The Complete Organic Pregnancy Book

I took everything in this book with a grain of organic, locally produced, safely-packaged-in-glass salt.

This book wasn't quite as alarmist as I assumed it would be when I picked it up, but that doesn't mean that you don't frequently get the notion that the authors think that everything will kill your child. It is more often a daunting description of the harmful world we live in than a useful reference for a healthy family.

In a way, that is probably good. I firmly believe that the point of eating organically is about making conscious decisions about what you eat, so I appreciate that they don't just say "Buy this. Eat this. Do this." On the other hand, at some point, my child is going to go outside, and then what?

Another problem with the book is that the lifestyle that is being suggested seems far from accessible. Some things are easy. I can spend a little more for Non VOC paint or floor finish, but what about shower curtains? Non vinyl curtains are virtually impossible to find, as are non-flame retardant crib mattresses (which you need a note from your doctor to purchase).

Eating organic, locally grown food is also at the forefront of the book's suggestions. Which I am all for, and must be nice when you live in California. Of course, my family would spend most of the year eating onions and cabbage. Frankly, I'd like my child to try a grapefruit.

To their credit, the authors mention more than once that the important thing is that you make these changes to your lifestyle when you can. One of the most helpful parts of the book is a list of the 12 foods that should be organically grown. Choosing organic over conventional foods for these 12 items can cut 90% of the pesticides you consume out of your diet. It is paired with a list of 12 foods which can be safely consumed conventionally. This and other resources were very useful.

What I found the least useful were long lists of chemicals found in everyday items, and descriptions of how they will harm you, especially considering that these chemicals are generally unlisted and the products are more or less unavoidable.

I'm happy that I have a few extra tools with which to do the shopping for our baby, but I feel like I could have used web based tools to do a lot of the legwork here and found it more useful and less frightening.