TESTIMONIAL
October 27, 2008
Dr. Rachel Donaldson
Battle Creek , MI .
Dear Dr. Donaldson,
I have just completed reading your new book: A Doctor’s Guide to Pregnancy”.
Considering the many years in the nursing department at our local hospital and working in many various departments I wanted to share with you my excitement regarding your book.
I found your book, easy to understand. I so appreciated your knowledge regarding every aspect of pregnancy that one could desire and most important, information that I found not readily available to most women when pregnant. I would have so appreciated this book had it been available to me during all 3 of my pregnancies!
As a mother that breast-feed all of my children your Chapter 8 on breast-feeding was, in my opinion, one of the best. It also was so encouraging to those mothers that simply cannot breast feed and I found that too—encouraging.
I wish to thank you for this” straight forward” book of knowledge. I would certainly recommend this book to all women expecting!
With Warm Regards,
Carol S. Kirken, B.A.
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Donaldson examines pregnancy from preconception through delivery, postpartum issues and birth control.
While employing many medical terms, she thoroughly explains each so that the average patient can gain a complete understanding of what is happening in her body. Precise line art accompanies the text, illustrating topics like ovarian cycles, fertilization, fetal growth and delivery. Donaldson’s writing will answer many questions for women who are pregnant or attempting to become pregnant—for some issues, she refers women to their individual doctors. The author discusses fetal development and abnormalities throughout pregnancy as well as blood, chromosomal and genetic testing that may be recommended during gestation. Donaldson also tackles ongoing changes in the female body, symptoms that require immediate attention, recommended exercises, dietary recommendations, the stages of labor, typical medical procedures and interventions and concerns such as illness, medication, drugs and environmental hazards. She frames the debate over breast- or bottle-feeding to readers so that they can make the decision independently, and thoroughly summarizes family planning and contraception methods for new parents. In presenting nutritional information,
Donaldson recommends a well-rounded diet for all and proteincombining for vegetarians—this might unnecessarily complicate their menus, since recent publications indicate that same-meal protein-combining is unnecessary. A final polishing of the text would reduce the occasional repetition and improve basic structure. Overall, however, Donaldson has presented many complex topics—including chromosomal abnormalities, genetic inheritance and hormones—in a concise volume accessible to most readers and certainly useful to any woman considering her first pregnancy.
—KIRKUS DISCOVERIES