Your Guide to Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss: Hope and Healing When You’re No Longer Expecting

“This taboo against talking about pregnancy loss has gone on for way too long,” writes White, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Boston University School of Medicine, in her comprehensive and comforting debut. Despite how rarely discussed miscarriages are, she writes, they’re common, citing that around one in four recognized pregnancies doesn’t reach term. White takes readers through four stages of miscarriage: preparing (which features information about understanding one’s diagnoses), experiencing (in which she offers pain-management ideas such as wearing comfortable clothing and eating a light meal), healing (with grief-management tips), and moving forward—there’s a section for “special circumstances,” such as ectopic and molar pregnancies, too. Each chapter opens with a patient story, includes straightforward definitions of medical terms, and ends with a checklist of questions to ask health care providers. White walks readers through various procedures, and keeps the science accessible. Her gentle yet precise language will be a balm: “If you don’t want to see the baby after delivery, if you feel like it will just break your heart even further, there’s no reason to.” For readers who have experienced pregnancy loss, this is sure to be a welcome resource. Agent: Rita Rosenkranz, Rita Rosenkranz Literary. (Oct.)