Congratulations! I greet you with the same message Elizabeth gave to Mary centuries ago: "Blessed are you...and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Lk 1:42b) A deep and abiding love is offered to us in pregnancy by the Giver of life. My hope is that God will use this book to convince, enlighten or remind you about His abiding love for you.

  This book is primarily for pregnant women. However, many others may find some portions of it enlightening or useful. Further, it is written from a Catholic perspective, with many biblical reference points. If you are not Catholic, please remember that doctrinal differences in no way exclude you from the salvation that is offered to you in Christ Jesus. If you are Catholic, I hope this book will help you to understand the Church better, and to love her as much as I have come to love her. When the descriptive title Christian is used in this book, it means any follower of Christ, Catholic or not.

 You may read many books on the physiology and emotions of pregnancy and childbirth. My own bias is that much of the information in the secular press about parenting and childbirth is too anxious not to draw moral or religious conclusions, which in turn leads to an understanding of reproduction and parenthood which is both relative and value-neutral. It is popular to "judge not," but only in such a way as to deny the existence of an eternal Judge. The point I am making here is that your personal ideas about God and discipleship are important.

 Discipleship is how a Christian lives his/her daily life in God's world. Each Christian mother is called to evaluate all the pregnancy "advice" and then make decisions she hopes will please God. I hope that this book will become a source of advice and reasoning in that sifting process. Sometimes we do not understand why God has chosen a certain path for us as Christian women. My prayer for you is that you will learn a bit about God's plan for your salvation, and that God will provide you with all the comfort you need, and all the gentle prodding you need, to let His love guide you as you follow His path.

 A supportive community of faith is invaluable to expectant mothers. Begin with your husband. (If you are unmarried, Special Note to Unmarried Readers.) Some couples wait until the children are old enough to attend  catechism classes before they begin to work through any differences they may have with respect to religion. Your relationship can only be made stronger and your parenthood easier by beginning to face those realities prior to the child's birth. Children are at once highly impressionable and deeply insightful. You will not be able to hide your disagreements from them.

But in a larger sense, spending some time with your spouse considering the work of God in your lives can be very exciting, and can even strengthen and renew your relationship. The Lord has blessed your union with a miracle! Many people in our society have chosen to focus on the stress involved in parenthood rather than the joy. Together, with God's help, you can claim the joy of parenthood, and learn how God can help you cope when the going gets rough. (And it will get rough sometimes, you can be sure of that.)