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by Zita West
London: Dorling Kindersley, 2001,
p/b, 160pp, £12.99.
by Denise Tiran
London: Quadrille, 2001, p/b, 216pp,
£8.99.
Reviewed by Fran Cox
Where were these books four years ago? Being a mature mother
for the first time caused great distress to my body and soul.
I am an advocate of natural therapies, and I tried to utilize
all the ‘safe’ remedies that I knew during my pregnancy
– over the counter homoeopathic and herbal remedies and acupuncture;
but if I had had the wealth of information and knowledge available
in these books, I would have maintained my health more effectively,
before and after the birth. Both recommend diets low in sugar,
and advise on healthy nutrition to try to stabilize food cravings.
This might have helped me to stop consuming sugar in vast quantities!
Later I developed pre-eclampsia and postnatal depression. Here
the conditions and ways of dealing with them by self-help or recommended
treatments are explained.
The author of Natural Pregnancy is a practising midwife
and acupuncturist. She covers preconception, pregnancy and post
natal care and the relevant types of therapies to try, for different
problems and situations, including acupuncture, massage, herbal
medicine, reflexology, yoga, homoeopathy and many more. Your interest
is held with key tips on how you may be feeling at each trimester,
how to deal with symptoms and essential nutrition. Respiratory
problems, for instance, suggest a need for foods containing Vitamins
E and C, like oily fish, which has antihistamine properties. The
book is easy to read and has colourful pictures of delicious food,
flowers and oils for each part of your journey to motherhood.
The author of Natural Remedies for Morning Sickness and Other
Pregnancy Problems is a midwife and lecturer in the integration
of complementary therapies in maternity care. She also provides
explanations of complementary therapies that can help during pregnancy,
including T’ai Chi, chiropractic and osteopathy, Bach flower
remedies, acupuncture and shiatsu. She takes you through the symptoms
and discomforts that you may meet in the nine months of body changes
and growth. She explains simply the causes and effects of morning
sickness and why some people suffer more than others and suggests
several possible remedies, including diet, herbal remedies, homoeopathy
and osteopathy or chiropractic. This book is much more academic
in style, easy to digest and put into practice to maintain health
and fitness during this fascinating period of any woman’s
life.
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Fran Cox is married with a three-year-old
daughter. She is a lecturer, student and healer.
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© Caduceus, 2003.
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