h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Pregnancy - A68890233
Author: missy15 - U14437810

Have had this in the EGWW and i now feel it is finished, any comments welcome

Hi Missy

nice to meet you

I saw this going back and forth, but haven't had time to comment until now. I'm sure this will be an interesting read for those who are either thinking about starting a first pregnancy, or those who are unintentionally pregnant. I note that Gnomon has alluded to these two states of mind, either delighted or horrified. I would like to see a little more of an introduction to this piece - as at the moment it tends to read a little like one of the leaflets in a clinic.

The rest of the content seems clear enough - well done

just a couple of nitpicks


Sickness or feelings of nausea

-----> Nausea or vomiting

(it's the word [sickness] here that I think is misleading, as it can just mean feeling generally ill - depending whereabouts in the world you are)


Needing to go to the toilet more often

----> Needing to urinate more often.


but if you drunk excessivley before knowning you were actually pregnant, there is no need to torture yourself as the majority of babies are born healthy, including mothers who may have drunk alcohol before knowing.

-----> (for instance)
but if you drank excessively before knowing that you were pregnant, there is no need to torture yourself as the majority of babies are born healthy, even where the mother had consumed a lot of alcohol. It is still a bad idea to drink heavily if you are considering a pregnancy.


It’s said that you will normally only ever have chickenpox once in your life, usually when being a child, although you can catch it twice, it is very rare, but if you haven’t had it before there is more of a chance you will get the infection.


-----> It’s said that you will normally only ever have chickenpox once in your life, usually when you're a child. You can catch it twice, but it is very rare.


I don't think this part makes sense? so you can just delete it.

[but if you haven’t had it before there is more of a chance you will get the infection]

Or, are you warning mothers to avoid being in contact with spotty kids?

Your footnote [2] on rubella really justifies a section of its own.

The footnotes 4,5 and 6 should be just links:

Miscarriage
Ectopic Pregnancies
Stillbirth


note typo on the word [Ectopic]


Pain releif options

-----> Pain relief options


that's about it! Good luck with this missy - post back once you've made the edits and I'll have another look.



Lanzababy

Thank you very much for the tips Lanzababy, i have made the changes you suggested, after re-reading it i could see exactly what you meant about the introdution which i have also changed

Ah! hi again . . . I'm glad that you see an introduction might be a good idea, but there is a guideline in writing for h2g2, and that is that we can't say 'I' (the use of first person)


so - can I suggest you make it sound something like this?

Every woman should know the possibilities of what may happen when pregnant. Although the following symptoms are all possibilities, don’t fret, as everyone’s experience of pregnancy is different, even your own when you have more than one child. There are also other entries linked to this one, that go into more specific topics, so feel free to look at them as they are very informative. Let's hope that this Entry may be a help to you!



Also, you might want to take a look at the <./>GuideML-Clinic</.> to check the form of html that the BBC uses here, it seems a bit different to what you are using. By and large it is a bit simpler, for instance just use and to surround your paragraphs.

Don't worry too much about the formatting for the moment, as it is more important to get the content correct first

I still recommend that you write a separate paragraph about rubella, as this can have devastating consequences on a pregnancy. Much less so these days, as girls are vaccinated against rubella routinely nowadays, but before this was the case rubella caused many heartbreaks to families.

Good stuff!

Lanzababy

I have made a start on the Rubella section, but will have to finish this off tomorrow as am having bit of a mad rush at work Thank you again though

As an oldtimer, I like some of the older hootoo entries which have quotes from Researchers, perhaps some from those who have suffered this horrendous ailment (such as my missus is currently) might like to add some of their thoughts, ideas, ways to relieve symptoms etc to give the Entry a little more so it doesn't read too much like just something you'd find under P in the encyclopaedia

for Mrs Matt! (and you of course Matt) but it's not *really an ailment

Would she maybe like to offer a quote for Missy to consider?

There are loads of threads with lovely quotes. Kelli can probably help root them out. I'll have a look myself this evening and throw a few your way, Missy.

ooh, nice entry, big topic!

I had some comments, but loads of work came in unexpectedly so just this one for now!

"Understandably during pregnancy there is a great deal of caution about the use of drugs and medication, but doesn't mean that all medication will go through to the baby. However, if you suffer from a chronic condition that requires you to keep taking a certain medication, you would need to speak to either your doctor or specialist looking after you for any alternatives."

I'm a bit concerned about how you've phrased this, it implies that the medication will need to be changed. As an asthmatic I have to take regular medication and of course this was on my mind when I fell pregnant. Reading this I might have been inclined to stop taking it until I could get to my for the 'alternative' you mention. Where it was more important that I keep taking it so I didn't make myself ill, which would affect the baby. I would like to see what the correct medical advice is for this.

Would you like me to write some advice about medication?

Z

(Not just a Dr on H2G2)

Hi folks

Missy are you around at all? It appears you have vanished

If you have deserted h2h2, this Entry might be sent to the Flea Market so that someone else can finish the process of getting it into the Edited Guide. Do let us know if you would like to continue with it yourself.

Lanzababy

Still no sign of the author?

Doesn't look like it

I propose asking the Eds to move this over to the Flea Market then - I reckon this could easily be finished off on behalf of Missy.


Lanzababy

Seconded

Thirded, just to make sure

It's still 'ere.


BMT Scout