Body, Soul, and Baby: A Doctor's Guide to the Complete Pregnancy Experience, From Preconception to Postpartum [Hardcover]

Tracy Gaudet (Author), Paula Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007

In a culture that rarely sees pregnancy as a journey to self-discovery, Body, Soul, and Baby offers a fresh perspective on this transformative life experience by showing women how to tune in to the cues offered by their bodies and souls—as well as by the babies growing within them—for a healthier pregnancy, a more fulfilling birth experience, and a deeper bond with their baby.

Drawing on the best of both complementary and conventional Western medicine, Dr. Gaudet has written a groundbreaking guide that shows you how to become an active participant in your pregnancy. By working with the natural processes of pregnancy, you can discover how to:

• Pick up important signals from within about what you need, what your body needs, and what is right for both you and your baby
• Tune in to cues that can alert you to early signs of problems
• Use the mind-body connection to reduce stress, explore this remarkable life change, and bond with your baby
• Nurture your whole self, including your evolving sexual and sensual needs
• Make informed and conscious choices that reflect both your personal feelings and the latest
medical information
• Collaborate with your doctor or midwife, and build a supportive health-care team

Empowering, inspiring, and respectful of the wisdom of the female body and spirit, this invaluable book also includes advice on eating right and staying active, and natural and alternative approaches to pain relief. Whether you’re already pregnant or preparing to be, the time to start listening to your inner wisdom is now, and the guide to doing it is here.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Having a baby? At last, a book that addresses all your concerns and supports all your hopes. Body, Soul, and Baby is a must have for every woman who not only plans to give birth but wants to become a mother in the fullest, most complete sense of the word."—Rachel Naomi Remen MD, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom

"From the first thought of getting pregnant to the magic of motherhood, this book celebrates every stage of the extraordinary process of giving birth. It's the perfect gift for any expecting mom or dad!"—Cheryl Richardson, author of Stand Up for Your Life, Life Makeovers, and Take Time for Your Life

“This is exactly what a pregnancy guide should be- up to date and comprehensive information about the medical aspects of pregnancy combined with what every mom to be needs to know about the rest of her body, mind, and soul. Pregnancy is indeed about more than what is going on in the uterus”.—Alice Domar, author of Self Nurture

"Body, Soul, and Baby is both a practical source book and inspiring companion to help all women access the inner wisdom available during pregnancy and birth."—Christiane Northrup

About the Author

Tracy W. Gaudet, M.D., is Executive Director of the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. The author of the highly acclaimed Consciously Female, Dr. Gaudet is a practicing, board-certified ob-gyn and the founding executive director of Dr. Andrew Weil’s Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. She lives with her son Ryan in Durham, North Carolina.

Paula Spencer is a freelance writer whose eight books include The V Book and Momfidence!: An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting. Author of the “Momfidence!” column in Woman’s Day, she is also a contributing editor to Parenting and Baby Talk. She lives with her husband and four children in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1 edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385335741
• ISBN-13: 978-0385335744
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.4 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for!, February 7, 2007

By 

imbeachgrl (brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Body, Soul, and Baby: A Doctor's Guide to the Complete Pregnancy Experience, From Preconception to Postpartum (Hardcover)

My mom sent me this book as a gift (thanks mom!) and it was just what I was looking for....something to help guide me through my pregnancy without "telling" me what I should be doing or feeling. It helps me to figure out my own feelings about what is going on with my body. The suggestions and exercises make your transition into motherhood more real and make you more aware of the changes that will come about. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for all of their options when it comes to fertility and pregnancy and finding their own way through this magnificent and amazing time!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding emotional advice; some medical disagreements, December 29, 2009

By 

Ananda Lowe "Author, The Doula Guide to Birth" (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Body, Soul, and Baby: A Doctor's Guide to the Complete Pregnancy Experience, From Preconception to Postpartum (Paperback)

As a health care writer and a future mother, this is currently my favorite book on pregnancy. There are a few excellent books from years ago that address the emotional journey of pregnancy and give the reader psychological exercises to try, such as "Pregnant Feelings" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy and "An Easier Childbirth" by Gayle Peterson, but this is one of the only recent books on the topic that I'm aware of. I love this approach -- and we need this book in a climate that neglects the central importance of emotions in pregnancy.

Mothers who use midwives and doulas are often drawn to the extra psychological support offered by their caregivers, and will probably respond well to this book. Also, mothers who see obstetricians would also find this book an important complement to their care, since doctors typically spend significantly less time on prenatal emotional support. Those who are familiar with the book "Birthing From Within" may appreciate "Body, Soul, and Baby" for its similar approach to pregnancy (the former is more solely focused on birth).

My complaints are few, but I was disappointed in the following recommendations made by author and physician Tracy Gaudet. When she writes about midwives, she ignores Certified Professional Midwives, the most common type of home birth midwife in the U.S. She speaks only of "lay" midwives who are uncertified, and she is not supportive -- but she doesn't base her comments on scientific evidence or have experience working in a home setting (research amply demonstrates that CPMs and home birth, which can be attended by doctors as well as midwives, are as safe or safer than hospital birth). Home birth families may be especially drawn to a personalized, emotionally-based approach to pregnancy, so it is unfortunate that Gaudet might alienate these readers.

She also writes that in cases of stillbirth, she supports the option of elective cesarean section (as an alternative to expecting the mother to birth vaginally). She means to spare the mother the sadness of laboring with a stillborn. However, I find the recommendation troubling and lacking in evidence, as it adds the potential risks of major surgery, such as depression, hemorrage or infection, and possible future infertility, to an already very painful situation.

Overall, as a childbirth professional I love this book for filling a great need among pregnancy books -- and hope to meet the author someday, since we share a publisher.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different Perspective for Baby Books, March 20, 2009

By 

C. Burton (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Body, Soul, and Baby: A Doctor's Guide to the Complete Pregnancy Experience, From Preconception to Postpartum (Paperback)

This is a great book because it's written more to give the reader a different perspective of the entire pregnancy process than a typical Mayo Clinic type pregnancy book. It makes you look a little deeper at things like how the you feel, etc. versus just the medical facts.