Brain Health from Birth: Nurturing Brain Development During Pregnancy and the First Year Paperback – August 27, 2019

If you're concerned about the rise in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD, and want quality evidence based recommendations to mitigate your risk factors, this is the book for you. There is nothing like it out there right now. I'm a pediatric nurse with a research background (oncology), and my husband has a biochemistry research background (though he's moved careers now as well). Needless to say, we're very picky about the medical advice we trust. Rebecca Fett's research is exceptional. She has the scientific background necessary to tease out quality studies. More importantly though, she has the communication skills to present the findings in approachable, easy to understand language, and boils everything down into readily applicable, action oriented advice.While I can see how some people would stuggle with this book- it's hard not to learn about the effects of endocrine disruptors in our lives without some stress and anxiety about it. Also, I imagine if you already have an older child, or if your child is already born, that it would be a struggle not to feel a measure of self blame about things you didn't do because you didn't know any better. But I'm personally in the camp of thinking that we all do the best we can, and dwelling on what we could have done better doesn't help us to improve the future. I'd prefer to know and be able to take action. I feel like that's where this book is valuable- while some of the information may cause anxiety, it also gives actionable steps for what to do to resolve and mitigate all those risk factors.I'm 8 months pregnant and I likely wouldn't have this healthy pregnancy without Rebecca Fett's book It Starts with the Egg. She's managed to come and do the same thing for neruodevelopment as she did for infertility. Empower, direct, educate, and help.Key points:-Good research-Accessible summary of the findings-Engaging, readable, approachable-Action oriented, with a supporting website including specific brand recommendations to guide choices-Main con is it could cause anxiety or guilt in some readers. But we're better off knowing and acting- it'll take years before policy changes dictate this in popular culture, and that won't happen unless we're educated and demand it.

Every expecting mom and new mom naturally wants to do all she can to support and care for her new baby from the womb. With Rebecca Fett's newest book, she clearly lays out practical, achievable ways of creating a healthy environment to best support brain and overall healthy development. In a world where there is quite an increase in developmental disorders, such as Autism and ADHD, the author presents in a clearly, easy to understand format, the research and evidence of factors within one's control of mitigating risk including adding essential supplements, nutrients and dietary changes to best support a developing brain and prevent pre-term birth, among other things. The research is compelling. The book also addresses things such as ultrasound and nontoxic newborn care items as well. Her style is straight-forward and very much evidence-based, while still being quite readable.The road to growing our family has been difficult and it has been a huge blessing to have tools in my hands to prepare my body as best as I can - both for a healthy pregnancy and for the health of my future children. As one who works in the medical field and with a science background, this information is one that I will incorporate both personally and professionally. I am very grateful for another wonderful book by Rebecca Fett. It is a blessing and gift for sure!

I first read Fett’s book It Starts With The Egg a few months ago and loved it, so I was thrilled when this came out. If you liked ISWTE, this is written in the same style - she uses all empirical evidence based on human studies, and she then translates the data into practical tips and suggestions for everyday life. It’s perfect for any layperson who wants to know what the data says, but doesn’t have the scientific training to decide what studies to read and how to interpret them.I am trying to conceive, but went ahead and read this book so I would know what to do once pregnant. A lot of science-based pregnancy books (such as Debunking the Bump and Expecting Better) include the same information; I was happy to see that this book includes new information that I hadn’t read anywhere else. There are tips on prenatal vitamins, diet, personal care and cleaning products. There is also lots of information on protecting brain health in the first days of life by avoiding hypoglycemia or degradation due to not feeding enough - this was perhaps the most important part of the book for me. She also recommends materials and ingredients to avoid in products for babies and children. She has a website where you can view more extensive product recommendations based on the studies from the book.I highly recommend reading this, even if you have read other science-based pregnancy books, as you will learn new things that are grounded in empirical evidence.

Great information to know. Starts nutrition facts from early pregnancy to childhood

Easy read but great information. Evidence based non-biased advice. Liked her own personal touches or things that she did with her kids.

I am seven months pregnant and just have started reading the book. I love the chapters at the beginning of the book about the supplements and vitamins that are essential during the pregnancy and for the first year of the baby, and overall are important for wellness. I’m excited to read next chapter. I also love a little notes that they put inside on the first page. Thank you for buying used book and giving it a second life.

I didn’t know how much I was going to love this book. Each chapter is digestible and covers easy to understand topics. The topics are also directional- so it tells you specifically what actions to take, what concerns are supported by science and what things may not be worth worrying about. This book is a wonderful read, and definitely worth while.

Really enjoyable and easy to follow and understand book covering many aspects influencing brain development in the unborn and early years. All scientifically based but not forceful or pressuring mothers to take one option over another. Allows mothers to make up their own minds giving a clear presentation of the facts as it stands from all sides of the argument.The book itself was an enjoyable read and easy to read and full of a wealth of information that has mine now covered in highlighter and note marks.

Kann das Buch nur jeder werdenden Mutter ans Herz legen zusammen mit dem Buch "Real Food for Pregnancy". Wem die Studienanalyse nicht so wichtig ist, kann sich auch nur die Summary Seiten sowie die Website mit aktuellen Produktempfehlungen ansehen. Uns hat insbesondere die Empfehlung für Prebiotika bei den Koliken unserer Zwillinge geholfen.

I am so impressed with this book. I became a fan of Rebecca Fett’s research initially when I was looking for answers on how to manage symptoms of my autoimmune arthritis (which I got with her book The Keystone Approach). This led me to her other book, It Starts With the Egg, when I started trying to get pregnant (again, got great results - I’m pregnant with my first). I preordered this book and flew through it. As always, she has practical advice that is backed by the most recent research. No fear mongering - just useful tips in how small changes can make a big impact on baby’s brain development while in utero and the first year of babe’s life. I ended up getting a copy as a gift for my nursing friend who was interested in all the info I was talking about at work. Would definitely recommend !

Rebecca Fett is a biologist and uses evidence-based approach citing different studies to confirm her ideas, but the problem is that independent science is virtually non-existent now: the vast majority of recent research is industry-funded so very often it's in fact so-called "junk science". For example, she recommends getting flu and Dtap shots during pregnancy, but vaccines are known inflammation and autoimmunity triggers, and manufacturers explicitly specify they have never been tested on pregnant women so they're exempt from liability if a woman miscarries or gives birth to a vaccine injured baby (which DOES happen - just join any vaccine injury group and read heartbreaking stories). I mean, where did the precautionary principle used for decades after the Thalidomide tragedy go? Moreover, there's a growing body of evidence proving that autism and other neurodevelopmental issues ARE in reality strictly connected to early and frequent vaccination of babies and small children - but you won't find these studies published in most medical journals as the latter are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and understandably never accept any research that doubts "vaccines are safe and effective" dogma.Also, Rebecca recommends eating salmon at least twice a week during pregnancy - but surprisingly she doesn't mention farm-raised salmon is LOADED with persistent organic pollutants like PCB and PBDE and other environmental toxicants like e.g. heavy metals and dioxins, so it's safe to eat it only once a month - for healthy non-pregnant individuals.I followed her advice when I was pregnant because I trusted her research (very superficial and based mostly on junk science, as I've found out later) and simply didn't know better - and I deeply regret that and thus can't recommend her book anymore.

Don’t waste your time and money on this. You won’t learn anything new that’s not already on the popular pregnancy websites.It’s rather embarrassing I’m surprised that anyone would put their name on a book with so little information and actual facts and so many supplement industry based data and grey advertisements quotations.It’s saddening to see that there are so many people giving this book 5 stars it comes to show how little foundation we have on the ..basics.