Review: Oh Baby!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 21, 2012
What springs to mind when you hear the word "baby"?Booties? Formula? Diapers? Running to your local Rite-Aid at three-thirty in the morning to get a jug of Pedia-lyte because the kid can't stop puking their little guts out?Been there, done that. As the father of one child, I can attest to making all these aforementioned associations with "baby"... and then some.Don't get me wrong. Such cavalier answers are only meant to demonstrate my own individual experience (and, at the risk of speaking for others, my ex-wife, who is an excellent mom) with tending to a small creature who was created out of the timeless union between a man and a woman. Raising a child is fraught with many challenges and countless frustrations---but also provides the potential for unbridled joy, pride, and growth as a parent.For many single adults and couples within a loving, committed relationship, being able to plan ahead for having a child is a noteworthy, laudable goal. For many responsible adults out there who already have children and are thinking of having another, or who are presently childless but have been debating about whether to have one or not, Stephen Williams's "How to Get Pregnant Fast: Create Your Own Family Right Away" provides several practical, yet highly enjoyable, approaches to maximizing opportunities for conception at nearly any time.Of course, there are important aspects of the getting-pregnant mentality that pose some real challenges to certain individuals and couples. One issue concerns fertility. Fact is, there are some individuals who, for whatever reason, have an incredibly difficult time conceiving. These folks may have been trying for months (at times even years) to have a baby, but have not been successful.Other people may have physical infirmaries or may be chronologically at risk for having children, which may pose a physical risk to both the fetus and prospective mother. Many women who are either single or in a relationship with a significant other have tended to postpone having children these days; consequently, the number of first-time parents who are of middle age has been increasing. The factors for this trend can be correlated with attaining higher levels of education and/or professional development; fulfilling career goals and thus increasing personal income level; caring for elderly parents and relatives; and dealing with frayed social networks that either do not necessarily exist anymore, or if they do, they are nowhere near as strong or as developed as they once were when these prospective parents were children themselves.The cumulative tone presented throughout "Pregnant" is optimistic and playful, as is reflective of most of Williams's works. He stresses the importance of having fun and to maintain a level head and, if you don't already have one, to cultivate and develop a sense of humor. Since all of these approaches involve maintaining a solid sense of communication with one another, the author encourages social, emotional, psychological and sexual intimacy that precludes the actual sexual act itself. By assuming this approach, the times when one or both parties may not feel like making love will be softened by taking advantage of this continuous communication, which in turn will help any couple be able to ride these ups and downs that are inevitable in any relationship."How to Get Pregnant Fast" is an informative, fast-paced tome that provides Williams's readers with a positive frame of reference for preparing for the rituals of parenthood.