“This is an outstanding book for anyone thinking of having a baby.”—Lee Salk, Ph. D., author of The Complete Dr. Salk: An A-to-Z Guide to Raising Your Child A classic in the field of preventive medicine, here is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to reducing the risks to your baby before you get pregnant. Written by a pioneer in pregnancy medicine and a New York Times feature writer, Before You Conceive is aimed at parents and includes: • A prepregnancy guide to nutrition: what you should eat—what to avoid • Safe and easy-to-follow exercise guidelines before and during pregnancy • What you should know about over-the-counter and prescription drugs • The importance of your family medical history • Advice on fertility enhancement • How toxins and unsuspected hazards in the workplace and in homes may affect your pregnancy • Immunizations that may help prevent birth defects • Reducing the effects of preexisting medical disorders on your pregnancy • PLUS, information on irregular menstruation, reversing tubal ligation and vasectomy, smoking and passive smoking, alcohol and drugs, your biological clock, and much more! “Prepregnancy planning is an idea whose time has come. This book is a ‘should read’ for those women and couples thinking about pregnancy who want to prevent problems and paln for an optimal result.”—Timothy R. B. Johnson, M. D., Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Prospective parents learn how they can lay the foundations for a healthy, happy family life even before their children are conceived. This guide shows parents how they can optimize children's physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Illustrations.

Now completely revised and updated, the classic guide that helps mothers- and fathers-to-be conceive more easily and boost the odds of a healthy pregnancy Covering preconception and interconception (between-pregnancy) well-being for women and men, Amy Ogle and Lisa Mazzullo draw on new research from their complementary fields of expertise and reveal how good preconception health can lower the risk of pregnancy complications and improve lifelong health. Why a ninety-day guide? It takes that long for sperm to mature, and at least that much time for the prospective mother to ensure that her body becomes pregnancy-ready. In a warm, intelligent style, the authors address up-to-date topics such as age, heredity, vaccinations, supplements, and weight. In easily accessible chapters, this guide covers such topics as • Nutrition: meal makeovers plus new facts (and fiction) about fish, omega-3s, vitamins, and herbs • Personal readiness: how to assess emotional, financial, and physical readiness, including a preconception-friendly exercise program, plus advice for avid athletes • Becoming an informed patient: choosing a doctor, insurance coverage, baby-friendly medications, and the latest genetic screening guidelines • Women’s health: expanded coverage of gynecologic and medical conditions affecting fertility and pregnancy (including bariatric surgery and physical disabilities), and steps to create a welcoming womb by optimizing immune health • Environment: a roundup of environmental exposures and travel tips • Men’s health: practical lifestyle advice for men to help maximize the number and health of sperm • Conception: clear signs that predict when to “start trying,” and the truth behind common myths • Infertility: reassuring options for reproductive assistance • Interconception health: the best plan for pregnancy recovery, before trying for another • Resources: questionnaires for your preconception medical visit, and charts to track fertility signs

Comforting and intimate, this “girlfriend” guide to getting pregnant gets to the heart of all the emotional issues around having children—biological pressure, in-law pressures, greater social pressures—to support women who are considering getting pregnant. Trying to get pregnant is enough to make any woman impatient. The Impatient Woman’s Guide to Getting Pregnant is a complete guide to the medical, psychological, social, and sexual aspects of getting pregnant, told in a funny, compassionate way, like talking to a good friend who’s been through it all. And in fact, Dr. Jean Twenge has been through it all—the mother of three young children, she started researching fertility when trying to conceive for the first time. A renowned sociologist and professor at San Diego State University, Dr. Twenge brought her research background to the huge amount of information—sometimes contradictory, frequently alarmist, and often discouraging— that she encountered online, from family and friends, and in books, and decided to go into the latest studies to find out the real story. The good news is: There is a lot less to worry about than you’ve been led to believe. Dr. Twenge gets to the heart of the emotional issues around getting pregnant, including how to prepare mentally and physically when thinking about conceiving; how to talk about it with family, friends, and your partner; and how to handle the great sadness of a miscarriage. Also covered is how to know when you’re ovulating, when to have sex, timing your pregnancy, maximizing your chances of getting pregnant, how to tilt the odds toward having a boy or a girl, and the best prenatal diet. Trying to conceive often involves an enormous amount of emotion, from anxiety and disappointment to hope and joy. With comfort, humor, and straightforward advice, The Impatient Woman’s Guide to Getting Pregnant is the bedside companion to help you through it.

THE FIRST EVER CLEANSE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO GET A WOMAN'S BODY TO AN IDEAL STATE FOR MOTHERHOOD Being pregnant is an amazing experience, but before you conceive, you’ll want to do everything possible to minimize risk and maximize the well-being of mother and child. This book’s step-by-step detox will help you cleanse your system and reach optimal health for carrying a baby. Detox Before You’re Expecting provides: •Gentle, whole-foods cleanse program •Delicious, nutrient-packed recipes •Natural, non-toxic product guide •Fertility-boosting plan Don’t wait! Your baby’s healthy beginning starts with you getting healthy first, even before you see the plus sign.

Making a healthy baby begins with healthy ingredients. Learn how to hack your diet to increase fertility--getting your body into the best baby-making shape--in only four weeks! The latest research reveals that by optimizing nutrition, you can boost your chances of conceiving and having a safe, healthy pregnancy and baby. But with so much information out there, how can you make sure you're getting the nutrients you need to maximize fertility and avoiding the seemingly healthy foods that could be interfering with fertility? In this comprehensive guide, diet and nutrition expert and research neuroscientist Dr. Nicole Avena offers revolutionary science-based advice for women and men who are either thinking about having a baby, already trying, or dealing with fertility issues.

Doctors and researchers are increasingly learning that by the time a woman gets pregnant, she may have already missed a critical window of opportunity to give her baby the best start in life. In this friendly and authoritative guide, Dr. Michael C. Lu, an expert in the field, offers a step-by-step prepregnancy plan that will help you have a safer pregnancy and a smarter and healthier child. Dr. Lu's plan explains how you can help prevent pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, and minimize the likelihood of many childhood conditions, from asthma to autism. His expert advice includes: Ten brain foods you should eat more Ten toxic foods to avoid Ten steps to strengthen your stress resilience Ten steps to tune up your immune system Ten steps to detoxify your environment And much more!