Coming to Term: A Father's Story of Birth, Loss, and Survival [Hardcover]

Woodwell does not shy away from the painful reality of this trauma... he explores carefully and with great conscience the day to day toll of preeclampsia, prematurity and loss. I cannot recommend this book enough for women who have been through this, to better understand their husband's perspective, to fathers who don't know how to express what they are dealing with, and to families, friends and co-workers who don't know what to think or say.

There were only two things I found missing, not wanting, in this book.
1) more information about the disease and its prevalence; and
2)Woodwell's wife's perspective, Kim's story, the story of 200,000 US women each year whose pregnancies are seriously compromised by preeclampsia.
One can be found in Woodwell's Washington Post article about preeclampsia and its prevalence and both can be found at our website ...

The Preeclampsia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to funding and supporting research, public awareness, and support to women and their families impacted by preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Preeclampsia is the second leading cause of maternal mortality in the US each year and a leading cause of infant death and prematurity. Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome directly contribute to the problems stemming from being born too small and too soon. More common than breast cancer, preeclampsia is currently listed on the Centers for Disease Control's Rare and Orphaned Disease list. We aim to change that.

Woodwell's book is a godsend for us and the families whose worlds will never be the same. If you or your family have been through this experience--I cannot recommend it highly enough. It finally helped me understand that far away look fathers get when their wives start talking about their experience. It is not a place many of us wants to return to--but it is where healing begins.

Despite the difficulty most parents experience in sharing their struggles, William H. Woodwell successfully tells his story in a way that informs, validates, reassures, and even inspires other parents confronting similar horrors. In "Coming to Term: A Father’s Story of Birth, Loss and Survival", he describes in detail the events surrounding his wife’s life-threatening pregnancy and the subsequent early birth of their twins. With an honest prose and candid tone, Mr. Woodwell successfully conveys the sense of loss and despair felt by parents who suddenly find themselves on the emotional roller coaster of prematurity. Parents will appreciate his frank disclosures about how he felt regarding Nina, the more fragile twin, and her early death. His candor and empathetic understanding will help parents facing similar situations to garner strength. Mr. Woodwell superbly expresses the painful emotions of a husband whose wife is critically ill, of a father whose children face an uncertain future. Confronting a terrible predicament, he openly questions his roles as provider, supporter, and defender of his family, and allows the reader to glimpse his grief, uncertainties and feelings of helplessness. He illustrates the surreal atmosphere that surrounds high-risk birth and neonatal intensive care units, simultaneously discussing the bittersweet aspects of the experience and the crisp medical prescriptions for his family. Coming to Term is tough to read in many ways, and its audience is likely to find their emotions welling to surface, but it ends as a simple and beautiful story of survival and accomplishment in the face of tremendous adversity. "Coming to Term: A Father's Story of Birth, Loss, and Survival" is endorsed by The Preemie Place, an international support resource for caregivers of premature children...