Customer Reviews

Before Your Pregnancy: A 90 Day Guide for Couples on How to Prepare for a Healthy Conception

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I really wanted to like this book. I wasn't even expecting it to have lots of information that I didn't already know, having done a ton of research myself in my role as fertility counselor, but thought that it would be slightly helpful at least. It was not. It was instead incomplete and incorrect.

Conclusions made are inconsistent - thing A is to be treated with caution because its safety for pregnant women is unproven, whereas thing B is considered safe because it has never been shown to cause problems. Where is the logic here? There is no difference between "never been shown to cause problems" and "safety unproven". And if there is a difference in the proven safety of these two things, it should be stated explicitly rather than left at these two vague comments.

Some statements are just plain incorrect. For example, it is stated that ovulation is the day of the basal body temperature rise, when in fact the temperature rise usually occurs the day following ovulation. Also, intercourse on this day is stated to give the best chance of conception. This is incorrect whichever way you look at it - intercourse on the day of the temperature rise is usually too late (being the day after ovulation, the egg is often dead by then), and intercourse on the day of ovulation is still not the best timing (for those who are interested, intercourse the day before ovulation is best, although difficult to time). I have to wonder what other "facts" in this book are downright wrong.

Finally, conclusions are drawn without sharing the information used to make them. It is claimed that a woman who has no immunity to rubella must get vaccinated, stating that the potential risks of the vaccine far outweigh the benefits. Nowhere is it mentioned that an adult woman receiving the rubella vaccine has much higher risk of serious medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and thrombocytopenia, and that according to the CDC the incidence of rubella in the US is extremely low. Whether or not the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks is something for women to decide for themselves, with all pertinent information.

Now, I would expect a book written by two doctors to side more often with medical gospel than not, but I was very surprised by the lack of portrayal of the other side of the issues. Or more to the point, that some things were treated as complete non-issues: women are encouraged to run right out and get the flu and chicken pox shots, with no mention of their risks or efficacy.

I should say that I did find the information on weight, diet, and exercise to be very thorough and mostly consistent with other reading I have done. Still, I simply cannot recommend this book.

I am usually too lazy to bother to type reviews. However, I HAD to write on on this book. If you are like me in that you want from a pre-pregnancy/pregnancy book:

- thoroughness
- inclusiveness
- reliability
- readibility

then you will not be disppointed by this book. I bought this first, before I conceived, to make sure that I was doing all I could/ should to prepare my body for pregnancy. This book addressed the whole range of issues related to this, and in a very clear, readable (lots of graphics to explain things) yet extremely authoritative manner. The authors have their credentials and this comes through clearly.

I have very high expectations of books, especially when they are on such an important topic as pregnancy. Up-to-date info. is mandatory--not optional--and this books has it.

After I became pregnant, I bought many other pregnancy books, but kept coming back to this one. The others are better for describing what is going on month-by-month, etc., but NONE are better for general medical reference info. For example, this is the only book I have found that breaks down herbs into 3 categories ("Safe During Pregnancy", "Herbs That Warrant Caution" and "Herbs to Avoid") and clasifies every major herb you are likely to encounter (in teas, body creams, etc.). They also describe common concerns/ probelms in a very user-friendly yet authoritative manner, and told me all I needed to know about continuing to exercise safely throughout pregnancy. Plus the tone of the book is very positive, reassuring and upbeat.

I can't say enough about this book. It is my pregnancy bible.

I've read and looked through a lot of "pre-pregnancy" books over the past few months but this one is not only the most helpful and up-to-date one I've come across, but also it is the LEAST panic-inducing. So many other books devote more than half the text to fertility problems, which only served to heighten my paranoia and fear about that very issue. This book took a very calm and rational approach to ALL topics that need to be covered during the pre-conception time, and I really appreciated that.

I also really liked the tone of this book. It was friendly and informative yet confident and authoritative. I did not feel like there was lecturing going on (which is good as lecturing, let's be honest, can sometimes trigger a "I don't care what you say, I'm gonna do such-and-such anyway!" reaction), but rather like the authors were part of my "preconception team," working WITH me and my husband towards achieving the goal of a healthy and happy pregnancy.

There is so much great info in this book that I don't think anyone should even THINK about getting pregnant without reading it first. I initially purchased "Before your Pregnancy" and the Dr. Sussman book (Before you Conceive). After reviewing both of them, I decided on this one due to its pleasant and reader-friendly format. It covers all aspects from family history to even what kind of herbal teas to stay away from. Definately have a highlighter handy to mark important stuff! The Dr. Sussman book is also very good, but I found it dedicated way to many chapters on genetics, family illnesses, and disorders. "Before your Pregnancy" gives a great deal of info on these topics also, but not an overkill. So if your on a budget like I am and can't afford to buy every book out there, this is a great book to buy. After reading this book, I feel very prepared to get started trying. I also recommend purchasing "Before..." with the Mother of All pregnancy...they go really good together.

I am usually too lazy to bother to type reviews. However, I HAD to write on on this book. If you are like me in that you want from a pre-pregnancy/pregnancy book:

- thoroughness
- inclusiveness
- reliability
- readibility

then you will not be disppointed by this book. I bought this first, before I conceived, to make sure that I was doing all I could/ should to prepare my body for pregnancy. This book addressed the whols range of issues related to this, and in a very clear, readable (lots of graphics to explain things) yet completely trustworthy manner. The authors have their credentials and this comes through clearly.

I have very high expectations of books, especially when they are on such an important topic as pregnancy. Up-to-date info. is mandatory--not optional--and this books has it.

After I became pregnant, I bought many other pregnancy books, but kept coming back to this one. The others are better for describing what is goig on month-by-month, etc., but NONE are better for medical info. For example, this is the only book I have found that breaks down herbs into 3 categories ("Safe During Pregnancy", "Herbs That Warrant Caution" and "Herbs to Avoid") and clasifies every major herb you are likely to encounter (in teas, body creams, etc.). They also describe common concerns/ probelms in a very user-friendly yet authoritative manner.

I can't say enough about this book. It is my pregnancy bible.

This is light reading. I read it cover to cover in about a day. Like other reviewers have mentioned, a lot of it is really basic. Don't smoke, don't do drugs, do lose weight if you are overweight. I did like the descriptions of vitamins and minerals, and the part where they make some healthy menus is pretty good as well, but it didn't tell me a lot I didn't know. I think it was pretty good, but nothing fabulous that I would tell someone they HAVE to read.

I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking about having a baby. There aren't very many preconception books to make you aware of what you need to know long before you get pregnant. "Before Your Pregnancy" is comprehensive, detailed, and easy to read. It includes scenarios of real people in real-life situations. One reviewer mentioned that it doesn't give you a thorough conception "how-to" guide, and she's basically right, but really, there are lots of conception guides. This book really fills the need for women and couples who want to plan a future child as carefully and conscientiously as possible, people who "want to have their ducks in a row." I found the information on vitamins and on physical health particularly informative. If you think you might start trying to conceive in 3 months or 6 months or even a year, buy this book to help you get the best start!!

This book was disappointing, it was more of a general nutrition/health book than a guide for preconception. Most of the recommendations were common sense, eat healthy, don't drink, try to be at your target weight, ect. I guess I was expecting advice I had not heard before (and this was the first book I read on the topic). However, the BMI chart was good, and there is some interesting information about vaccines.

I was disappointed in this book. While it does contain good info on basic health/nutrition practices, it did not provide anything that other pregnancy books don't have. (Unless you're interested in specific metrics of each and every vitamin, mineral, etc.) I guess I don't know what I was expecting (otherwise I wouldn't have needed to buy the book) but thought they'd provide more info than 'follow the food pyramid', 'exercise regularly', and 'don't drink, smoke, or do drugs'. If you want to micromanage your diet (vs just trying to eat healthy), haven't been exposed to diet, exercise info before, or are concerned/at risk for passing along hereditary diseases than this may be a good reference book for you. Otherwise, invest in a good pregnancy book like 'The Mother of all Pregnancy Books'. It devotes a small section to preconception and a lot of the rest of the info can also be applied. Another outstanding book to read is "The Prenatal Prescription'. This book provides a lot of scientific explanations of how all the nutrition/exercise you practice now affects a baby later. It's very easy to read and tells you why versus just 'do this'.

This book really freaked me out. I learned a lot, but concluded from my readings that no one is fit to have a child and that everyone interested in conceiving should have been raised in a bubble. The book uses the theory that you are better safe then sorry, but all of the claims are not backed up scientifically. My recommendation is to read the book and not take it too seriously, then make a prenatal appointment with a gynecologist. The doctor will put your mind at ease.