Great for 1989 mom, but needs updating for today

books:


	• Before You Conceive: The Complete Pregnancy Guide B. Blake Levitt Bantam, 1989 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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Not the easiest to read and needs to be updated

Just judging from the cover, this book needs to be updated. I bought this awhile ago and since then, easier to read books have been published. There is alot of info in it - sometimes it drags on. I wound up skipping alot of it to be honest. Good for those who have history of certain diseases in their family.... i found it to be abit boring.

Great for 1989 mom, but needs updating for today

When I was looking for a pre-conception book, I was interested in a book that helped me make a fully-informed decision, including the idea and repercussions of waiting until I'm older, adopting or not having children at all. Most pregnancy books address conception or pre-conception as a troubleshooting guide for fertility and a quick science lesson on how conception takes place.

This book covered the health aspects of pre-pregnancy (establishing proper nutrition & fitness and reducing exposure to toxins) but included only a two page section on "The complexities of parenthood" which dipped into a very specific aspect of pregnancy on the parents psyche. This book is definitely written for a woman who has already decided on getting pregnant and does not address whether she should get pregnant at all. I'm not sure such a book exists. If you hear of it, let me know.

For what it is, this 1989 book was very up-to-date when it was written and covers a lot of issues that were new in the 80's. (Watch out of AIDS! Newsflash; lead is bad.) However, it could do with a revised and updated edition. This book covers basic nutritional guidelines, genetic considerations, toxins and effects of drugs or mother's age on a developing fetus. It stresses the importance of getting ready for pregnancy before conception but there aren't many hard or fast guidelines, mostly just descriptions with the bend towards 'rather safer than sorry.'

Although it's well written and many of the guidelines the authors give you haven't changed much, your time would be better spent reading 'Before Your Pregnancy' (Ogle & Mazzullo, 2002) which covers everything in this book plus a little more since it's been written in this decade. For example, in the 80's, lead came from cars and leaded gasoline, so 'Before You Conceive' says to stay away from buildings next to highways, but gardening isn't addressed. Fast foward 20 years, and now leaded gasoline isn't used, but all the leftover lead is in the soil. 'Before Your Pregnancy' advises gardeners to take precautions.

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