Author:  Nina Planck
ISBN:  13: 978159691394 – 3 

Click Here To Purchase Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Foods

I don’t feel it is an exaggeration to state that the survival of the human race depends on mankind returning to a diet which is more in harmony with nature. The further we travel away from natural dietary principles, the sicker we become. Our list of chronic illnesses seems to increase every day but the most frightening part of all…. is that this obvious frailty is very often considered to be normal. Our children are suffering as a result of modern dietary ignorance, which is perpetuated by the industrialization of our food supply.

Nina Planck, in her book Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Foods,  helps to dispel this dietary ignorance by educating parents as to what foods have real sustenance. Be prepared for a surprise. Her recommendations do not coincide with the dietary advice of government agencies and corporations.  Nina explains how producing vibrantly healthy children begins even before conception. Planck discusses the importance of a special preconception or fertility diet. She tells us what foods are helpful and why. Many indigenous cultures stressed the importance of women consuming special fertility foods before they were allowed to be married. This practice ensured increased fertility and sturdy offspring. The author shares her opinions concerning a vegan diet, what this type of diet is lacking, and how it can affect mother and baby.                           

Nina describes how women feel during the different stages of pregnancy and uses her own pregnancy experiences as examples. She reassures women about morning sickness and explains why it can occur. There are normal physiological reasons for being nauseous in early pregnancy and Planck offers several possible remedies.

The author thoroughly explores the types of food that should be eaten during pregnancy but she advises ‘mothers to be’ not to get overly uptight if their appetites fluctuate. Nina also suggests that pregnant mothers listen to their cravings as she feels they are occurring for a reason.

After the baby is born Planck recommends breast feeding as absolutely the best food available….perfectly designed for the human infant. She talks about how difficult and even impossible it is to make formulas which could closely imitate natural human breast milk. The author feels so strongly about this issue that if she could not produce her own milk, she would think of hiring a wet nurse. Her second choice would be purchasing milk from a human milk bank. This book allays fears concerning strict nursing schedules and mothers are encouraged to set aside preconceived notions as to when or how often they should nurse. Basically, we are told that the infant will let you know how much milk it needs and how often.

When it comes time to introduce solid foods, the book offers many nourishing snack ideas to choose from. Nina discourages cereals and tells us why on page 199.“ Babies do not produce the needed enzymes to handle cereals, especially gluten-containing grains like wheat, before the age of one year. Even then it is common traditional practice to soak grains in water and a little yogurt or buttermilk for up to 24 hours. This process jump-starts the enzymatic activity in the food and begins breaking down some of the harder to digest components.”

Nina’s personal stories are encouraging and reassuring. She puts new mothers at ease, letting the reader know that even if pregnancy, birth and the nursing experience didn’t go quite as they had planned that this doesn’t mean they have failed. She dares to admit that even she is not perfect nor does she have all the answers.

The author’s style of writing is informal, personal and fairly unstructured. I think that most readers will find this book to be helpful and refreshingly different from other books on this subject.