Foreword
Whenever I have a question about pregnancy or 
childbirth, fertility or women's health, Dr. Joel Evans is the first one I call. Now I have a book - this book - I can refer to and one that I can recommend to patients, friends and colleagues.
I've worked closely with Joel for almost ten years. I liked him the first time I met him, when he came as a young obstetrician/gynecologist to the Center for Mind=Body Medicine's (CMBM) weeklong training in MindBodySpirit Medicine. He is very bright, inquisitive, open-minded and openhearted.
In the years since then I've come to know him well as a member of the CMBM faculty in the U.S. and abroad and as a close colleague and friend. I've come to deeply respect his professional judgment, to appreciate his mastery of the science of medicine and to enjoy his warmth and kindness. It is these qualities - professional expertise, calm, thoughtful judgment and generous heart - that make Joel Evans such a wonderful guide to the experience of pregnancy and childbirth, and that make The Whole Pregnancy Handbook so valuable.
One of the abiding problems of childbirth in the United States is the sense that so many mothers have, that birth is a medical enterprise which is both incomprehensible and frightening. The Whole Pregnancy Handbook provides another, far more encouraging perspective. Joel Evans demystifies the biochemistry and physiology of menstruation, ovulation and fertilization. He carefully explains the changes in the three trimesters of pregnancy, and the stages of labor and delivery. His message is clear, useful and hopeful: This is your body. Understand and enjoy it. A safe, healthy and happy birth is your birthright.
He answers the questions that pregnant women, and women hoping to become pregnant, most often ask. He encourages you to engage in an ongoing dialogue with your obstetricians and midwives. He offers new ways to think about fertility and to promote it, and tells you what you need to know about genetic testing. He explains the variety of symptoms you may encounter during pregnancy, and offers ways to ease them-and to understand what they do, and don't, signify.
Joel Evans' expertise, however, extends far beyond a thorough understanding of the conventional approaches to obstetrics and women's health. He has devoted a major portion of his time to the study and integration of a variety of complementary approaches to health and healing. A majority of women may be using these approaches, and almost everyone wants to know more about them. What you need is a guide who can help you differentiate what is safe from what is suspect and give you the tools to participate in the process. Dr. Evans does this in The Whole Pregnancy Handbook.
Dr. Evans' greatest expertise in integrative approaches is probably in the use of food, vitamins, minerals, and herbs in promoting fertility and facilitating a healthy pregnancy. He presents detailed, scientifically based, easy to understand and follow nutrition recommendations. He is also skilled in integrating mind-body approaches (including relaxation, meditation and biofeedback) into the care and lives of pregnant women and their partners. He recommends and guides women in the use of Chinese medicine, massage, exercise, homeopathy and such hands-on "energy" healing methods as Therapeutic Touch and Reiki, and provides powerful group support for women who are, or want to become, pregnant.
"Here is what I've seen and experienced," Joel Evans says on every page of this book, "and what the research literature shows us. Take a look for yourself. Share this information with your partner and your obstetrician or midwife. Make your own judgments. "
Perhaps most importantly, this book is informed by Joel Evans' kindness and compassion for his patients, and for the children they will bring into the world. On every page, you will feel the presence of a scientist who celebrates the wondrous biology of conception, pregnancy and childbirth; of a physician who is as caring as he is knowledgeable; and of a man who genuinely respects and loves the women and their partners to whom he's offering guidance.
James S. Gordon, M.D.
Founder and Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine
Former Chair the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy
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