not so good

I really wanted to like this book. I wasn't even expecting it to have lots of information that I didn't already know, having done a ton of research myself in my role as fertility counselor, but thought that it would be slightly helpful at least. It was not. It was instead incomplete and incorrect.

Conclusions made are inconsistent - thing A is to be treated with caution because its safety for pregnant women is unproven, whereas thing B is considered safe because it has never been shown to cause problems. Where is the logic here? There is no difference between "never been shown to cause problems" and "safety unproven". And if there is a difference in the proven safety of these two things, it should be stated explicitly rather than left at these two vague comments.

Some statements are just plain incorrect. For example, it is stated that ovulation is the day of the basal body temperature rise, when in fact the temperature rise usually occurs the day following ovulation. Also, intercourse on this day is stated to give the best chance of conception. This is incorrect whichever way you look at it - intercourse on the day of the temperature rise is usually too late (being the day after ovulation, the egg is often dead by then), and intercourse on the day of ovulation is still not the best timing (for those who are interested, intercourse the day before ovulation is best, although difficult to time). I have to wonder what other "facts" in this book are downright wrong.

Finally, conclusions are drawn without sharing the information used to make them. It is claimed that a woman who has no immunity to rubella must get vaccinated, stating that the potential risks of the vaccine far outweigh the benefits. Nowhere is it mentioned that an adult woman receiving the rubella vaccine has much higher risk of serious medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and thrombocytopenia, and that according to the CDC the incidence of rubella in the US is extremely low. Whether or not the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks is something for women to decide for themselves, with all pertinent information.

Now, I would expect a book written by two doctors to side more often with medical gospel than not, but I was very surprised by the lack of portrayal of the other side of the issues. Or more to the point, that some things were treated as complete non-issues: women are encouraged to run right out and get the flu and chicken pox shots, with no mention of their risks or efficacy.

I should say that I did find the information on weight, diet, and exercise to be very thorough and mostly consistent with other reading I have done. Still, I simply cannot recommend this book.

Excellent Preconception Resource

I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking about having a baby. There aren't very many preconception books to make you aware of what you need to know long before you get pregnant. "Before Your Pregnancy" is comprehensive, detailed, and easy to read. It includes scenarios of real people in real-life situations. One reviewer mentioned that it doesn't give you a thorough conception "how-to" guide, and she's basically right, but really, there are lots of conception guides. This book really fills the need for women and couples who want to plan a future child as carefully and conscientiously as possible, people who "want to have their ducks in a row." I found the information on vitamins and on physical health particularly informative. If you think you might start trying to conceive in 3 months or 6 months or even a year, buy this book to help you get the best start!!

Love this book!!!

This a great book. Well researched and divided into easy to find topic groups/chapters. If I had one recommedation, it would be a suggested list of vitamin manufacturers. I have not been able to find one that meets all of her recommendations.