Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy: The Complete Guide To Eating Before, During, And After Your Pregnancy (Henry Holt Reference Book) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Somer M.A. R.D. (Author)

Book Description

Series: Henry Holt Reference Book | Publication Date: August 15, 1995

A reliable reference covering all stages of pregnancy, with recipes, extensive charts, and dietary guidelines for each trimester.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There is no shortage of books on how pregnant women should conduct their lives, especially when it comes to eating. But here experienced nutritionist and author Somer (her works include Nutrition for Women and Food and Mood) has capsulized basic nutritional information in an easy-to-use, helpful guide. Some advice is a little unrealistic, such as suggesting that women consume no caffeine at all during pregnancy. Generally, though, this resource offers both basic tips on good health and more advanced nutritional recommendations. Also included are recipes that fit most active lifestyles. A nice addition to a library's pregnancy shelf. Mary Frances Wilkens

Review

"This is the first book of its kind to present sound dietary guidelines on all aspects of pregnancy."
-Miriam Erick, M.S., R.D., author of No More Morning Sickness

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (August 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805037756
• ISBN-13: 978-0805037753
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,192,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My "thing" is that I keep up with the current nutrition research. I've been reading 100s of research studies for years, then packaging that information into news-you-can-use for magazines, books, national and local television and radio, presentations to the general public, and continuing education seminars for health professionals. I specialize in understandable and practical information on how to eat and supplement and why to prevent disease and premature aging, promote health, and attain and maintain a healthy weight. For the past two decades, my aim has been to be the source of nutrition information that people can really trust to be accurate, up-to-date, and sound. I passionately love the science of nutrition, as well as cooking and preparing healthy meals, and believe with all my heart that if people just nourished their bodies with high-quality fuel, they would be rewarded a hundred-fold with health, energy, vitality, longevity, clear thinking, a fit figure, and improved moods.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good book for vegetarians, too, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy: The Complete Guide To Eating Before, During, And After Your Pregnancy (Henry Holt Reference Book) (Paperback)

I bought this book after returning a vegetarian pregnancy book, and I'm really pleased with it. I find the nutrition information detailed, easy to read and understand, and well-organized. The author is positive about vegetarian diets (many pregnancy authors are way too conservative about this, in my opinion). She makes easy to follow dietary recommendations for each stage of pregnancy--it's very easy to fit "your own" diet into it, including a vegetarian diet. I really appreciate the tables listing calcium-rich foods, iron-rich foods, etc.

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Out-of-date..., November 1, 2004

By 

Ellie (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, Revised Edition: The Complete Guide to Eating Before, During, and After Your Pregnancy (Paperback)

Though there is useful information about the nutrients in different food groups, I got this book at the same time as a "mayo clinic on healthy weight" and the differences were striking. Somer appears to base a lot of nutritional advice on the US RDA and "old school" food pyramid, which has been subject to lobbying by farmers and large food corporations rather than sound medical advice, and the latest research by health-based, rather than profit-biased, scientists.

Also, the author tends to leave the subject matter and speak on other pregnancy health issues. Since this wouldn't have been the only book I buy to learn about my pregnancy, much of the information was redundant and less well-informed than books that make overall pregnancy health their goal.

If you'd like something more concise, I'd recommend "Eating for Pregnancy - an essential guide to nutrition for the whole family" which has a shorter section on nutrients and their use for the baby, then a whole slew of recipes with their nutritional content. Then for the overall pregnancy health to fill in the gaps, "Mayo Clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy", with medical advice and information about the baby's development at each 4 week segment.

66 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useful advice? It's in there...somewhere..., September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, Revised Edition: The Complete Guide to Eating Before, During, and After Your Pregnancy (Paperback)

My wife and I came to this book for advice on our first pregnancy and had to work hard to get to the useful stuff.

Let's start with the chapter on "Nutrition During the First Trimester" (which is where we were when we bought the book). There's a section called "Optimal Weight Gain" where the author talks a lot about gaining too much weight and not gaining enough, but little on what is just right. There's plenty of Cosmo-esque "advice" ("You are eating for two, but that second person is a baby not a linebacker", "If you want that prepregnancy little black dress to fit after pregnancy...") before you get to anything useful ("Aim for a 25 to 35 pound gain, but don't worry if you're short or over this mark as long as you are monitored by a physician.").

The author advises pregnant women to not obsess over their weight. This advice would have been helpful for the author, who open each pregnancy chapter with a long section on weight gain. These sections contain a lot of harping on "don't gain too much!" and "don't gain too little!" without the corresponding "just right" information.

Ironically, the author clucks her tongue at pre-liberation women who would obsess about gaining too much weight. I wonder if the author realizes how much she perpetuates such obsessions with her "little black dress" references. As you read the book, you get the impression that she's a little obsessed herself and you find yourself wanting to comfort the author that you fully understand the perils of too-much-or-not-enough weight gain, and could we please change the subject?

Also annoying is Somer's tendancy to talk down to her readers. Lots of advice is doled out with a "Do this" or "Don't do that" attitude, sometimes falling annoyingly short on the reasons why.

That's not to say the book isn't useful. Once you get beyond the unnecessarily stylized content, you'll get a good education on supplements, what foods to avoid, and foods that are especially helpful during pregnancy (or "SUPER FOODS!!!").

But the overall tone of the book is more fashion magazine than professional (especially compared to the far superior "What to Expect When Expecting" books). It is pretty telling that the "about the author" credits list "The Today Show", "Good Morning America" and "Shape" magazine first. It reads like something stylistically packaged that occasionally contains useful information.