Pregnancy Sickness: Using Your Body's Natural Defenses To Protect Your Baby-to-be (Paperback)

~ (Author) "PREGNANCY IS USUALLY VIEWED as a nine-month continuum, divided, for convenience, into three equal parts-the first, second, and third trimesters..." (more)
Key Phrases: severe pregnancy sickness, vulnerable embryo, potato toxins, United States, Other First-Trimester Hazards, Trusting Food Aversions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An award-winning scientist details for the first time how pregnancy sickness is much more than an unfortunate side effect of the first trimester. Rather, it is a highly evolved natural mechanism designed to protect a vulnerable embryo from harm. By explaining the process of how foods affect the embryo--and by listing good and bad foods--Pregnancy Sickness is an essential, proactive guide to a healthy baby.

About the Author

Margie Profet is a 1993 MacArthur Prize Fellowship—winning evolutionary biologist. A graduate of both Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley, she is a scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201154927
• ISBN-13: 978-0201154924
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,146,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most truthful guide to first trimester sickness I've read..., November 13, 1997

By	Julia Beadles "MsDrPepper" (Kansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After becoming pregnant and being told by various members of my family that I probably would not experience very much pregnancy sickness, I was surprised by the intensity of the sickness that I did experience. I went to the bookstore and bought several books about pregnancy sickness - and "Pregnancy Sickness..." by Margie Profet turned out to be the most helpful book that I read. After giving a fairly complete overview of how plants defend themselves, Ms. Profet explains various studies and theories on how plant toxins affect the embryo in the earliest stages of growth, and how your body's natural defenses go to work to protect the embryo from these toxins. While it is still not fun experiencing these symptons, it is reassuring to know what the purposes of these defenses are, and Ms. Profet's book details foods and situations to avoid until this period of time is over. In any case, one can't help but realize that no, they are not "crazy" for feeling nausea and having aversions to foods that we ate with great gusto prior to pregnancy - it is all part of the defense mechanisms in place to protect their unborn embryo, on its' journey towards birth.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A ground breaking book on an under investigated topic, February 5, 1999

By A Customer

Margie Profet's book has come under some criticism for advising pregnant women to "not eat vegetables." Those who make this criticism have not carefully read her book! What she actually says is that pregnant women in their first trimester (which she refers to as the embryo stage) may find themselves avoiding/becoming nauseated by strong smelling foods such as broccoli, garlic, brussels spouts, onions etc. She states that this may be a natural, evolutionary development due in part to the fact that such plants contain toxins that can seriously harm the very vulnerable embryo. Margie Profet states several times that she only wishes to get the information out to first trimester women about the dangers of plant toxins and that it is not her intention to dole out dietary information. The difficulty with this information (and Profet clearly states this several times) is that research on the effects of plant toxins on embryos is seriously lacking. I really like how Margie Profet divides the pregnancy into two parts (the embryo stage and the fetal or growing stage) instead of three parts (the three trimesters) as most books and health care providers do. She makes a good case for the logic of this division : the baby is developing ,growing new organs and limbs in the embryo stage and is growing larger and is less susceptible to toxins during the fetal stage. Some people might find this book a little dry, especially if they are unfamiliar with scientific methods. However, Profet's consistent citing of scientific studies only legitimizes her arguments. This book is a must read for all pregnant women/couples.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to avoid nausea during pregnancy read this book., November 2, 2002

By A Customer

This book was absolutely amazing in that it explained the physiological reasons for many of the bizzare ways my body was behaving. I followed what the book said and did not experience a single day of pregnancy sickness. I have told friends about it and they have all been able to avert nausea. I would recommend it to anyone in the early stages of a pregnancy.