For a Blissful Baby: Healthy and Happy Pregnancy with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health [Paperback]

Kumuda Reddy (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Samhita Enterprises Inc. (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157582020X
• ISBN-13: 978-1575820200
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,038,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightened Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting, April 18, 2000

By 

Marci Freeman, Ph.D. (Fairfield, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For a Blissful Baby: Healthy and Happy Pregnancy with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health (Paperback)

Every woman (and man) who intends to become a parent--and every health professional--should read this book. What a relief to finally have an easy-to-read connection between every aspect of prenatal and postpartum health to Nature's cosmic intelligence. This book is spiritual but without any religious overtones, making it culturally sensative yet universally applicable. It teaches practical how-to techniques to improve maternal and infant health with simple methods that have been time-tested for thousands of years--fostering trust in their effectiveness. The authors draw extensively on the knowledge of Ayur-Veda, the most complete system of health from ancient India. The book details the course of conception, pregnancy, and childbirth according to modern science, supplemented by relevant quotes from Vedic texts, and advises on maternal diet and exercise according to individual body types. We get recommendations on daily massage for mother and newborn, with references to research and anecdotes from parents who have used the specific methods described here. "For a Blissful Baby" also refers to the benefits of practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program, citing ample scientific research supporting the practical value of this particular technique for prospective parents. This research indicates that TM reduces stress, hypertension, depression, ill-health and substance use while developing creativity, happiness, and energy--all signs of higher levels of consciousness, and ideal parenting. And development of consciousness is described as really essential for ideal parenting. If every maternity clinic in the country gave this book out, I'd bet we would see a huge drop in childbirth complications, postpartum depression, and child abuse and neglect. This could realistically ensure the newest generation's growing up in a nurturing environment. Every child deserves a holistic approach to birth and growth, and parents who are happy and healthy; this book could be mom's and dad's best friend.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some serious problems, February 1, 2001

By 

Joshua Hershberg (Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For a Blissful Baby: Healthy and Happy Pregnancy with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health (Paperback)

Because I was interested in holistic approaches to pregnancy, I was very excited to read this book when I was pregnant with my second child. In retrospect, however, Dr. Reddy steered me seriously wrong in some fundamentals. Following the Ayurvedic texts somewhat rigidly, she recommends against eating more often than three meals a day. I attempted to do this, and was constantly starving - I wound up eating full meals in the middle of the night, just so I could be full enough to sleep! As a result of this unrealistic approach, I gained over 50 pounds. Similarly, she repeats the ayurvedic text's outline of not sleeping in the afternoon. This is also not practical for most pregnant women, who need to rest a huge amount. When I was physically unable to follow her guidelines, I felt guilty, of course, that I wasn't providing my baby with the "best start possible." Some time after I gave birth, I was in touch with some trained Ayurvedic doctors in India, and asked them about the eating question. They said that as long as my body was functioning well and digesting properly, there was no problem with eating more often during the day. Ultimately, I chose to handle the pregnancy as I did, and I take responsibility for my decisions. However, I suspect that Dr. Reddy is not completely trained in ayurveda, but rather has a cursory knowledge, and as a result she presents information without appropriate context. In all fairness, there were many ideas in the book that I did benefit from, especially the suggestion to meditate regularly.