author

Brette McWhorter Sember is a retired family law attorney, parenting journalist, mother of two, and author of sixteen acclaimed self-help books. Parenting magazine selected her Visitation Handbook as an Editor’s Pick in 2002, and she was awarded the Mothers at Home Media Award in 1999. Visit the author at www.brettesember.com.

Customer Reviews

A Great Practical Guide for Expectant Parents
Your Practical Pregnancy Planner is a must-have book if you're expecting a baby, or planning to get pregnant. It's filled with down-to-earth practical advice on your legal rights, your finances and your lifestyle, set out in a handy month-by-month structure that will help you take care of the important things that need to be done during this exciting period in your life.

Each month covers the legal issues, financial issues and lifestyle issues which are best tackled in that particular month, and ends with a convenient checklist of things that need to be done. The book also includes chapters on labor, delivery, and postpartum care, and parenthood.

Going through this book, there were definitely things that I had waited to do until after each of my babies were born which would have been much easier (and far less stressful) to do if I had tackled them in the timeframe suggested by Sember. There were also things that I hadn't even thought about during my pregnancies which, naturally, surfaced and demanded time and attention later, when I really didn't have any time or attention left for anything but taking care of my new little arrival.

From legal issues like preparation of a birth plan and evaluating your pregnancy leave options, to financial matters such as taking care of life insurance and creating a financial cushion, to lifestyle concerns including buying maternity clothes, organizing the nursery and buying a breast pump, Sember covers the many details that can seem overwhelming if left to the last minute or until after your baby is born. First time parents, especially, are usually very surprised by the total lack of time (and sleep) they experience once they're holding their beautiful babies in their arms.

The Practical Pregnancy Planner is a unique book that will definitely help you get through this exciting but sometimes chaotic time. Ultimately, it's a book that will get expectant parents organized and more in control now, so they can enjoy their time with their new babies later. Highly recommended.

Everything You Need to Plan
This book is a terrific guide that all expectant parents need. It includes all sorts of big issues like wills, budgets, insurance, and guardians, but also includes things you would not think of to look up your own, like your rights when it comes to asking for additional medical tests, what to do if you have to take time off from work *during* pregnancy, how to understand hospital policies, life insurance for you and your child, flexible spending accounts, and facts about hiring child care you might not think about (like is your nanny covered if she drives your car?). There's also stuff that is really practical, like how to save money on baby stuff or computer programs you can use to help you time your labor. It includes tons of resources - books to read for more information and links to web sites. This is a book that all expectant parents really need. It also includes information for preconception and after your baby is born, both in the hospital and after you get home. This indispensable guide is written in a friendly tone and is one of those things you need to make sure you've got all the bases covered. This book is your key to peace of mind.

Valuable Information
This book has provided a wealth of information. It's not a "what to expect" type book about your body and the developing baby, but rather a planner for finances, insurance coverage, disability leave, wills, your rights and much more. It's basically the stuff you know you should be thinking about, but are too excited about the baby and what's going on with your body to stop and plan for the practical stuff. This book breaks down the information into manageable monthly checklists. If you follow her month to month guidance, you will have less to worry about when the baby arrives knowing you have all your ducks in a row.