By Bruce Barton

For years, road maps have come in handy for many clueless drivers in search of direction. Now “Road maps for women,” created by Los Altos nurse practitioner Barbara Dehn, helps women navigate the often difficult lifestyle changes brought on by pregnancy and menopause.

“This is born from 16 years of answering questions,” said Dehn, who is a registered nurse at Women Physicians in Mountain View. Dehn also teaches at San Jose State University as an assistant clinical professor in the graduate nurse practitioner program.

Dehn’s first two maps, just introduced to the reading public, “The Pregnancy Map” and “The Menopause Map,” are 14-sided, fold-out guides full of vital information. The presentation is well-organized and deceptively simple, but ultimately useful and handy. Did you know, for instance that certain herbs can be harmful to pregnant women? On the other hand, some herbs can help in menopause, such as black cohosh for decreasing hot flashes.

In addition, Dehn clarifies that while certain kinds of soy are beneficial for menopausal women, others are not. She also spells out, in a rare instance, what an actual serving of soy constitutes.

In between the factoids and charts are little one-liners of encouragement such as, “You are in survival mode - do the best you can” (Pregnancy) and “Never underestimate the power of hormones” (Menopause).

The Pregnancy Map provides essential information about all aspects of pregnancy including nutrition, exercise, prenatal tests, as well as trimester-specific information for both mother and baby. The Menopause Map provides essential information about hormones, soy, bone and breast health, exercise, and has a section on keeping your heart healthy.

Dehn did all of her research using current medical textbooks, current journal articles, and her years of experience. She also used other publications to cross check the list of topics that were covered. Evaluation groups included experts in the field who checked the content for accuracy.

“It would have been easier to write a book,” Dehn said. “It was a job to find real, practical nuggets that women could really use.”

For those with little time to read a magazine article, let alone a thick medical reference book, Maps For Women may prove a godsend not only to women, but for their husbands. Not surprisingly, Dehn said men often focus on sections dealing with the effects pregnancy and menopause have on women’s sex lives.

“This is the only guide husbands will read through,” Dehn said.

Currently, the menopause and pregnancy maps are available at the El Camino Hospital gift shop and at Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. They also are available through amazon.com.

In her goal to “get it out to as many women as possible,” Dehn is working with several pharmaceutical companies to buy the guides in volume.

Dehn has plans for a map about infertility, and eventually wants to create one on surviving breast cancer and have costs underwritten so it can be free of charge.

Dehn received an honorable mention for Maps for Women from the “Inspirations in Women’s Health” contest, sponsored by the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health and 3M Pharmaceuticals. The “Inspirations” contest recognizes nurse practitioners who are going above and beyond their responsibilities to increase awareness about women’s reproductive and sexual health issues.

Dehn plans a book signing in November at Main Street Cafe & Books in Los Altos, and is scheduled to speak on the radio this Sunday on KISS-FM (98.1) about prenatal care and pregnancy.

Maps for Women are available for purchase on Dehn’s Web site and on Amazon.com. For more information, logon to: www.mapsforwomen.com.