Nine Months That Count Forever: How your pregnancy diet shapes your baby's future

by Jessie Inchauspé

Most pregnant women are ‘Don’t worry – eat whatever you normally eat. Your baby will get what they need from you.’ But science tells a different your diet during pregnancy can shape your baby’s brain, body and health for life. And somehow, no one has told you the rules. Until now.

When biochemist Jessie Inchauspé became pregnant, she sifted through hundreds of studies and uncovered striking choline, DHA, protein and glucose are four key nutrients that can influence a baby’s development in the womb; yet most women don’t get nearly enough of the first three – and too much of the fourth. And the effects can last a lifetime.

In 9 Months That Count Forever, Jessie reveals science-based hacks to optimise these four nutrients and help give your baby a stronger foundation for life.

These principles
- support your baby’s brain development, cognitive growth and emotional resilience
- help lower their risk of health challenges later in life
- influence your baby’s body composition, organ function and long-term metabolism

Complete with guidance on supplements, nausea, labour and breastfeeding, as well as meal plans and recipes, 9 Months That Count Forever also shares Jessie’s deeply honest account of her own pregnancy journey, offering support and reassurance through these crucial months.

This landmark book reveals the extraordinary power mothers hold during pregnancy – and is an essential companion for every parent-to-be.

'This book cuts through confusion with science and heart. Clear, evidence-based and empowering, it’s an essential guide for anyone who wants to understand how food supports life from the very beginning.'
Mark Hyman, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Young Forever and What the Heck Should I Eat

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Health, Audiobook, Family, Nutrition, Education

359 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2026

About the author

I’m a French biochemist, author, and product developer. My passion is turning cutting-edge science into easy tips to empower people to feel amazing.
I’m the founder of GlucoseGoddess and the author of Glucose Revolution, a #1 international bestseller translated into 40 languages.
You may have seen my work on Good Morning America, Vogue, and in lots of podcasts. You can find recent press here.

Reviews

[Mai H.]

With all the health misinformation out there on social media (I'm looking at white influencers with no degrees crying about seed oils), it's truly a wonderful find when an actual scientist is writing about women's health. Jessie is a French biochemist well-known for her work in glucose, which I'm now interested in learning about. She takes this background and applies it to her pregnancy diet, which she shares with us here.

You can't just "eat what you want" while you're pregnant. That's not good for you. It's not good for the baby. There are levels of things you need, and they're probably higher than you're aware. The amount of protein we should be consuming is high. Add to that your prenatal supplements. Most of us are aware of folic acid and DHA. Did you know you also need choline? Has anyone ever talked to you about choline?

As her background is in glucose, she talks about a lot. Glucose spikes occur from various things. It's ridiculous to think you can ignore all sugar cravings, but the thing is to be smart about them. If you have a sweet treat, eat it after your meal rich in nutrients. The spike will be lower.

I'm not pregnant, but I learned a lot, and I'll try to incorporate a lot of this into my life now. A lot of the nutrition information deals with things I hadn't really thought about before, but make sense. I'm not big on breakfast, but a savory breakfast can often fill you up for hours, and I really shouldn't be drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Have I started this? No.

The caffeine thing I waver on, because it's going to be so hard to give up, but Jessie, who is French, repeats that no amount of alcohol is safe when pregnant. That "one glass of wine" nonsense is just that, nonsense.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/Simon Element

[Courtney]

I'm a big fan of Inchauspe's work to bring science to a practical and tangible level, but this book is very loaded emotionally. Jessie seeks to bring attention to nutritional deficits during pregnancy (and breastfeeding following) but can often come across catastrophically and laying the mom guilt on thick. I recognize she is by no means trying to do this, but access to these should-be-basic nutrients can be really tricky. I would hesitate giving this book to any mother (myself included!!) without lots of side-by-side support and realistic expectations. The information was helpful, but the weight of it all (any narrow focus on animal studies vs people studies since people studies are so RARE when it comes to pregnancy and breastfeeding for obvious ethical reasons) can feel like a bit much.

[Ally Friedman]

pregnancy reveal on Goodreads

[Rose Owen]

This is MUST READ for every person who wants to get pregnant, is pregnant, has recently had a baby, or loves and supports someone through pregnancy! Jessie provides science and information on how a mother's diet during pregnancy affects her child for the rest of their life. What I learned was eye-opening, and quite honestly, alarming as I have had 6 babies and was never aware of this information. I will absolutely be telling everyone I know about this book. Thank you Jessie for the work you do!

[Abby Beckwith]

3.9🌟 It’s packed with practical, applicable information for pregnancy, prenatal prep, and breastfeeding. I’m planning to implement several of her recommendations especially around blood sugar regulation, choline intake, omega-3s, and exercise.

Research-backed, almost like a textbook, but still has personality and includes some of her own experiences, which makes it more engaging.

[Leonie]

Wie oft hört man bitte: „Mach dir keinen Stress, die Natur macht das schon“. Jessie sagt: „Das ist aber falsch.“ Liebs. 😂🤰Sie begründet dies auch unglaublich gut, denn wären wir erste Homosapiens die am Wasser leben und täglich Fisch jagen gehen, vielleicht, aber mit unserer modernen Ernährung müssen wir aktiv etwas dafür tun, dass es ‚schon wird‘.

Super interessantes und sehr gut geschriebenes und übersetztes Buch! Habe teilweise laut gelacht oder geweint - was ich bei einem Sachbuch überhaupt nicht erwartet habe! Vor allem super lieb, dass sie ständig Kommentare macht zu den verschiedenen Phasen der Schwangerschaft. Man kann das Buch also auch später in der Schwangerschaft noch lesen, wenn möglich sollte man es aber eher vor der Schwangerschaft anfangen, macht am meisten Sinn. Auch für Veganer-/Vegetarerinnen gibt sie immer wieder Hinweise.

Habe sehr viel aus diesem Buch mitnehmen können, auch generell fürs Leben. Zum Beispiel, dass man seinen Blutzuckerspiegel regulieren kann indem man einen Vorspeisensalat isst und Nachtisch anstatt Snacks. Weiterhin geht sie sehr im Detail auf Cholin und DHA ein, welche in den gängigen Schwangerschaftspräparaten nicht früh genug und nicht ausreichend vorhanden sind. Vor allem vor der Schwangerschaft sind diese wohl ebenfalls schon wichtig, da sie für die Gebärmutterschleimhaut relevant sind und somit eine Einnistung unterstützen. Hinten sind auch Rezepte mit hohem Cholin und DHA-Gehalt dabei, die teilweise unglaublich lecker sind. Wer hätte gedacht, das Nussmuß und Salz einen Obstsalat mit Joghurt so viel besser machen ?!

Einziger Kritikpunkt den ich habe ist, dass es dauernd darum geht sein Future Child irgendwie zu pimpen. Als wäre hoher IQ das Nonplusultra, allerdings geht sie auch auf Auswirkungen auf andere Aspekte ein wie z.B. Social Skills oder verschiedene Erkrankungen etc. - daher war es dann auch ok und ich glaube, dass ist eher so eine generelle Sache, die ich nicht so gut formuliert finde.

In einem anderen Buch das ich lese „Guter Hoffnung“ hat die Autorin hohen IQ des zukünftigen Babys als „modernen Fetisch“ der Schwangeren bezeichnet und das fand ich sehr lustig und irgendwie passend, denn in vielen Büchern/Artikeln geht es eben ständig nur um die Auswirkungen auf den IQ und dieser Wert ist schließlich immer nur das, was der IQ Test misst.

Overall, kann ich das Buch „9 Monate die ein Leben lang zählen“ aber sehr empfehlen und würde sagen, dass es sogar mehr als 9 Monate thematisiert. 📖🤰

[Sydney]

(not pregnant)

[Magda - magrabelka]

Świetna!! 🙌

[Elena Coorie]

MARAVILLOSO.
Lo recomendaré en la consulta o a cualquier amiga que esté embaraza y quiera mejorar su nutrición durante el proceso.

Quizá no es un libro que se lea fácilmente porque tiene mucha ciencia detrás, pero como médica ha sido muy estimulante e interesante leer los “por qué” que tiene la ciencia tras estos consejos de alimentación.

Muy recomendable!

[Pix Garou]

🩷 Many tips, recepties to try. Explains really well what you need to eat and why.
Mosty food focussed book.
Enjoyed the writing style, lots of the info was pulled from studies.
❌ If you are looking for all kinds of info, maybe pick a different book.
Did feel a bit of judgement. 'Its oke if you dont manage to hit this goal 1st trimester due to (morning) sickness.' it implies you are not doing a great job if you dont manage in a later stadium. This happened quite a few times.

[Bailey Baxter]

Shooketh that most people A) don’t know any of this and B) don’t follow it or seem to care, slightly repetitive as most non fiction self helpy books are but still 10/10 !!

[Sandra Vel]

Genial. Después de haber leído La revolución de la glucosa: Equilibra tus niveles de glucosa y cambiarás tu salud y tu vida y La revolución de la glucosa: el Método: Cuatro semanas y 100 recetas para deshacerte de los antojos, recuperar tu energía y sentirte increíble de Jessie Inchauspé, no podía perderme este libro, especialmente porque coincidió con mi embarazo.

Solo me arrepiento de no haberlo leído antes, (aunque, por suerte, ya aplicaba la mayoría de sus recomendaciones). Encontré muchísima información útil y aprendí aspectos esenciales y muy importantes de los que apenas se habla en otros libros sobre alimentación durante el embarazo.

Es un libro muy práctico, interesante, fácil de leer y fácil de aplicar. Sin duda, ha sido una de mis lecturas favoritas sobre el embarazo.

[Katerina]

I really didn’t want to like this book (because I’m not fully aligned with the glucose spike therefore eating philosophy theme of the glucose goddess, the author), but fount it to be one of the more informative and actionable pregnancy nutrition books out there. Unlike other pregnancy nutrition books, notably Real Food for Pregnancy which makes similar points to this one, this book provided to dos and takeaways in every chapter. For example, look at choline. Both this and other nutrition books will tell you about its importance, but I found that only this one will tell you that X many eggs contain Y amount of choline, and eggs being pasture raised raises the amount by Z percent. I basically walked away from reading it knowing exactly where my nutrition gaps lie, and also what to do about them if I chose to take action. It read less like a textbook and more like a nutrition textbook summary with a cheat sheet and actionable takeaways at the end. The only reason I deducted a star is because most of the studies cited relate to animal studies, not human trials. I understand that obviously human trials on pregnant people would be limited, so it’s not something the author did wrong, but I would take caution on some of the nutritional guidance presented as gospel in this book, when it’s backed mostly by animal not human studies. The author makes a point to explicitly mention this in each chapter, but still worth noting. If you’re looking for a resource that only looks at human trials, I would consider another pregnancy nutrition read.

[Ana Martínez Bautista]

Aunque me ha parecido interesante porque no tenía ni idea de la mayoría de cosas que cuenta, y a pesar de que al comienzo del libro te dice que no hay que hacer todo perfecto, se encarga de resaltar continuamente cómo las madres tenemos la capacidad, el poder (¡la responsabilidad!) de influir en la salud de nuestros hijos. Me ha resultado agobiante a ratos porque los mínimos que plantea me parecen difíciles de alcanzar en el día a día, y al final me encuentro con el problema de siempre: una carga más (tanto mental como física) para las madres.

[Mary Lennox]

A thorough but easy to understand examination on how a baby comes to be, from conception to birth, and how nutrition plays a big part not only during pregnancy, but for the baby’s whole life.

I’ve delved into nutrition and female health for the past few years, so not much was new to me. Still, it’s always good to repeat the information, in order to make it stick. This book can feel quite repetitive for this reason, but it’s necessary. Especially today, when so few women seem to know about these things and so many people lead unhealthy lives.

A bit disappointed in the recipe section, I thought there would be more - but ones that are listed seem very delicious.

[Morgan Fisher]

I found this fascinating and educational. Jessie is excellent in translating dull science jargon into understandable and relatable facts that us average brains can process. I am not pregnant, have not been, and don't plan to be soon, but still found this an absorbing read full of great information. I appreciated that it didn't regurgitate too much from her Glucose Revolution book (except reminders for her general hacks, which was a good refresher) and instead focused more on the general nutrition and related studies.

[Lori Guerin]

A very helpful pregnancy (and pre-pregnancy) nutrition book! She does a good job of giving the information/data while acknowledging that it can be so hard to meet, especially in the first trimester. She gives ideas for how to make things work and reassurance that you’re doing okay, even if you’re struggling to apply the ideas she talks about. (Even admitting that in her own pregnancy, she lived off of chocolate croissants for a while!)

[Cirsten Maes]

Must read for everyone that is pregnant

[Becca Hadley]

Much of the same info as the Glucose Revolution, but honing in how it affects a growing baby. So fascinating!

[Sariah Hartley]

So good and so well-researched! Every mom should read!

[Nicole LaValle Feser]

(Not pregnant)

[Kira]

Ein fantastisches Buch, das mir sehr geholfen hat! Die Autorin erklärt simpel, macht tolle Beispiele und gibt praktische Tipps. Für mich ein Must-Read das ich mit Sicherheit noch öfter in die Hand nehmen werde!

[Emily]

I’m not pregnant haha but my mom told me to read this book, and I will definitely be referencing back to it when I am! Lots of good info and I love how she shares the science and puts together meal ideas for you. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is pregnant or will have kids in the future!

[Ruby R-T]

Life changing facts for me and my baby. Will recommend this to all mums to be!

[Savannah Lontz]

This is a very informative book with scientifically backed nutrition advice that is accessible to any person who is pregnant or wanting to become pregnant. I feel empowered for future pregnancies and I think you can tell how passionate the author is about the content of this book. I recommend to anyone who is currently pregnant or wishes to become pregnant.

[Athena Hrynkiewicz]

I learned more from this book about the human body than I did in any science or health class. This book should be a required read by all women and partners.

[Chloe Garry]

Such an amazing book about pregnancy nutrition, it is honestly life-changing. I loved that compared to some other books I have read it focused on the most important nutrients for pregnancy without overwhelming with information. The science is clear and direct and I would highly recommend it to anyone planning to be pregnant.

[Katka Mrvová]

Not a bad book, I'm just not a huge fan of books that could have been a blog post - or at best a series of blog posts. It basically said eat eggs and fish only in so many words. But useful if you skim through. And the recipes at the end are great - I'll try those for sure.

[Ashley Morris]

I really enjoyed 9 Months That Count Forever. The book focuses on four main areas of pregnancy nutrition: choline, DHA/omega-3s, protein, and glucose control. Some of the main recommendations I took away were 450+ mg of choline per day, 500–1,000 mg of omega-3s per day, keeping free sugar under 50 g per day, and progressively increasing protein throughout pregnancy—about 1.22 g/kg/day in the first trimester, 1.52 g/kg/day in the second, and 1.9 g/kg/day in the third.

I especially liked how many studies the author brought into the discussion. Rather than just telling you what to eat, she explained the research behind why these nutrients and glucose control may matter during pregnancy.

The biggest positive for me was that the book actually motivated me to look more closely at my own eating habits. I adjusted my pattern of eating to be more mindful of glucose spikes. I also started logging my food again, mostly out of curiosity, to see where my protein and fiber intake actually fall. I’ve found that I typically get around 80–100 g of protein per day, and tracking has given me a much better idea of my fiber intake as well.

It also changed some of my supplementation. I now take two fish-oil capsules a day and two choline supplements a day to help me reach those nutrients more consistently.

Overall, I really liked the book. I appreciated that it was research-heavy but still practical. More importantly, it actually motivated me to make changes to my diet and pay more attention to what I’m eating—which is probably the best endorsement I can give a nutrition book.

[Mariella]

I really like Jessie Inchauspe. She's got a gift for distilling rigorous science into actionable take homes. Before she announced her book, I wondered how pregnancy could be exempt from the nutrition conversation for so long. So I couldn't wait for the publication date. It didn't disappoint.

Jessie's approach is compassionate and non judgemental. Super important when every pregnant women is trying to do their best.. navigating cravings and nausea a lot of the time.

I think the biggest take home was the following analogy. That pregnant women are not ovens - passive containers of a bun - set the temperature and in 9 months time a baby is born. More accurately, the relationship between woman and baby is like soil and a seed. The seed contains crucial genetic information, but both the soil and the seed interact continuously, and for the healthiest plant to be grown, the soil needs to be rich, diverse and fertile. If it's not, the seed will have to make do with less; with the latest science suggesting that this has deliterious health impacts in the baby that is born and the adult they become. Impacts on cognition, the risk of mental health, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease were talked about the most.

This sounds like a book of bad news but it is the opposite. Jessie's evidence based approach to growing a healthy baby is motivational and compassionate. It makes for a super empowering read.