Pregnancy Sickness: Using Your Body's Natural Defenses to Protect Your Baby-To-Be

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Summary: Most truthful guide to first trimester sickness I've read...
Review: After becoming pregnant and being told by various members of my family that I probably would not experience very much pregnancy sickness, I was surprised by the intensity of the sickness that I did experience. I went to the bookstore and bought several books about pregnancy sickness - and "Pregnancy Sickness..." by Margie Profet turned out to be the most helpful book that I read. After giving a fairly complete overview of how plants defend themselves, Ms. Profet explains various studies and theories on how plant toxins affect the embryo in the earliest stages of growth, and how your body's natural defenses go to work to protect the embryo from these toxins. While it is still not fun experiencing these symptons, it is reassuring to know what the purposes of these defenses are, and Ms. Profet's book details foods and situations to avoid until this period of time is over. In any case, one can't help but realize that no, they are not "crazy" for feeling nausea and having aversions to foods that we ate with great gusto prior to pregnancy - it is all part of the defense mechanisms in place to protect their unborn embryo, on its' journey towards birth.

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Summary: A ground breaking book on an under investigated topic
Review: Margie Profet's book has come under some criticism for advising pregnant women to "not eat vegetables." Those who make this criticism have not carefully read her book! What she actually says is that pregnant women in their first trimester (which she refers to as the embryo stage) may find themselves avoiding/becoming nauseated by strong smelling foods such as broccoli, garlic, brussels spouts, onions etc. She states that this may be a natural, evolutionary development due in part to the fact that such plants contain toxins that can seriously harm the very vulnerable embryo. Margie Profet states several times that she only wishes to get the information out to first trimester women about the dangers of plant toxins and that it is not her intention to dole out dietary information. The difficulty with this information (and Profet clearly states this several times) is that research on the effects of plant toxins on embryos is seriously lacking. I really like how Margie Profet divides the pregnancy into two parts (the embryo stage and the fetal or growing stage) instead of three parts (the three trimesters) as most books and health care providers do. She makes a good case for the logic of this division : the baby is developing ,growing new organs and limbs in the embryo stage and is growing larger and is less susceptible to toxins during the fetal stage. Some people might find this book a little dry, especially if they are unfamiliar with scientific methods. However, Profet's consistent citing of scientific studies only legitimizes her arguments. This book is a must read for all pregnant women/couples.

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Summary: Interesting reading, but not too practical
Review: Most of the reviews on this book are misleading. First of all, this book does NOT help you avoid the symptoms of "pregnancy sickness" (which is Profet's term for "morning sickness," as it is not just a condition in the morning). Unfortunately, that is why I bought the book. What I received instead was a lot of evolutionary theory (Profet is an evolutionary biologist, according to the too-brief bio), which, although interesting, is not exactly what I'm looking for, since nausea has slammed into my 6th week like a ton of bricks. Also, as Profet herself admits, much of the book is not based on scientific evidence, but many cross-cultural observations and some tests on animals. Hardly stunning proof of her conclusions. I agree with one reader that it may be comforting to hear an explanation for why vegetables may not exactly be appealing at this point in pregnancy; however, I need more information as to what TO eat, as what NOT to eat is becoming abundantly clear with each passing day. This is Profet's weakness. Bottom line: if you're interested in how evolutionary theory ties into your overwhelming desire to toss your cookies every minute of the day during pregnancy, then this book is for you. Otherwise, skip it and find something more practical (and grounded in actual research).

Rating:
Summary: Interesting reading, but not too practical
Review: Most of the reviews on this book are misleading. First of all, this book does NOT help you avoid the symptoms of "pregnancy sickness" (which is Profet's term for "morning sickness," as it is not just a condition in the morning). Unfortunately, that is why I bought the book. What I received instead was a lot of evolutionary theory (Profet is an evolutionary biologist, according to the too-brief bio), which, although interesting, is not exactly what I'm looking for, since nausea has slammed into my 6th week like a ton of bricks. Also, as Profet herself admits, much of the book is not based on scientific evidence, but many cross-cultural observations and some tests on animals. Hardly stunning proof of her conclusions. I agree with one reader that it may be comforting to hear an explanation for why vegetables may not exactly be appealing at this point in pregnancy; however, I need more information as to what TO eat, as what NOT to eat is becoming abundantly clear with each passing day. This is Profet's weakness. Bottom line: if you're interested in how evolutionary theory ties into your overwhelming desire to toss your cookies every minute of the day during pregnancy, then this book is for you. Otherwise, skip it and find something more practical (and grounded in actual research).

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Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: This book is a fascinating look at an interesting theory - that pregnant women experience "pregnancy sickness" as a way of protecting the rapidly growing embryo from toxins in foods that are not harmful to adults. While I didn't 100 percent buy the concept, I found the theory incredibly interesting and believe that the author gives a great deal of information to back up her beliefs. It was reassuring to know that my pregnancy sickness is normal and may exist for a good reason. It also made me feel better to know that it is normal and probably beneficial to be avoiding most vegetables, since before I had thought that I was being "bad" by not eating a well-balanced diet. Anyone experiencing pregnancy sickness would probably find this book helpful and interesting.

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Summary: If you want to avoid nausea during pregnancy read this book.
Review: This book was absolutely amazing in that it explained the physiological reasons for many of the bizzare ways my body was behaving. I followed what the book said and did not experience a single day of pregnancy sickness. I have told friends about it and they have all been able to avert nausea. I would recommend it to anyone in the early stages of a pregnancy.

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Summary: Interesting theory but unsubstantiated...
Review: This isn't a guide to diet during pregnancy, but rather an interesting theory on Pregnancy Sickness--and it's not the most well documented study by any means. I didn't buy it for it's scientific merit though, I bought it because I've had severe morning sickness since my 5th week and I was hoping it would guide me towards some good choices to eat or at the very least some safe choices for foods I wouldn't immediately throw up. But that's not really what the book is for, so if that is what you're after look elsewhere--cause despite the title this really isn't a very helpful book for pregnant women dealing with morning sickness. It's an interesting book, but not really a helpful one. Profet argued that food aversions, nausea, and vomiting associated with pregnancy evolved during the course of human evolution to protect the embryo against maternal ingestion of toxins. She suggests that pregnancy sickness represents a lowering of the usual human threshold of tolerance to toxins in order to compensate for the extreme vulnerability of the embryo to toxins during organogenesis, the period of maximum susceptibility to toxins. Interesting stuff, but what does it say you CAN eat? Well, Profet recommends a variety of grains (especially processed grains, with husks removed), most fruits (not tomatoes), garbanzo beans, mild cheeses and some non-bitter vegetables such as green beans and peas.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting theory but unsubstantiated...
Review: This isn't a guide to diet during pregnancy, but rather an interesting theory on Pregnancy Sickness--and it's not the most well documented study by any means. I didn't buy it for it's scientific merit though, I bought it because I've had severe morning sickness since my 5th week and I was hoping it would guide me towards some good choices to eat or at the very least some safe choices for foods I wouldn't immediately throw up. But that's not really what the book is for, so if that is what you're after look elsewhere--cause despite the title this really isn't a very helpful book for pregnant women dealing with morning sickness. It's an interesting book, but not really a helpful one. Profet argued that food aversions, nausea, and vomiting associated with pregnancy evolved during the course of human evolution to protect the embryo against maternal ingestion of toxins. She suggests that pregnancy sickness represents a lowering of the usual human threshold of tolerance to toxins in order to compensate for the extreme vulnerability of the embryo to toxins during organogenesis, the period of maximum susceptibility to toxins. Interesting stuff, but what does it say you CAN eat? Well, Profet recommends a variety of grains (especially processed grains, with husks removed), most fruits (not tomatoes), garbanzo beans, mild cheeses and some non-bitter vegetables such as green beans and peas.