Eating for Pregnancy: Your Essential Month-by-Month Nutrition Guide and Cookbook, 3rd Ed

Pregnancy is one of the most exciting times in a woman’s life. Depending on the woman, the speediness of getting pregnant may be quicker or slower than they expected or wanted. For women who may be planning their family, already in the process of getting ready for a family, or end up getting surprised into starting a family, authors Catherine Jones, Rose Ann Hudson, and Teresa Knight have worked hard to provide the expecting or hopefully expecting mothers with a completely revised and updated book that includes everything you will need (and more) to know before, during, and after the birth of your child. There is a bounty of information for women in all of the stages of the pregnancy process. This is not like your typical “What to Expect” book; instead, Eating for Pregnancy: Your Essential Month-by-Month Nutrition Guide and Cookbook includes information during pre-pregnancy and the beginning stages of pregnancy, and explains everything you should know (or ever want to) about your nutrition needs that are most important at this time for you and the baby. Each month is then discussed in detail, describing your baby’s development, changes going on in your own body, and ideal nutrition for this particular stage of pregnancy. At the end of each chapter is between nine and sixteen delicious recipes that will help you keep your body healthy, thus protecting your growing baby. The recipes listed are all-inclusive; they include meals with meat, vegetables, fruit, beans, tofu, fish, salads, soups, and even desserts (who doesn’t need dessert now more than ever?!). The recipes are simple to follow and include the nutrition information at the bottom of each page for women with special dietary needs or restrictions.

In my opinion, this is the ultimate pregnancy book. If followed, Eating for Pregnancy will help ensure a healthy pregnancy throughout your nine months, through the abundance of information gathered and given by Jones, Hudson, and Knight. From personal experience, I can say that I wish I would have had this book when I went through my pregnancies. Being able to have all of this information at my fingertips would have been very helpful. The more the world can make pregnancy easier and less stressful on the woman, the more likely we will notice better attitudes, healthier babies, and a better experience overall for everyone involved in the pregnancy process. A must-have for yourself, your sister, relative, neighbor, or even the perfect reading material while waiting at the doctor’s office!