Your Vegetarian Pregnancy: A Month-By-Month Guide to Health and Nutrition

Drawing on 25 years of experience as a vegetarian, mother and osteopathic obstetrician-gynecologist, Roberts strikes an inspirational tone in this handbook, offering practical and spiritual advice to women wondering about the safety of a vegetarian diet during pregnancy. There's nothing to worry about, writes Roberts, who offers nutritional guidance that will, for example, provide a vitamin B1 intake""superior to meat-eaters."" She addresses everything from protein requirements to labor pains and nursing positions, with a zeal for the vegetarian diet that can seem almost religious. Roberts weaves spirituality throughout, with poems at the beginning of each chapter and numerous references to""maternal intuition"" and""wisdom from a higher source."" The volume's question-and-answer format grows a trifle tedious, although a detailed index makes specific information easier to find. Roberts dedicates her useful book to"" every woman contemplating pregnancy while striving for the best of health and showing the greatest mercy to others,"" but readers who aren't already dedicated to vegetarianism and a spiritual approach to wellness may be put off by its sometimes preachy tone.