The Panic-Free Pregnancy: An OB-GYN Separates Fact from Fiction on Food, Exercise, Travel, Pets, Coffee, Medications, and Concerns You Have When You Are Expecting [Paperback]

Michael Broder (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 1, 2004

While most pregnancy books only address the stages of the baby's development, The Panic-Free Pregnancy comprehensively covers the lifestyle issues and questions that confront every mom-to-be. Dr. Broder separates fact from fiction, media hype from old wives tales, and drawing on the latest scientific research offers an accessible, comprehensive reference book that answers questions about...

* Caffeine
* Exercise
* Flying
* Prescription and over-the-counter medications
* Sex
* Cosmetics
* Alcohol
* Herbal remedies
* and more

Organized in an easy-to-use question-and-answer format, this book will help women have the safest, healthiest, most anxiety-free pregnancy possible.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael S. Broder, M.D.'s research has been cited in numerous newspapers, magazines, and television shows, including 20/20, Health, Prevention, Parenting, and Family Circle. His work has been published in scientific journals such as JAMA and Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as in the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Broder is an assistant clinical professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Vice President of Zynx Life Sciences, a research group in Beverly Hills, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399529896
• ISBN-13: 978-0399529894
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Pregnancy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A lifesaver January 27, 2006

By mama2be

Format:Paperback

This book was recommended by my ob gyn and can I just say - thank goodness it was! I really take issue with the doula's review below, and feel that she skimmed the book instead of taking the time to read it.

For example, he doesn't say that you should not increase your water consumption, but rather dispells the myth that you have to drink 8.5 glasses a day. He also goes into detail why things like changing the cat litter, eating sushi, and drinking coffee and occasional alcohol are actually not the horrid things that we've been told, and more importantly ( I thought), he told you what the actual studies were that gave people the info in the first place. In one example, he cited a study which followed 100,000 women who drank less than 2 units of alcohol a day. Not one of the babies born to these women showed any ill effects whatsoever.

But he also stresses that smoking is incredibly harmful and should be eliminated completely.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is pregnant or wants to become pregnant. A stressed out mother can be more harmful to the unborn child than one who is happy and confident in her choices.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for first-time moms August 28, 2007

By Book Luvah

Format:Paperback

Whenever a friend became pregnant and said how hard it is to give up coffee, tuna, sushi, and pretty much everything under the sun, I would ask why. They never could answer. Well, they should read this book! This book is completely wonderful. Dr. Broder does NOT say you can do whatever you want; just read his section on smoking, which he says is a big NO-NO but then he goes on to explain WHY. Just as he explains WHY in Europe they are not as fanatical about not drinking during pregnancy vs. why the US medical community has their stance on the subject. Everything from sushi to hair dye to nail polish to using cold medicine is explained and discussed. His writing style is excellent, friendly and not too scientific; but more importantly, he backs up what he says with facts (for example, he supports breastfeeding but explains WHY, and he doesn't seem to condemn you if you don't choose to breastfeed). I am so glad I found this book.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ah....finally..... March 3, 2005

By Fruit Loop VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book was a lifesaver as well as an eye-opener. More doctors and midwives should read it instead of shaking their fingers at expectant moms who choose to continue their exercise routines and average daily diets. Too many women are told to put their lives completely on hold while they're pregnant - women like me who suffer debilitating migraines with pain that lasts for days are told by some doctors to "tough it out" and suffer rather than be given relief, another midwife insisted that "if you love your baby you'll get rid of your cat" ...and other absurdities. Women have been birthing for millennia without this "treat yourself like glass" mentality. This book is also indispensable for shutting up those old-wives-taletelling relatives! THANK YOU DR. BRODER! Now, back to my coffee and my yoga!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this reassuring, accurate version of pregnancy and childbirth November 9, 2005

By Jennifer Golden

Format:Paperback

After having the wits scared out of me with What to Expect When You're expecting with my first two pregnancies, this book offered a more realistic and reassuring take on the very natural, normal process of pregnancy and childbirth. I appreciated the fact that the author respect's the reader's intelligence by backing up his recommendations with scientific studies. He also debunks many of the scare tactics put forth by the pregnancy police brigade with documented studies and data.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A rational guide to pregnancy July 13, 2012

By msg

Format:Paperback

I purchased and read this book after a family member (incidentally, a NICU nurse) recommended it to me, and I am so glad I picked it up.

First, as other reviewers have noted, this is *not* a book about what specifically occurs during pregnancy and fetal development. If you're looking for the day by day, week by week of what changes your body's undergoing - this isn't it.

What this book is, however, is a supplement to those guides. It is a more in-depth exploration of the science and medicine behind all the "can do/can't do" lists for pregnant women -- it's the source material and the educational footnotes missing from all those kindergarten level lists contained in every other guide. It's the answer to all of us who are frustrated at hearing "no, because I said so" with no way to actually quantify or understand the risk(s) that drive the "no". I'm a relatively highly educated individual, early in my first pregnancy, and was already at the end of my rope with the list of strict prohibitions: no meat unless it's cooked to charcoal, only one 6 oz can of tuna once every other month, no mayonnaise, no cheese, no lettuce or spinach unless you've personally scrubbed and soaked it, no medicine unless its tylenol and only if you're going to die otherwise....and if you eat a chicken mcnugget YOU"RE GOING TO BE A TERRIBLE MOTHER!! HOW COULD YOU!! YOU'VE DONE IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO YOUR CHILD!!!

I kind of wish I was exaggerating. But I know that I was, frankly, to the point where between all these guides, my professionals and support staff, I was functionally being told that if I dared to step outside during my pregnancy, I was putting my child at an unnacceptable level of risk.... That creates a whole bunch of unnecessary stress, panic and depression - particularly for someone who's stuck working 60-80 hours a week while pregnant (just try packing clean, 100% organic lunches and little snacks, and prepping a similar breakfast and dinner while working so many hours, being predictably exhausted, and battling morning/noon/night sickness. If you claim you did it, I'm happy for you. But you are She-ra, not a real person). Being a reasonable and rational person, I know that all the things on the "never" list can't possibly all be 100% true. Every woman I've ever known has left their house during pregnancy, eaten in a restaurant, probably gone to work, on a roadtrip, and eaten fast food and largely we all have happy healthy babies. There is such a fundamental disconnect between the literature (everything is so dangerous!) and reality (if it was really that hard, our survival as a species would have been doomed eons ago), it's clear to any rational person that there is something missing in the middle. This book helps bridge the gap.

At least one other commentator said this book tells women what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. It doesn't (I want to be told desperately that it's ok to eat a cold ham sandwich - try again!). What this book does is tell you *specifically* what the risks triggering prohibitions are: i.e., ibuprofen makes many prohibition lists because it thins blood - clearly not the best move for an otherwise healthy pregnancy particularly as you appraoch a due date, but once or twice if you need to take it you're not going to kill your child or retard their development in utero.

That's why this book is useful, helpful and necessary - because inevitably when you screw something up, realize your meat thermometer wasn't working properly, lick that little bit of brownie batter from your finger, forget to ask if the mayonnaise used pastuerized eggs, ate a salad at a restaurant, accidentally took a sip of your sisters' gin and tonic instead of your sprite, your husband didn't do a great job cleaning the chicken cutting board, needed a cup of coffee to get through your 14 hour workday, or took something stronger than tylenol to quell your migraine....you don't have to feel like a panicked, miserable horrible failure. A lot of these are things your doctor legitimately probably *can't* tell you - from the perspective of their malpractice carrier, they better err on the side of just say "no" rather than say: "there's still a risk, it is a very very small one, your odds of winning the lottery are better, so the decision is ultimately yours". You now understand both the *quality* and *quantity* of the risk, and know with a pretty strong degree of certainty that you and your kid are still just fine. This book, at its core, brings some common sense back to the "being pregnant" business. Read more ›