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Brain Health From Birth: Nurturing Brain Development During Pregnancy and the First Year
Raising a bright and happy child starts during pregnancy and early infancy, when small changes can have a big impact on brain development.
By taking advantage of this golden window of opportunity--when millions of new brain cells are formed every single day--you can help support your child's IQ, language development, memory, attention span, and emotional regulation. Importantly, the same strategies that nurture these cognitive abilities can also help reduce the odds of autism and ADHD, conditions that now impact 1 in 10 children.
Brain Health from Birth is your guide to this new scientific frontier, explaining which key nutrients may be missing from your prenatal supplement, how to reduce the odds of preterm birth, what to look for in a formula, how to support your baby's microbiome, and much more.
With contributions from leading obstetricians and pediatricians, science writer Rebecca Fett (author of the bestselling fertility book It Starts with the Egg) brings you practical advice you can start applying today, to help your baby thrive.
By taking advantage of this golden window of opportunity--when millions of new brain cells are formed every single day--you can help support your child's IQ, language development, memory, attention span, and emotional regulation. Importantly, the same strategies that nurture these cognitive abilities can also help reduce the odds of autism and ADHD, conditions that now impact 1 in 10 children.
Brain Health from Birth is your guide to this new scientific frontier, explaining which key nutrients may be missing from your prenatal supplement, how to reduce the odds of preterm birth, what to look for in a formula, how to support your baby's microbiome, and much more.
With contributions from leading obstetricians and pediatricians, science writer Rebecca Fett (author of the bestselling fertility book It Starts with the Egg) brings you practical advice you can start applying today, to help your baby thrive.
320 pages, Paperback
Published August 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 3, 2021
3.5 stars
Pros: 400+ references to scientific journals and articles; specific examples of how to help your babies’ brain reach optimal growth success; choose which tips she offers.
Cons: everything causes autism/ADHD apparently
Hmmm recent article basically says the opposite of this book:
https://theconversation.com/gut-bacte...
Pros: 400+ references to scientific journals and articles; specific examples of how to help your babies’ brain reach optimal growth success; choose which tips she offers.
Cons: everything causes autism/ADHD apparently
Hmmm recent article basically says the opposite of this book:
https://theconversation.com/gut-bacte...
January 21, 2022
THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!! It is full of so much information that everyone should know and that your OBGYN will probably not be telling you. There are a vast array of topics covered from prenatal vitamins, environmental toxins and how to avoid them, cord clamping, what to look for in a formula, pain killers and vaccines, the link between a baby's microbiome and allergies and other developmental issues, and so much more! I am really glad that I read it, some of it is easy to skim through just so you can grasp the basic points, and there are many actionable steps that you can start applying into your life right away!
August 30, 2024
Read it out of curiosity
It’s good to know
It’s good to know
February 16, 2021
I have tried to implement a lot of the suggestions from this book. She gives a lot of advice and provides the research with references to support her point of view.
September 29, 2023
Super interesting, a little fear mongering about autism and ADHD, but it explains possibilities of why it’s higher in the younger generations.
I did find it useful about medications, vaccines, vitamins, and other things that effect brain development.
I did find it useful about medications, vaccines, vitamins, and other things that effect brain development.
February 25, 2025
I found this book to be very helpful with building my registry & knowing what things to focus on and what doesn’t really matter much!!! Shoutout abby baker (minturn) for lending it to me 🥹
February 14, 2024
Having loved Rebecca Fett's previous book, It Starts With the Egg, I was looking forward to reading this one. Overall, it provides a concise summary of some helpful and evidence-based information about several factors that have the potential to adversely affect fetal and infant brain development, such as environmental toxins, nutrient deficiencies, and microbiome abnormalities. However, I was disappointed in numerous aspects of this book, and I felt compelled to write this review to bring attention to some of the author's potentially harmful claims.
I was particularly unimpressed with her discussion of medication use during pregnancy. As a physician specializing in psychiatry, I agree that a comprehensive, holistic approach is best for the treatment of depression and anxiety, and diet and other lifestyle changes can absolutely be transformative. That being said, for some people (especially those with severe depression) antidepressant medications are necessary for the maintenance of optimal mental health, which is especially important during pregnancy and the postpartum period [PMID: 27486149]. Poor perinatal mental health is known to be correlated with poor outcomes in cognitive and emotional functioning in children [PMID: 32926075], and untreated severe depression can result in suicide [PMID: 32357982]. It is incredibly irresponsible of the author to casually suggest that patients can swap their antidepressants for vegetables and probiotics to self-treat their depression, without any recommendation to discuss this with their physician first or any legitimate evidence that this is even effective. And though a large portion of this chapter is dedicated to a discussion of antidepressants and autism, there is no mention of the fact that one of the mechanisms thought to explain the correlation between maternal depression and autism in offspring is shared genetic risk factors [PMID: 36190722]. In fact, there is no mention of genetic risk in the book at all--it's almost as if the author (erroneously) believes that every disease is 100% attributable to environmental factors and that genes play no role.
As well, the section on the risks of acetaminophen during pregnancy lacks any discussion of the fact that acetaminophen use may be a proxy for maternal high fever and/or chronic pain, both of which are known to be risk factors for adverse fetal outcomes in and of themselves [PMID: 31266998; 26172553]. There is no mention of whether the studies she referenced controlled for these factors.
The further I got into the book, the longer my mental list of inaccuracies and omissions in the text became. The author makes a straw man argument that medical guidelines discouraging pacifier use are "effectively ranking breastfeeding as a higher priority than preventing SIDS," ignoring evidence that breastfeeding itself significantly reduces the risk of SIDS [PMID: 26175065]. When discussing vaccines, she fails to firmly dispel the pervasive myth that the MMR vaccine can cause autism, suggesting that "there remains a possibility that a small subset of children is uniquely vulnerable to developing autism after MMR" (this is not actually borne out in the literature [PMID: 30986133]). Yet again, she neglects to mention the high heritability of ASD [PMID: 26709141], and places far too much emphasis on extremely low-quality evidence related to the association between MMR and ASD, including anecdotal reports, unproven theories and speculations, and a retracted paper. She also misrepresents the isolated case of Hannah Poling, failing to mention that Hannah’s autism-like symptoms developed in the context of encephalopathy caused by a mitochondrial enzyme deficit, and that her presentation was not in keeping with a typical case of autism spectrum disorder [PMID: 18480200]. Though the author does not go so far as to recommend completely avoiding the MMR vaccine, given the danger of measles, mumps, and rubella infections, the amount of misinformation about vaccines that she presents as potentially valid in this chapter is downright harmful.
All of these significant omissions and misinterpretations of data may be due to the author's lack of medical training, knowledge of statistics, and clinical experience, which I believe are prerequisites for understanding the nuances and overall clinical context of medical research. More cynically, these omissions could also be indicative of deliberate cherry-picking of evidence to align the text with the author's personal beliefs.
The book also suffers from a disproportionate focus on specific biological, material strategies, such as supplements to take or non-toxic products to buy, and is completely devoid of broader psychosocial approaches to optimize childhood development. These could include providing consistent mirroring and attunement, exposure to regular spoken language and social interaction, fostering of secure attachment, and avoidance of trauma, neglect, and abuse to the greatest extent possible. There are thousands of published studies demonstrating the impact of these factors on pediatric neurodevelopment [e.g., PMID: 32863044], which makes it all the more strange that none of them are mentioned in this book (with the exception of 1 sentence in the very last chapter about the importance of talking and reading to children). Perhaps it is because they are not easily monetized? The book's incessant endorsements for specific (and expensive) brands and products to ostensibly improve a child's brain health raises suspicion for a conflict of interest. The fact that her website contains numerous (undisclosed) affiliate links for these products confirms it.
Finally, it is unfortunate that the book repeatedly insinuates that neurodivergence (i.e., ASD, ADHD) is an outcome to be feared and avoided at any cost (literally). Though I understand that operational definitions need to be chosen to facilitate research, a broader view of "brain health" for the sake of this book--not just the mere absence of diagnosable disorders--would have been more useful and less stigmatizing.
I was particularly unimpressed with her discussion of medication use during pregnancy. As a physician specializing in psychiatry, I agree that a comprehensive, holistic approach is best for the treatment of depression and anxiety, and diet and other lifestyle changes can absolutely be transformative. That being said, for some people (especially those with severe depression) antidepressant medications are necessary for the maintenance of optimal mental health, which is especially important during pregnancy and the postpartum period [PMID: 27486149]. Poor perinatal mental health is known to be correlated with poor outcomes in cognitive and emotional functioning in children [PMID: 32926075], and untreated severe depression can result in suicide [PMID: 32357982]. It is incredibly irresponsible of the author to casually suggest that patients can swap their antidepressants for vegetables and probiotics to self-treat their depression, without any recommendation to discuss this with their physician first or any legitimate evidence that this is even effective. And though a large portion of this chapter is dedicated to a discussion of antidepressants and autism, there is no mention of the fact that one of the mechanisms thought to explain the correlation between maternal depression and autism in offspring is shared genetic risk factors [PMID: 36190722]. In fact, there is no mention of genetic risk in the book at all--it's almost as if the author (erroneously) believes that every disease is 100% attributable to environmental factors and that genes play no role.
As well, the section on the risks of acetaminophen during pregnancy lacks any discussion of the fact that acetaminophen use may be a proxy for maternal high fever and/or chronic pain, both of which are known to be risk factors for adverse fetal outcomes in and of themselves [PMID: 31266998; 26172553]. There is no mention of whether the studies she referenced controlled for these factors.
The further I got into the book, the longer my mental list of inaccuracies and omissions in the text became. The author makes a straw man argument that medical guidelines discouraging pacifier use are "effectively ranking breastfeeding as a higher priority than preventing SIDS," ignoring evidence that breastfeeding itself significantly reduces the risk of SIDS [PMID: 26175065]. When discussing vaccines, she fails to firmly dispel the pervasive myth that the MMR vaccine can cause autism, suggesting that "there remains a possibility that a small subset of children is uniquely vulnerable to developing autism after MMR" (this is not actually borne out in the literature [PMID: 30986133]). Yet again, she neglects to mention the high heritability of ASD [PMID: 26709141], and places far too much emphasis on extremely low-quality evidence related to the association between MMR and ASD, including anecdotal reports, unproven theories and speculations, and a retracted paper. She also misrepresents the isolated case of Hannah Poling, failing to mention that Hannah’s autism-like symptoms developed in the context of encephalopathy caused by a mitochondrial enzyme deficit, and that her presentation was not in keeping with a typical case of autism spectrum disorder [PMID: 18480200]. Though the author does not go so far as to recommend completely avoiding the MMR vaccine, given the danger of measles, mumps, and rubella infections, the amount of misinformation about vaccines that she presents as potentially valid in this chapter is downright harmful.
All of these significant omissions and misinterpretations of data may be due to the author's lack of medical training, knowledge of statistics, and clinical experience, which I believe are prerequisites for understanding the nuances and overall clinical context of medical research. More cynically, these omissions could also be indicative of deliberate cherry-picking of evidence to align the text with the author's personal beliefs.
The book also suffers from a disproportionate focus on specific biological, material strategies, such as supplements to take or non-toxic products to buy, and is completely devoid of broader psychosocial approaches to optimize childhood development. These could include providing consistent mirroring and attunement, exposure to regular spoken language and social interaction, fostering of secure attachment, and avoidance of trauma, neglect, and abuse to the greatest extent possible. There are thousands of published studies demonstrating the impact of these factors on pediatric neurodevelopment [e.g., PMID: 32863044], which makes it all the more strange that none of them are mentioned in this book (with the exception of 1 sentence in the very last chapter about the importance of talking and reading to children). Perhaps it is because they are not easily monetized? The book's incessant endorsements for specific (and expensive) brands and products to ostensibly improve a child's brain health raises suspicion for a conflict of interest. The fact that her website contains numerous (undisclosed) affiliate links for these products confirms it.
Finally, it is unfortunate that the book repeatedly insinuates that neurodivergence (i.e., ASD, ADHD) is an outcome to be feared and avoided at any cost (literally). Though I understand that operational definitions need to be chosen to facilitate research, a broader view of "brain health" for the sake of this book--not just the mere absence of diagnosable disorders--would have been more useful and less stigmatizing.
September 3, 2020
This book has alot of good info but alot of what she says is opinion not factual with regards to vaccines. Vaccines are proven to cause harm and have not been tested for safety which is something that anyone can find info on.
September 17, 2021
Definitely worth a read, but also good to keep in mind a lot of her discussion is around things that are 'linked' or 'correlated'-- with very few chapters being dedicated to things that are completely proven. (Which is fair, because if they were completely proven, they'd be accepted practice everywhere already.) Fett was candid about this and was upfront about the different arguments and what is being said on both sides of the debate about some of these issues.
It is distressing to consider that autism has risen so much in the last few decades, and I appreciated Fett's efforts at examining every possible cause. That said, you'll make yourself crazy if you focus too much and try to do everything this book suggests. To be honest, it's given me a little anxiety about everything near my baby (don't spray bug spray near him! Don't sterilize our plastic bottles so often!) but I'm happy to have read this.
A few of my take-aways, noting that I skipped the whole pregnancy part because I'm already past that:
- phthalates are bad, and it takes a little effort to avoid them, but it's probably worth it (for me). This means no perfume, nail polish, hairspray, air freshener near the baby. Look for phtalate free and paraben free skin, cleaning and laundry products.
- a green nursery is also worth it-- crib mattress using polyethylene as waterproof layer, greenguard certified crib
- vaccuum and dust regularly because flame retardants are in the dust
- cotton clothes are best
- Fett argues that 'fed is best'-- don't go crazy on the breast feeding if you can't do it right away. It's most important for brain health that the baby gets some nourishment fairly quickly, so if you have to supplement in the first few weeks it's not a big deal.
- probiotics and prebiotics are good
- maybe try to avoid aspirin and advil as much as possible while under 2
- the vaccine stuff just seemed like she was exploring things that people say in order to be balanced. That said, she comes out at a rational seeming conclusion to consider staggering the vaccine schedule more (too much aluminum all at once) and maybe be more cautious if the child has other major conditions already
It is distressing to consider that autism has risen so much in the last few decades, and I appreciated Fett's efforts at examining every possible cause. That said, you'll make yourself crazy if you focus too much and try to do everything this book suggests. To be honest, it's given me a little anxiety about everything near my baby (don't spray bug spray near him! Don't sterilize our plastic bottles so often!) but I'm happy to have read this.
A few of my take-aways, noting that I skipped the whole pregnancy part because I'm already past that:
- phthalates are bad, and it takes a little effort to avoid them, but it's probably worth it (for me). This means no perfume, nail polish, hairspray, air freshener near the baby. Look for phtalate free and paraben free skin, cleaning and laundry products.
- a green nursery is also worth it-- crib mattress using polyethylene as waterproof layer, greenguard certified crib
- vaccuum and dust regularly because flame retardants are in the dust
- cotton clothes are best
- Fett argues that 'fed is best'-- don't go crazy on the breast feeding if you can't do it right away. It's most important for brain health that the baby gets some nourishment fairly quickly, so if you have to supplement in the first few weeks it's not a big deal.
- probiotics and prebiotics are good
- maybe try to avoid aspirin and advil as much as possible while under 2
- the vaccine stuff just seemed like she was exploring things that people say in order to be balanced. That said, she comes out at a rational seeming conclusion to consider staggering the vaccine schedule more (too much aluminum all at once) and maybe be more cautious if the child has other major conditions already
June 26, 2024
Pros: A good general starting off point. I learned what Greenguard Gold certified is and what materials to avoid in baby products.
Cons: Once I started researching baby products, there are so SO many more products that fall within Greenguard Gold standards and safe standards than not. The product list she recommends is narrow. And frankly, some of the products are ugly. I couldn’t believe her only pick for a crib was the IKEA sniglar. It seems like this would be a difficult book to keep up to date, because so many products come out every year.
It also felt like she kinda copped out on the diaper category. What is the best cloth diaper? Not discussed. Most of the disposable diapers she recommends have horrendous reviews online. Diaper category is really where you need something functional!
Cons: Once I started researching baby products, there are so SO many more products that fall within Greenguard Gold standards and safe standards than not. The product list she recommends is narrow. And frankly, some of the products are ugly. I couldn’t believe her only pick for a crib was the IKEA sniglar. It seems like this would be a difficult book to keep up to date, because so many products come out every year.
It also felt like she kinda copped out on the diaper category. What is the best cloth diaper? Not discussed. Most of the disposable diapers she recommends have horrendous reviews online. Diaper category is really where you need something functional!
August 18, 2020
An excellent read for pregnancy and the early days
As a scientist, I love Rebecca’s reliance on research to leave parents informed about decisions they make surrounding their pregnancy and the early days of parenting. There are a few moments where I feel that correlational research is used as evidence of implied causation, but she usually follows it up with a caveat to emphasize the limitations of the research and qualifies the conclusions we can make. I wish there were more books out there on pregnancy and child rearing that relied so heavily on the limited research available on these topics.
As a scientist, I love Rebecca’s reliance on research to leave parents informed about decisions they make surrounding their pregnancy and the early days of parenting. There are a few moments where I feel that correlational research is used as evidence of implied causation, but she usually follows it up with a caveat to emphasize the limitations of the research and qualifies the conclusions we can make. I wish there were more books out there on pregnancy and child rearing that relied so heavily on the limited research available on these topics.
September 7, 2023
Helpful, research-based insights to prevent some contributions to autism, ADHD, language delays, and less cognitive development. Takeaways for me: eat 2-3 eggs a day or use a supplement for choline. Eat salmon 2x a week or supplement with DHA, cook with cast iron, glass, or stainless steel cookware. Use wooden spoons or basically anything that’s not plastic. Plastic doesn’t mix well with hot things. Avoid processed food for that reason. Consider using a crib mattress without the worst chemicals. Avoid flame retardant material (besides naturally flame resistant material). Space out vaccines- the cause could be the inflammation causing aluminum. Etc. You get the idea!
January 25, 2025
I used this book as a guide to start building my baby list, and I found it incredibly helpful! The wealth of sources and information was great, especially in today’s overwhelming consumer-driven world.
However, I gave it 4 stars because some of the research felt quite outdated, so I approached every idea with caution. Additionally, I was surprised by the author’s negative stance on autism, which came across as unnecessarily harsh. Many of the connections made in the book felt weak—lots of theories but not much concrete evidence to back them up.
However, I gave it 4 stars because some of the research felt quite outdated, so I approached every idea with caution. Additionally, I was surprised by the author’s negative stance on autism, which came across as unnecessarily harsh. Many of the connections made in the book felt weak—lots of theories but not much concrete evidence to back them up.
September 28, 2020
Super helpful real world recommendations
I really appreciate that the author understands that we’re not all millionaires with money to blow on only the most expensive options. She makes it clear what it’s most important to focus on and what doesn’t need to be a priority. Sources for everything are cited throughout. After positive results from putting her recommendations from It Starts with the Egg into practice, I feel very confident following this author’s guidance.
I really appreciate that the author understands that we’re not all millionaires with money to blow on only the most expensive options. She makes it clear what it’s most important to focus on and what doesn’t need to be a priority. Sources for everything are cited throughout. After positive results from putting her recommendations from It Starts with the Egg into practice, I feel very confident following this author’s guidance.
July 4, 2024
Easy conversational writing with science well explained. Loved how each chapter had a list of the main points at the end in bullit points for review and to make it easy to recall. Great information! Would recommend for any mom or dad looking for safe a.d healthy science based recommendations on health during pregnancy and babies first year.
September 5, 2021
Concise wealth of information, and I really enjoyed the practical advice provided on how to best approach small changes and what are priority items to address. Would highly recommend to all expectant families.
October 18, 2023
This book was a helpful overview of some of the key choices one makes when preparing for a baby’s arrival and the impact of those choices on a baby’s cognitive development & health outcomes over time. It’s written in an easily digestible manner with very practical takeaways.
June 22, 2025
I didn’t realize this was replaced by “It Starts with the Bump”, which I read in first trimester to set myself up well for pregnancy. However, this was a short and helpful refresh in third trimester with a new mindset of focusing on baby’s supplements and lifestyle vs my own!
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March 27, 2020some pretty useful information in the book.
June 22, 2020
Well researched, highly recommended alongside the book Real Food for Pregnancy.
December 28, 2020
I found this to be a useful health resource summarizing research on relevant topics in a lucid way.
June 5, 2022
Some good information I can use in my practice and some I already know I’m not gonna use. Worth the read
July 2, 2022
A must read book during pregnancy for the science and health minded. A lot of good advice and I wish I had read this sooner in my pregnancy!
December 18, 2022
An extremely useful guide on things to consider during pregnancy; highly recommend as a starter book to make more informed choices.
February 26, 2023
Great book with evidence based suggestions you can implement into your life to help the health of you and your baby.
October 3, 2023
This was way overdue at the library, so I skimmed/read the summary notes at the end of each chapter. Much like her previous book, it's packed with valuable info and research and is easy to read.
February 11, 2024
Really interesting and well researched. I found the summaries at the end of each chapter super helpful to go back and reference as well. Highly recommend to any pregnant mama!
Read
April 15, 2021This is way too complicated to rate on a five star system. Lots of helpful info here, including things that challenge information I've thought I knew a lot about. Like her first book, It Starts with the Egg, you could really make yourself crazy trying to optimize all these different choices about your baby's environment and food and nursery and so on. Butt taken with a grain of salt and an attitude of controlling what you can, there's certainly some useful tidbits. One of my biggest issues was her focus on effects of ADHD and autism diagnoses as the primary measurements of an interventions impacts on brain health.
December 31, 2019
Very practical, although too much brand advertising.
July 11, 2021
Must read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews