Everybody knows that being healthy before, during, and after pregnancy is super important both for mom and baby. I tried my best (even now that my baby is a little older, I still try to be as healthy as I can) but there are so many resources out there and so much conflicting information it can be overwhelming. When I was contacted to review Making Babies: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth the Natural Way, I was thrilled! This is the resource I’d been looking for since before I was pregnant. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t published then but now that I have it, I want to start creating healthy habits now so that we are ready when the time comes for Baby #2.

I received both the Making Babies book and 3-DVD set. The book and DVD set can be bought separately or together. The DVD set has over 7 hours of video and is divided into  three parts:

• the first one is about fertility, conception and the first trimester of pregnancy,
• the second part is about the second and third trimester of pregnancy,
• and the third part is about natural birth, nursing, getting back in shape.

The book has over 450 pages with gorgeous color photos. All the pages are full of colors and printed on thick high quality paper. It’s sure to last for years to come (and many babies!) It has the same 3 sections as the DVD set but also contains:

• an extensive chapter called ‘Pregnancy Cookbook’ with over 100 recipes with many gluten-free and low or casein-free recipes
• a section called ‘Did You Know?’ which contains tons of information from labor, to aloe, and mercury in fish
• a chapter on ‘Grandma’s Remedies’
• a baby diary from conception to the birth of baby

They are amazing resources because they basically contain everything you need from the time you start thinking about having a baby until after baby is born!

The book and DVD set were created by Shoshanna Easling. She’s a herbalist and runs Bulk Herb Store with her husband. She’s been learning about herbs since she was a child and has tons of information on the topic but also on overall health, nutrition, and pregnancy. The idea of writing a book and creating a DVD series came from her desire to share what she learned through her own experience as a woman, a mother, and also as a herbalist.

In the DVDs, Shoshanna prepares recipes, demonstrates exercises, and shares tips and remedies. It gives the book a different dimension since we get to know her a little more personally through the DVDs. She has a very bubbly personality and has a no-nonsense approach that I like. The videos are also great because they allow people who are not so familiar with herbs – such as me – to learn how to make concoctions, tinctures, etc. Shoshanna also explains the purpose of the herbs and ingredients she includes in her recipes so I learned a lot about what is good for fertility, during pregnancy, and after baby is born and most importantly why they are good.

One thing that I particularly liked about Making Babies is that even though Shoshanna sells herbs and natural products and could have easily written a book simply to promote her store, she didn’t. Although in some herbal recipes you’ll see a certain herb mix sold only at Bulk Herb Store as an ingredient, the vast majority of recipes do not require you to purchase anything directly from their store. They do offer a great selection of herbs and herbal mixes though in case you’re in the same position as me and you can’t easily find them locally.

Overall, I really like the Making Babies book and DVD set. I like how the information is divided into 3 clear sections (plus all the extra chapters in the book). It makes it super easy to focus on the right information without being overwhelmed. My favorite part has to be the recipes and the ‘Pregnancy Cookbook’. Each recipe looks delicious and I plan on trying lots of them even though I’m not pregnant at the moment. The only reason I haven’t tried them yet is because we were away for the past week and I have yet to go grocery shopping.

Curious about Making Babies? Visit them on Facebook! You can also visit Bulk Herb Store on Facebook and and follow them on Twitter. You can win your own copy of the book and the DVD set by entering using the Giveaway Tools below. The contest is open to US and Canada and will end September 2nd. Good luck!

…

Rachel