THE WHOLE PREGNANCY HANDBOOK: An Obstetrician's Guide to Integrating Conventional and Alternative Medicine Before, During and After Pregnancy

As any pregnant woman knows, there are an overwhelming number of books on the pregnancy resource shelves, and choosing the right one can be trying. Two forces are at work: one conventional, one alternative. Which road to take? Evans has found a solution to the problem by offering a volume that nicely combines both approaches. The author, founder and director of an integrative holistic health center in Fairfield County, Conn., has written a thorough, supportive and comforting pregnancy book that covers preconceptions about health, mind-body medicine and fertility options; the emotional and physical impacts of pregnancy; nutritional needs, exercise, prenatal testing; medical complications, labor and birth (including vaginal births and cesareans); and postpartum. Appendixes suggest books for further reading and music for relaxation and meditation, list Web sites that sell nutritional supplements and botanical medications, explain terms like acupressure and vinyasa, give yoga poses for pregnant women and present readers with the opportunity to record their "food, beverage, physical activity and symptoms" during pregnancy. This thoughtful book lays out the numerous options available to pregnant women, and is essential reading for those who want to thoroughly savor one of the most "fulfilling and transforming" phases of life as a parent. Agent, Janis Donnaud. (Apr.)