Your Vegetarian Pregnancy : A Month-by-Month Guide to Health and Nutrition
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
- ISBN13: 9780743224529
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description When you’re eating for two, you need to eat well. There’s no question that a vegetarian or vegan diet is just as nutritionally sound during pregnancy as one that includes animal protein. In fact, vegetarian nutrition offers pregnant women valuable health benefits that you simply won’t find in a nonvegetarian diet, such as higher levels of folic acid, lower cholesterol, and an abundant variety of essential minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. Whether you are already . . . More >>
Your Vegetarian Pregnancy : A Month-by-Month Guide to Health and Nutrition
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
I was really looking forward to this book as being a voice of insightful reason about what it means to be pregnant in a world that regards vegetarianism as a faze and therefore pregnancy as an opportunity to end that faze. In that sense the assessment of vegetarian diets for nutriets combined with meat eaters was somewhat helpful. But also a little tedious.
What made me really dislike this book though is that I sometimes found it a little panicky– you must see you doctor immediately if a, b, or c happen when other books and sources are much quicker to reassure readers that lots of things happen in pregnancy and most are normal; this book could send a nervous mom-to-be in to repeated panics.
Secondly, it was a little preachy– “vegans are the purest”, notions like pregnant veggies are special because they are “bringing a new life into the world without taking a new life” came across as santimonious rather than helpful. For people who are already committed to vegetarian lifestyles, this is unneccessary. For people contemplating vegetarian lifestyles, this is condescending and rude.
Finally, there were some general scientific inaccuracies (not about vitamins or what to eat maybe) but the counting system for instance is just wrong. Month 1 is 4-8 weeks. Month 2 is 8-12 weeks. Which month is week 8 again? Inaccuracies like that suggest someone without much practical experience or intellecutal rigor.
Rating: 1 / 5
Rachel
22 Feb 10 at 11:37 am
Cheese is generally safe for pregnant women to eat, as all cheeses must be made from pasteurized milk and/or aged for at least 60 days according to FDA rules. However, my doctor and many other non cheese experts out there simply tell pregnant women not to eat “soft” cheeses to avoid listeria (something that’s pretty difficult to contract, by the way). As ovo-lacto vegetarians, cheese is a pretty important way we get calcium AND protein, so avoiding it unnecessarily really puts a strain on dietary possibilities. As a book focused on vegetarianism, I was shocked to discover the word cheese is not listed in the index because there is no discussion of cheese in the book!! The book spends most of the time talking about regular pregnancy issues that you can get from any other book (I’ve liked What to Expect. . . for its simplicity and non-gushy tone). It’s like this book is trying to be all things to all pregnant women, but I would have preferred a book that focused on what makes a vegetarian pregnancy different with specifics on what to do or not to do. I would think a good and factual discussion of cheese, listeria and all the issues about it so women can have an intelligent conversation with their doctors instead of blindly following instructions would have been a central discussion of this book. PS, I’ve been a vegetarian for 21+ years, so I’m not new to the concerns and issues of being a vegetarian, was just hoping to get some specific guidance for these new circumstances!!
Rating: 1 / 5
No-longer-Pregnant Vegetarian
22 Feb 10 at 12:25 pm
This book has lots of useful information about healthy vegetarian pregnancies. Detailed guides and timelines will be a valuable resource to pregnant vegetarians.
Rating: 5 / 5
C. Brooks
22 Feb 10 at 1:36 pm
I really did not like this book. I donated it to Goodwill already. There is no sense (at least that I can see) for the way the book is laid out and I think the way the author counts pregnancy is weird. . . most people count weeks 1-4 as month one, even though you do not know you are pregnant yet. She counts it as month zero. Although this is valid, it is not the way any other book I own counts pregnancy, so it is too confusing for me.
The book gets two stars for its nutritional information. I cannot see how this information can be easily used by many who are not RDs, but it is cool to look at. Maybe it would be helpful if you have worried family members, but I kind of doubt it. . . you could really only make them feel better about protein.
I would not buy this book again, obviously, since I got rid of it!
Rating: 2 / 5
HMarten
22 Feb 10 at 3:56 pm
I thought this book was interesting and informative, but not beyond the second chapter.
The second chapter on nutrition runs through detailed information about all the essential nutriants and general dietary guidlines. This is the best section of the book if you want to understand what to eat and why.
Unfortunately, the month-by-moth guide is greatly lacking in detail and information. I think there is too much general (and very unnecessary) commentaries, such as complications from eating fish or having a venereal disease. I’d rather have had more information about what exactly is happening with my body and my baby’s, what foods are ideal for what stage in development.
So, if all you need is some (fairly comprehensive) information about nutrition and very general information about your pregnancy, this book should be fine. On the other hand, I’ve not seen a better book that deals with vegetarian pregnancy, particularly because the author is so reassuring about maintaining a vegetarian diet during pregnancy.
Rating: 3 / 5
reader
22 Feb 10 at 5:44 pm