Prep work - Books

I am one of those people that likes being prepared, and in order to feel prepared I like to research. But where do you start when you are researching something so incredibly big and life changing as getting pregnant and ensuring that you are able to give this person that is half you, half your soulmate the best possible start even before they are a zygote? (Hells yeah I remember my high school biology, don't you?) It could make your head spin and feel overwhelmed.

First, I'm going to talk to you all about books! Woo yay! READING

I have tried to get my hands on any book that discusses pre-pregnancy health and how to optimise yourself even before you start trying to conceive (TTC). And the only really comprehensive book I could find that had been reviewed by others was 'Get Ready to Get Pregnant: Your Complete Pre-pregnancy Guide to Making a Smart and Healthy Baby' By Dr M Lu.

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I highly recommend this book for its sheer volume of information. Dr Lu discusses a plethora of subjects and even includes a chapter on male healthcare during TTC. He also talks about the effects of the environment around you, diet and nutrition, exercise, genetics and the interesting and maybe controversial subject of how we are responsible even before pregnancy of the health and lifestyle of our children (Obesity, ADHD, cancer etc). 

He has given very specific information on what your supplements should contain and that taking them even 6 months before TTC is vital. Waiting until you have already become pregnant may be too late and completely ineffective; what you are taking them for has already happened and any damage done is done.

As always you can take what he says with a pinch of salt, if you did follow everything he suggests you would be locked in your house for a year! I enjoy reading a lot of different opinions and believe you should take bits from all theories to develop your own and what works for you, pretty much my view on faith and religion too but that is not a subject for this blog.

Overall, it's a very good read and if you think you MIGHT start thinking of getting pregnant, in a year or even longer; it gives you information to think about and implement.

Also up for review: 'What to Expect Before you're Expecting' by Heidi Murkoff. 

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Yeah.... well what can I say? To be honest I can see why this series was popular about 10 years ago, but now? I bought this almost a year and a half ago on a whim from a discount bookstore. I think every single topic in this book can be found online for free and with less words. A lot of it is common sense too (I know, common sense is rare. But nowadays you can google things!)

I don't know, get it and read if you like but don't pay full price for it (if you are in Australia, cause books here ain't cheap)

Throughout trying to find good pre-pregnancy books it has become really obvious to me that until recently there hasn't been much available. Even now I tried to google search for pre-pregnancy books and the amazon list that came up had mainly pregnancy books in it. Even my doctor wasn't very forthcoming with advice when I told her that we would be starting to TTC soon. I was asked if I knew when to tell I was ovulating (thanks to iPhones anyone can do that now) and that I should stop drinking soon and that was it.

Did you read any books before TTC-ing? Were they useful and did they help at all? I would love to hear if others have researched before they started trying and if it worked out better for them. Let me know!

TTFN xx