How to Have a Baby: The essential unbiased guide to pregnancy, birth and beyond

Written by Dr Sara Kayat

Narrated by Dr Sara Kayat

An empowering, unbiased guide and essential toolkit for pregnancy, labour, birth, breastfeeding and your baby’s first year by GP and TV presenter, Dr Sara Kayat.

“I LOVE this book – it’s everything you need to know when having a baby, but delivered in the warmest, funniest and most honest manner.” Dr Zoe Williams

In a world where our instinct is to turn to the internet for answers, even when we know we shouldn’t, this book delivers an entirely unbiased, medical-based guide to everything you need and want to know about pregnancy, birth and babyhood.

Dr Sara Kayat is a GP and mum of two – as a medical professional overwhelmed by the information (and often lack of information!) available to new parents, she wanted to write the book that she wish she’d had when she was starting her family.

The chapters cover everything from pre-pregnancy nutrition, early pregnancy symptoms and FAQs, to what all the medical jargon at your scans really means, when to worry and when not to worry, what to expect, what is normal, and when to seek further help; moving onto your birth options, how to advocate for yourself and how to recover from birth, both physically and mentally, the first year of your baby’s life, and so much more – Sara has it all covered.

Encouraging, informative, down-to-earth and always non-judgmental, How to Have a Baby will be your new best friend as you navigate this sometimes weird(!) but wonderful journey. It will make every parent feel less alone and more empowered.

'No amount of time spent watching One Born Every Minute, Motherland, or attending antenatal classes will brace you for the enormity of what that extra line on the pregnancy test means for your life. My aim in writing this book is that by sharing my own honest experiences, with a hefty medical slant, you will hopefully feel more confident of the bits you can control, have a better understanding of the science, and feel empowered to make more informed decisions, get some practical tips, and maybe have a laugh. We are all in this together, holding each other's clammy, anxious hands!' Dr Sara Kayat

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9780008627188

Dr Sara Kayat

Dr Sara Kayat studied Medicine at King’s College London, where she also achieved a BSc in Physiology and has a diploma in Sexual and Reproductive Health. As well as a practising GP, Sara is the resident GP for This Morning , and a TV presenter, most recently for: GPs behind Closed Doors and Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls. Sara has also co-presented two UKTV series: Dr Christian: Special Clinics and 12 Hours to Cure Your Street.

Reviews for How to Have a Baby

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a lovely story about 15-year-old, Rowan, who is trying to hold her family together after the death of her older brother, Jack, in a drowning accident. Her father has left the family home and her mother is suffering from a severe nervous breakdown so it left to Rowan to take care of the house, her mother and her little sister, Stroma. However, Rowan's life becomes even more complicated when a teenage boy hands her a negative claiming that she dropped it while in the checkout queue of the grocery store.This book deals with personal identity, bereavement, friendship and the difficulties of growing up. Rowan is a very engaging, likeable character who is struggling to survive. She is stubborn, introspective, brutally honest with herself and lonely. Although quite sad in parts, the book doesn't wallow in gloom and the thread of mystery throughout the story adds to a satisfying plot with an unexpected twist at the end. A worthwhile read.

[weener_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

15-year old Rowan's world is still shaken from the death of her outgoing, lovable older brother Jack. But she's not reeling. She doesn't have time for that. Jack's death has left a hole in her family that has plunged her mother into a deep depression, broken up her parents' marriage, and left her to singlehandedly run the household and care for her 6-year old sister, Stroma. Then something weird happens at the grocery store, and her life starts to change. A guy she's never seen before tells her that she dropped something and hands her a photo negative. It's definitely not hers. She doesn't even have a camera. So she throws it away. But the curiosity of a schoolmate, Bee, who witnessed the exchange compels her to fish it out of the trash and develop the photo. It's really not hers. But it's of her dead brother. Where did it come from? And who was that guy? This is one of the most mature and realistic "journey of healing" type books I've read. It wasn't gimmicky at ALL, and this book had the potential to be extremely gimmicky. It wasn't wrapped up too nice and neat at the end. The 15-year old narrator matures visibly throughout the course of the book. I especially liked the way the romance was handled. Rowan didn't bore everyone by spending page after page pining after her crush when she clearly has other things on her mind, and yet it managed to feel natural, not cheap or tacked on. It was a minor part of the book, but added a nice element. I would definitely recommend this book to teens looking for a realistic read.

[bluejulie_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was one of the more touching YA books I've read. No wonder that it received awards and great reviews.Occasionally, I felt that the style of writing was a bit too distracting, pulling one's attention away from the story to the more stylistic, verbal elements, instead of emphasizing the plot, the characters and the message.The characters in the book are all very memorable. Particularly Rowan with her big heart, tolerance, acceptance and understanding for everything and everyone. She's a much better person than I am and I wished, many times throughout the book, that I could be a bit more like her.Reading this story will leave a mark.

[4sarad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First I should say that I did like the characters and cared about them. That being said, I didn't like much else. The plot varied between being unbelievable (coincidences, etc.) to being way too predictable. Also, the formatting of the dialogue was annoying. I guess I've just read so many books like this that this one doesn't stand out in any way for me, other than the fact they're in London rather than in the US.

[thursohighlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most exciting voices in young adult fiction, Jenny Valentine succeeds again with this story of a family coping with the death of a child.

[lisagibson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rowan is holding the family together, after the death of her brother Jack. Problem is, it's been several years since Jack's passing. Her mother is beyond help at this point and doesn't even realize Rowan and her sister, Stroma are there half the time. While in the store on day, a boy gives Rowan a photo negative. It's not hers and the small piece of film is the first piece of a mystery that leads everyone to some amazing, life altering truths. What will happen with the boy, Harper who gave Rowan the negative too? As everyone holds on to their pieces of Jack, yet tries to get on with life, while not completely losing him. I loved this book. Rowan was a strong character with a terrific voice. I also loved the fact that it's set in London so I get little pieces of the British slang. I guess I should say, "I love this book to bits!"

[jennie_103 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a good case of "never judge a book by its cover". I bypassed this one for a while because the cover just looked too teenage (I'm an adult who just happens to still read a lot of children's/YA fiction). And yet when I did get round to it, I found it completely absorbing. One of those can't-put-it-down books. And I absolutely hadn't guessed the twist at the end!

[edgoldberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In Broken Soup, three freaky things happened to upset fifteen-year-old Rowan’s life. The first thing was that her older brother died from a freak swimming accident in France. As a result, her mother withdraw into herself and her father withdrew from her daily life, moving out of the house, leaving Rowan to care for her mother and her younger sister, Stroma. The second thing was an unknown boy standing behind her at the local coffee shop handing her a photo negative which he said dropped out of her bag. She knew she didn’t drop it.The third occurrence was Bee, a high school senior she never knew or socialized with, coming up to her at lunch and asking about the negative. She was also in line at the coffee shop. This confluence of events and their later unraveling, leads to totally unimagined and unforeseen results. You see, the negative was a photo of her brother, looking extremely happy. The boy, Harper, who gave Rowan the negative, is a New Yorker traveling around Europe (Rowan lives in London) whose current address is an ambulance with all the creature comforts of home. And Bee, well, I’ll let you find out who Bee is.Jenny Valentine has written an intriguing second novel. The main characters are interesting and, in some cases quirky: from Stroma, the precocious six-year-old, to Harper, living in an ambulance, to Carl, Bee’s father who smokes marijuana and is more like a father than Rowan’s own father. There is some intrigue as Rowan seeks more information about the photo and about her brother. There is love on many levels: boys and girls, mothers and fathers, parents and children. And finally, there is the realization that not all burdens should fall on the shoulders of a fifteen-year-old. Broken Soup is a quick but fulfilling read.