Francesca Naish

This book is definitely thorough! Almost to a fault. By the middle of the book, I was feeling pretty discouraged that I'd never be able to make all the changes necessary to increase our chances for a healthy conception, pregnancy, and child. I had to remind myself that you just do what you can, and that's all you can expect from yourself. (I really wish the authors had tempered their massive amounts of information with sentiments like that.)

If you read this, I would recommend reminding yourself that you don't have to do everything in the book. For example, they recommend starting your preconception health care plan 4 months before you start trying, but I've read lots of other places that 3 months is reasonable. I think the reason they say 4 months in this book is that sperm can take *up to* 116 days to form, which is almost 4 months. But we've decided to split the difference and start about 110 days before.

This book has tons of information about what kinds of nutrients you need, things to avoid (alcohol, smoking, caffeine, etc), reducing your exposure to toxic metals and chemicals, getting fit, and reducing your stress level. It's a very thorough resource, but read it a little at a time so you're not overwhelmed!… (altro)