I have read many pregnancy books–the typical week by week guides, natural and organic pregnancy books, books about labor and delivery. None are like Having Faith, written by Sandra Steingraber. When I first got the book from a library in stack of other books I was anxious to read, it went straight to the bottom. I didn’t pick it up until I’d read everything else and had no other reading material. It seemed dated (2001) and I usually enjoy fact-filled books over nonfiction stories.
However, I must say that this is one of the better pregnancy books out there. It’s written by an ecology professor and tracks her pregnancy from her first positive home pregnancy test through her daughter’s second birthday. It’s beautifully written–a nice blend of personal narration with facts about development and the environment, and most importantly, how changes in our environment may affect the development of a fetus. I especially appreciated her balanced descriptions of toxins like lead, mercury (and why eating fish can be so dangerous–the FDA doubled the amount of allowable mercury for pregnant women in 1969, in response to pressure from the fishing industry), PCBs, dioxin, and pesticides. I also was captivated by her account of when in history humans have made good preventative decisions (like not allowing the synthetic estrogen DES, prescribed to pregnant women in Europe and responsible for serious birth defects, into the U.S.) and when we failed (like disregarding an international covenant that had already banned lead-based paints for interior use in 1925 on the basis that lead was a neurotoxin and lead paint in homes produced lead dust).
Intermixed with serious descriptions of toxins in our environment, wombs, and breastmilk, are Sandra’s personal experiences with pregnancy–deciding to do an amniocentesis, having a natural labor and delivery, struggling to breastfeed her child, and then struggling to eventually wean her. Somehow, this information dense book was actually a page-turner and I found myself finishing it in less than a week. Highly recommended for anyone expecting or planning to become pregnant in the near future.
