Rating: 
Summary: It gave me NEW hope and NEW answers - thanks
Review: After two miscarriages my husband and I were looking for answers . I was recommended the book and read it. The pre-conception programme really made sense. We went to see Francesca Naish and got on the programme - we followed it for 6 months, and we both felt the healthiest we had ever been. I took a range of vitamins, minerals, and my husband did most of the time! After 6 months we started trying and I fell pregnant the first time. We now have a very health and happy baby boy. I can only credit the programme with this result and am grateful that this book was around when we started searching for answers. I know that it has helped thousands of couples in Australia, and I hope it will help many more in the US. It is a natural way to solving many problems, and it is not expensive.
Rating: 
Summary: Not recommended for the anxiety- and guilt-prone.
Review: As someone interested in herbal medicine to supplement standardized medical guidelines for preconception wellness, I gave this book a try. The prologue's "Two Stories-With and Without Preconception Health Care," sets the fear-planting, extremist tone that runs through much of the advice. The authors compare the outcome for two hypothetical couples, and the "bad" parents (meaning the ones who don't follow their regimen) encounter numerous disturbing consequences for their child, like "he is clumsy and accident-prone."
Some of the authors' suggestions seem complicated (and unnecessary?) to pursue, like sending away a hair sample for a trace analysis that must be performed by a lab. One section I did appreciate discussed flexibility and yoga poses. The illustrations and instructions were clearly written and don't seem too challenging.
Overall, the authors' preachy tone was a huge turnoff for me. My friend who browsed through my copy after recently delivering a healthy girl was appalled by this book - she felt like the writers connect blame on a mother for not having their "ideal" vision of a baby and the delivery.
Rating:
Summary: answer for desperate, australian reader
Review: Hi desperate, I got "the natural way to Better Babies" from Angus and Robertson, Sydney. It cost 24.95. The publisher is Random House, Milsons Pt, Sydney. We followed the books recommendations and fell pregnant 3rd month. Pregnancy was a dream, great labour( if thats at all possible) and gorgeous, healthy, happy baby now 6 mths old. Get the book from any major bookstore in Sydney. Good Luck. Blissful
Rating:
Summary: worked for us!
Review: I am studying to be a certified nutritional consultant and have been looking for a pre-conception book to recommend to future clients. Healthy Parents, Better Babies is just that book. The authors define a healthy diet in easy to understand terms and also explain and give examples of the importance of exercise and stress reduction. Much better, more accurate information than I've seen to date on parent health and it's relationship to baby's health. Naish and Roberts explain why avoiding smoking, drugs, alcohol and caffeine are so important and dedicate 7 chapters to the ways in which you and your spouse can improve your lifesyle in preparation for a pregnancy. Even if your about to begin baby #2 or #3, this book is a must. It all but guarantees an easier, healthier pregnancy this time around. The authors give you sound advice on fertility enhancement, conscious conception, a healthy full-term pregnancy (avoiding morning sickness, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, constipation, etc.), short and straightforward labor, a healthy baby (reduced incidences of colic, thrush, eczema, allergies, etc.) and successful breastfeeding. In my opinion, if you're having trouble conceiving, read this book, follow the suggestions and then try again.
Rating:
Summary: excellent advice
Review: I am studying to be a certified nutritional consultant and have been looking for a pre-conception book to recommend to future clients. Healthy Parents, Better Babies is just that book. The authors define a healthy diet in easy to understand terms and also explain and give examples of the importance of exercise and stress reduction. Much better, more accurate information than I've seen to date on parent health and it's relationship to baby's health. Naish and Roberts explain why avoiding smoking, drugs, alcohol and caffeine are so important and dedicate 7 chapters to the ways in which you and your spouse can improve your lifesyle in preparation for a pregnancy. Even if your about to begin baby #2 or #3, this book is a must. It all but guarantees an easier, healthier pregnancy this time around. The authors give you sound advice on fertility enhancement, conscious conception, a healthy full-term pregnancy (avoiding morning sickness, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, constipation, etc.), short and straightforward labor, a healthy baby (reduced incidences of colic, thrush, eczema, allergies, etc.) and successful breastfeeding. In my opinion, if you're having trouble conceiving, read this book, follow the suggestions and then try again.
Rating:
Summary: Alarmist, very strict advice
Review: I found this book to be an excellent resource to use while preparing for conception. Most of all, I found the dietary information to be very valuable. The information in this book really defines the importance of good basic health and how it relates to the conception period (and to your growing baby once you're pregnant). We followed the dietary advice and we were pregnant on the first try!!! It was a very easy read and I encourage all to read it, everyone can benefit from it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent source!
Review: I found this book to be an excellent resource to use while preparing for conception. Most of all, I found the dietary information to be very valuable. The information in this book really defines the importance of good basic health and how it relates to the conception period (and to your growing baby once you're pregnant). We followed the dietary advice and we were pregnant on the first try!!! It was a very easy read and I encourage all to read it, everyone can benefit from it.
Rating: 
Summary: My inspiration and motivation for writing 'Better Babies'
Review: I guess my mother must be held partly responsible for this book. She gave me the benefit of 'preconception health care' before anyone had even dreamed up the term. Thanks to her, I've enjoyed robust good health for all of my 52 years and my ambition is to have another similar innings.As for having my own children and giving them an equally good start? Actually, I never wanted any until my 40th birthday was staring me in the face. By then I was nearly at the end of my career as a pharmacist and was finding a new path in nutritional and environmental medicine. Anyway, the rest is ancient history and I mention a little of it in the book. But briefly, it was my own experience with the many benefits of preconception care that led to 'Healthy Parents, Better Babies' and the sequels that are on the way. (The first one, 'The Natural Way to a Better Pregnancy' has just been released in Australia). Anyway, I conceived very easily, had a three hour labour (two of them in fact) successful breastfeeding (for years and years) and two exceptionally healthy boys who are now 14 and 9 years old. They have been inside a doctor's office just four times in their combined total of 23 years. So I was convinced that all the preconception stuff paid off! Now I'm on a crusade to convince the rest of the world. In Australia, the book is in its fifth printing in less than 3 years, is published in the USA (hence what you're reading) and sometime soon will be published in the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Europe - although since it's available through amazon.com, that all seems a bit unnecessary. But I guess there are some folk, somewhere, who aren't internet users? Anyway, the upshot of all this is....somebody out there is listening and liking what they hear, or to be more accurate, they're reading and liking what they learn. To help things along a bit, I've recently established a Wellness Centre in Sydney Australia. We offer on-line consultations and nutritional supplements (as recommended in the book) for preconception couples (and for pregnancy and breastfeeding as well). We also look after clients who just want programs for vitality and longevity and I'm presently working on another book - In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the book and I know you'll just love your 'better baby.'
Rating:
Summary: This book helped us achieve a MIRACLE......
Review: I had been actively searching for a book on the topic of 'health care before attempting conception', so was very pleased to find this book written by two female authors. I have now read it through a few times and have learned so much about how what I eat, do, or don't do can effect the health of my prospective baby for the rest of its life. I believe this book is the best that exists on the topic, and believe me I have done a lot of searching. It covers so many areas in depth eg. food, vitamins, herbs, exercise, evironmental hazards etc, so goes past the common sense 'eat healthy and take folate' approach that many books and doctors offer. For example, did you know that Zinc is the most important mineral for pregancy, but that the majority of the population have a deficiency in it? The book also tells how important vitamin supplements are even when you think you are eating healthfully, and why eating processed 'white'grain foods is harmful. The book is equally useful for healthy people like myself who want to plan ahead to give their baby the best possible start, as for those who have infertility problems. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone considering starting a family, or with any pregnancy/infertility problems. Even if you don't want to do everything the book suggests, you can still make changes in your lifestyle that will cost no money, and you will learn so much! Through this book I also found out about an organisation in the UK called Foresight (surreyweb.org.uk/foresight) which has been promoting similar information for years and conducting scientific studies using these principles with fantastic results ie. healthy babies and problem-free pregnancies. I can't say enough how great this book is - BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, Life-Changing book
Review: I had been actively searching for a book on the topic of 'health care before attempting conception', so was very pleased to find this book written by two female authors. I have now read it through a few times and have learned so much about how what I eat, do, or don't do can effect the health of my prospective baby for the rest of its life. I believe this book is the best that exists on the topic, and believe me I have done a lot of searching. It covers so many areas in depth eg. food, vitamins, herbs, exercise, evironmental hazards etc, so goes past the common sense 'eat healthy and take folate' approach that many books and doctors offer. For example, did you know that Zinc is the most important mineral for pregancy, but that the majority of the population have a deficiency in it? The book also tells how important vitamin supplements are even when you think you are eating healthfully, and why eating processed 'white'grain foods is harmful. The book is equally useful for healthy people like myself who want to plan ahead to give their baby the best possible start, as for those who have infertility problems. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone considering starting a family, or with any pregnancy/infertility problems. Even if you don't want to do everything the book suggests, you can still make changes in your lifestyle that will cost no money, and you will learn so much! Through this book I also found out about an organisation in the UK called Foresight (surreyweb.org.uk/foresight) which has been promoting similar information for years and conducting scientific studies using these principles with fantastic results ie. healthy babies and problem-free pregnancies. I can't say enough how great this book is - BUY THIS BOOK!
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