Taking Charge Of Your Pregnancy: The New Science for a Safe Birth and a Healthy Baby – A Research-Based Guide to Prenatal Care and Informed Healthcare Decisions

by Susan Fisher

An indispensable guide to the revolutionary advances in pregnancy and childbirth, Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy  contains trailblazing science that explains:   After decades of research into how babies develop in the womb, Susan J. Fisher, PhD, shares her expert advice to empower expecting parents. Complete with helpful illustrations, practical tips, and the essential questions to ask healthcare providers, here is everything you need to take charge of your health and your baby’s.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Parenting

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 11, 2021

Reviews

[Tiff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I grabbed this on a whim at the library - not currently pregnant.

It’s overly conservative and offers little to no new guidance for expecting mothers. The chapter on c sections was especially bad, as most of the sections focused on elective c sections and how bad/dangerous they are. I don’t know a single person who has chosen to get a c section. Demonizing such a safe procedure, that most women are forced to get due to circumstances out of her control, does nothing but to make them more anxious, upset and traumatized.

Would not recommend this book for any pregnant person who is at all anxious or worried about birth.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not pregnant, just doing some research. As someone who knows very little about pregnancy and is interested in scientifically-backed medicine, I enjoyed this book very much. It’s written in a very clear, easy to read style that I think would be accessible to most readers, even those without a strong scientific background. The biggest strength of this book is the way practical advice is mixed in with the scientific research and medical explanations. It’s very down to earth, and the goal is to empower the reader.

[Katie Ringley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not pregnant for those who see this 🤪

[Clarissa Blanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a good reminder of information i learned in my first pregnancy. this book can be kind of intimidating at times. i loved how it talks about current genetic testing, how it works and what it means and specific complications that can happen in pregnancy. i loved reading about how to reduce the prevalence of pre-eclampsia, i feel like this is not really talked about. i also loved that it goes through the different stages of pregnancy and what happens in your body. overall i thought it was engaging and very interesting, but i don’t think id recommend the whole book to a first time mom as it was kind of heavy on everything that could go wrong, but i do think a lot of it would be beneficial!

[Seabreeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shouldn’t really be marketed as a guide for what to do during your pregnancy, as that is not what this book is about. But if you go into it hoping that a placenta researcher will tell you about placenta research, you’ll be in for a treat!

Very much a take the information from the authors narrow perspective and incorporate it into your life as you will, but we are in agreement that the placenta is much more interesting and determinative of a vast number of pregnancy complications than it’s given credit for. Also, I just generally love academics in the wild of popular nonfiction, unmoored without the comforting structure of a journal article but trying truly their very best to fit in.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

IMPORTANT: I'm not pregnant, just casually gathering information in case I eventually do have a baby. Birth is interesting. Having never been pregnant, most of this was news to me. If you've had a baby before, I would hope and expect you already know all this stuff. Mostly I wanted to know about prenatal testing, but the biggest takeaway seemed to be Nutrition is Important. Overall, I found this clearly written and empowering.

Will add notes for possible (but not guaranteed) reference.

[Nicole Korczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a science textbook about how to have a safe pregnancy. It's informative and could be helpful to some, if they've not had any health or biology education, but if you've taken your electives you can safely give it a pass. Ditto if you're receiving specialist prenatal care.

There's an entire chapter about how to avoid chemicals and plastics. I'm over here worrying about diabetes and it turns out my water bottle is what's going to kill her. That or my makeup, or my lotion.

[Cozy Book Spot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very informative and helpful book. I'm currently TTC so I'm using this book to learn more about each week and I use it as a companion. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read that went a lot farther than most pregnancy books. I appreciated the extra information on the placenta and its importance for...everything. I've been left with many questions from other sources and I felt like this book added enough information to satisfy me.

[Joy Matteson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very heavy medically informative book on updates in pregnancy. It felt a bit dry, but the information was helpful.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information. She's definitely on the hospital/pharma/less natural side of things.

[Sarah Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and informative but I wish there was more!!

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

White as an ethnicity wasn't written as a proper noun - anti-white detected.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very scientific book about pregnancy

[Johanna]

- for those seeing this I’m not pregnant 😜
- this gave me more insight on the science of birth as someone who wants to learn more before preparing for a pregnancy!
- I don’t agree or like her view on comparing birth because of evolution. I also don’t agree with her take on taking folic acid, but I understand this is from a science professor and not a holistic approach.
- it’s a book I’d recommend to someone who is clueless like I was or just wants to learn more about the science of it all!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully intricate description of conception and implantation. I knew generally about fertilization and growth, but she describes it in such more detail that I was in awe the entire chapter.

My main cause for dissatisfaction is the very small section on homebirth. Two references appear to be used for these two pages. Of course ACOG would be opposed to homebirth...OBs don't make money by women birthing at home. As stated on pg 213, "a baby is twice as likely to die at home", but birthing at a hospital does not in any way guarantee the baby doesn't die. What are the actual statistics here? .1% die in hospital, so .2% die at home? Any higher than that, I'd love to hear what hospitals are doing to lessen this death rate and make the gap more favorable to chose a hospital birth.

I do appreciate the several times of "do your homework, the choice is yours".

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as up-to-date information as it seems to claim and attempts to make at least one claim based on poorly conducted studies, that being the studies conducted that supposedly correlated cannabis with low-birth weight. This study has been heavily criticized as less than adequate because the scientists that produced the study failed to consider potential correlating factors in the lives of the participants that may have biased the results. You’d think someone with a doctorate would actually look into the validity of a study before inserting it as fact in a book.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly useful or insightful. In theory, science-based but in practice almost all anecdotes. I'd rank this below even (the mediocre) 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'.

[Adina Hilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some helpful information in here, and some things that felt a little paranoid. I took everything with a grain of salt.