The Whole Pregnancy Handbook – Dr Joel Evans, MD

More like my Whole Pregnancy Bible! I came across this book before I fell pregnant, and it has seen me through the preconception period and entire pregnancy. If patients come in to see me and are thinking of conceiving or are pregnant, I always refer them to this handbook. I refer to the chapters on nutrition extensively during my consultations with pregnant or preconception patients.

I really admire Joel Evans. He’s an obstetrician who adopts a truly holistic approach to his practice which incorporates nutrition, mind-body medicine, and complementary therapies. He comes across as an extremely gentle, caring and nurturing caregiver from his writing. I also like the fact that he is an obstetrician and hence all his advice is very safe.

The handbook explains mind-body medicine, and covers pre-conception and pregnancy health comprehensively, with chapters devoted to nutrition, living and working while pregnant, exercise during pregnancy, medical complications of pregnancy, and common symptoms during pregnancy. The pregnancy timeline was particularly useful, as are the chapters on early pregnancy and late pregnancy. Dr Evans also provides suggestions for treating common pregnancy ailments using both safe Western medical treatments, gentle changes in lifestyle, and safe complementary treatments where appropriate (such as acupuncture or herbal treatments).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who is thinking of falling pregnant or is already pregnant. It is a wonderful read and contains so many pearls of wisdom.