Before Your Pregnancy: A 90-Day Guide for Couples on How to Prepare for a Healthy Conception » (First Edition)

Amy Ogle, M.S., R.D., is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, and ACE certified personal trainer (and mother).
 
Lisa Mazzullo, M.D., is a practicing OB/GYN and assistant professor of OB/GYN at Northwestern University Medical School.

 
The classic guide for couples preparing to have a baby for the first time, as well as those who have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive, has now been completely revised and updated.
 
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 reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and birth defects. Why a 90-day guide? It takes that long for sperm to mature, and at least that much time for the prospective mother to take specific steps to ensure her body can provide optimal “womb service.” 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, plus a preconception-friendly exercise program
• Heredity: the latest technology for genetic testing, and updated screening guidelines
• Medical issues: expanded coverage of 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, should you want to try for another
• Resources: questionnaires for your preconception medical visit, and charts to track fertility signs
 

Publishers Weekly

In this revised and expanded edition, Ogle, a registered dietician, exercise physiologist, and personal trainer, and Mazzullo, a practicing ob-gyn and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Medical School, urge couples considering pregnancy not just to conceive but to “preconceive.” According to the authors, the 90-day period before conception is a critical time for couples to assess emotional, financial, environmental, gynecologic, genetic, nutritional, and physical preparedness. In this edition, they’ve added, among other things, a section called “twelve steps to a welcoming womb,” new research on blood sugar control, updates on herbs and supplements, a pre-conception menu, expanded gynecological and men’s health sections, and a new chapter on infertility. They cover the effects of such habits as smoking, drinking, drugs, and caffeine; address the work and home environment, nutrition, and exercise; and offer discussions of such practical matters as getting health insurance and travel ideas before baby comes. The sections on exercise and diet include not only general guidelines but also specific warnings (i.e., unpasteurized milk, Bikram yoga, and snowboarding are pre-conception “no-nos”). The authors present a well-rounded approach that will help parents-to-be play an active role in comprehensive planning for a healthy baby. (June)