The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

B8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 16, 1999 I A I V I I L E jA2i line 905-8152022 www.oakvlUeiazzfest.com I Arts & Entertainment OFFICIAL M EDIA SPO N SO R O F T H E OAKVILLE CENTRE F O R T H E PERFORM ING A RTS Oakville Beaver Entertainment Editor: Carol Baldwin 845-3824 (Extension 254) Fax: 337-5567 funrr K r is t i* * » r« fe ic h §8¥1 * in * lunont Kathy£ C O O L O n * r c TU nrhft presents Oakvill r & d u v u i June 25.26.27 1999 ONTMfO more to discover featuring tom cochrane, the rankins, coiin James and the little big band 1.888-216.6688 / www.oakville-testival.org Pregnancy and Bi Local author co-writes book with physician to help expectant parents m ake inform ed choices Gospel concert at Waterfront The Oakville Waterfront Festi­ val is adding a. new flavour to its entertainment lineup this year, and it will come in the form of southern gospel music. Danny Brooks, who has been nominated for a Juno award as "Most Promising Male Vocalist," will perform at Lake­ side Park on Sunday, June 27th at 4 p.m. Joining Brooks will be Oakville's own Evangel Pente­ costal Choir, a successful group that has sung for numerous sell­ out crowds over the past couple of years. They combine inspir­ ing traditional music and enthusiastic modern spiritu­ als into their repertoire. For more details about this performance or the Waterfront Festival, call 847-7975. By Carol Baldwin ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Making the decision to have a baby is the first of many decisions that have to be made before that baby is born. Oakville's Teresa Pitman has co-authored a book with Dr. Joyce Barrett, Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence, which is designed to help pregnant moms and their spouses make those decisions. "We start from the premise that the parents, particularly the pregnant women, are the ones who should make the decisions on pregnancy and care during pregnancy," Pitman says, explaining that couples who are unaware of the choices available to them often end up doing what their parents did, or letting the doctor make all the decisions for them, even if those decisions may be wrong for them. "In some cases, Choice A is clearly the best choice, but in others there's not a lot of differ­ ence between Choice A, B or C. We give peo­ ple the information to make decisions about those kinds of things." Pitman says she and Barrett, who delivered Pitman's second child and third, have been friends for years and often talked about writing a book together. Pitman is a writer for the Great Expectations publication, a child-birth educator, and a doula (labour support person). Barrett is a retired family practitioner who specialized in obstet­ rics and pediatrics and was always photocopy­ ing information for her pregnant patients. This book, number eight for Pitman, seemed a natural progression for them both. "We both thought it was important," says Pitman. Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence has been touted as a comprehensive guide to med­ ical information during pregnancy. The person­ al and emotional issues have been left for other authors, Pitman explains. "I think there are lots of general books on pregnancy...Ours is medical because our soci­ ety has turned pregnancy into a medical event," says the Oakville author, referring to the num­ ber of "routine tests" that are done during preg­ nancy nowadays. "A lot of people don't understand what the tests are checking for, or what they reveal, Or what they plan to do with the information once they get it." In a kind of forewarned-is-forearmed style, the book encourages parents-to-be to consider all possible post-test scenarios and make an informed decision before each test is done. That way, if a quick decision is needed imme­ diately after the test, there is no need to panic or to act before considering all the possible choices. Pitman says all the issues discussed in the book were thoroughly researched before being presented in lay terms. But the authors not only wanted to offer up-to-date, easy-to-understand information, they wanted to debunk all the pregnancy myths that are out there. "Some of the things that people think they know about nutrition is incorrect: taking extra iron during pregnancy, for example," says Pit­ man. "In fact, it's normal and healthy for iron levels to drop around the seventh month...blood volume increases, so iron drops. You still have enough iron. It doesn't mean that you need iron supplements.. .There's even an increased risk associated with it (taking extra iron)." The book also includes a strictly Canadian chapter, eh, - gleaned from stories sent to the authors from women in remote areas of the Canadian north. After an ad appeared in Today's Parents asking women to send in their birth stories, Pitman received over 2,000 replies from across Canada, which inspired the chapter that is devoted to 'Northern Babies'. "One woman had to hire a nanny to look after her other kids while her husband was at work and she sat alone in a hotel room...anoth­ er had her baby on Sept. 18th (in a small, remote hospital), and it was the first baby of the New Year," says Pitman, herself a mother of four. "These are things that don't exist in the U.S...We did a chapter on this because it is unique to Canada." Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence is already into its second printing. "We have had a really positive response to it. It seems to be doing well," says the 43-year-old author with pleasure. "I think this would not be the only book that someone would get, but I think it fills a gap that none of the other books have. I think this was something different. It really was needed out there." The Oakville author even had one woman, for whom she was a doula, tell her that the book should be required reading for every pregnant woman. "It gave her the confidence to make her own decisions about things," Pitman explains. "It's not a book that says, 'You should do this.' It's a book that says, 'You need to make a decision and here is the information for you to make that decision.' Ultimately you're the one who has to live with the results of your decisions." Each chapter includes tips, anecdotes, asides or summaries in small boxed-off sections for those who may not want to read all of one par­ ticular chapter but would like to get a sense of the issues that are discussed in that chapter. Pitman admits that few people will read every chapter, hence the highlights. "The sum­ maries also help people find the information they want quickly," she says. An Oakville launch and reception for Preg­ nancy and Birth: The Best Evidence will be held, appropriately, on Father's Day - Sunday, June 20th from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at Central Library. Both authors will be on hand to answer any questions and sign copies of their book. Pitman's next book, which is on breast feed­ ing, is already at the editing stage, and she is beginning work on another publication that deals with parenting teens. Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence can be purchased for $26.95 at most bookstores. jggjgggp Photo by Barrie Erskine Teresa Pitman co-authored Pregnancy and Birth: The Best Evidence because, she says, our soci­ ety has turned pregnancy into a medical event. The Oakville author wanted to help would-be parents understand the numerous tests pregnant women go through and outline the choices they will have once the test results are revealed. RATTY AND JOE TOUR; Patty and Joe, number-one rated hosts of TVO's weekday afternoon Crawlspace, will be stopping in Oakville on their TVO Kids Road Tour. Patty and Joe, who also star as Agent P and Agent J on TVO's Agents in Black, met with almost 4,000 children during March Break at public and private venues through Ontario. On Saturday (June 19th), the popular pair will chat with kids and sign autographs between 10 a.m. and noon at the Oakville Arena. For more details, call the TVO Kids Event Hotline at 1-800- 613-0513, ext. 5050. Songs Sinatra Taught Me Saturday, July 10 at 2:00 p.m. For anyone who is a fan o f "Old Blue Eyes", this show is not to be missed! Starring Tommy Ambrose singing classics such as "New York, New York", "Strangers in the Night" and many more! Presented in association with c h w o u s o Royal Bank Festival of Classics presents Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare July 21 to August 14 Monday th rough Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Theatre at the Lake, Coronation Park J e s s e Cook Saturday, August 7 at 8:00 p.m. Don't miss this virtuoso guitarist whose "fusion flamenco" style wows audiences from coast to coast! Presented in association with B e c o m e a B ig T ic k e t M e m b e r a n d $ a v e ! For Just $30, you get; • savings of 20% on shows of your choice • first chance at best seats • special offers from local restaurants and retailers Ask about our new BIG TICKET PLUS membership! The Qakvm e Beaver official media sponsor o f The Oakville Centre mum FOBTH6 TORTOftMINC. ARTS (905)815-2021 call fo r tickets now! Visit the box office, 130 Novy Street (at lokeshore), Monday to Friday, noon to 5 p.m.; Saturday 2 to 5 p.m.; or two hours before show time. For more information on upcoming shows explore our website at WWW, by Affirmative Communications. http://www.oakvlUeiazzfest.com http://www.oakville-testival.org