Book Review: Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition by Lily Nichols
Reviewed by: Abbie Tomson, NHS Continuity of Carer Midwife and All4Birth Digital Lead
Publication date: 2018
Number of pages: 324
Price £23.95 Paperback (Kindle £9.99)
ISBN Number: 978-0986295041
If I could recommend one book to every pregnant woman who wanted to understand more about nutrition during pregnancy, Real Food for Pregnancy would be very high on my list.
Lily Nichols’ work has had a significant influence on the way I think about nutrition in pregnancy, and this is one of those books that I find myself returning to again and again. It is incredibly well researched, practical and, perhaps most importantly, encourages women to understand why nutrition matters during pregnancy rather than simply being handed another list of foods they should or shouldn’t eat.
Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and she brings together an impressive breadth of research covering the nutritional requirements of pregnancy. The book explores everything from protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to iron, choline, iodine, folate, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, as well as blood glucose regulation, the role of the placenta and maternal health.
What I particularly love about this book is its focus on nutrient density. Pregnancy places enormous nutritional demands on the body, and Nichols makes a compelling case for thinking about food not simply in terms of calories or individual nutrients, but in terms of what those foods can actually provide to a growing baby and a pregnant person’s own body.
There is a refreshing emphasis on real food: eggs, meat, fish, dairy, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, whole grains and other minimally processed foods. Rather than suggesting that pregnancy requires a complicated or restrictive diet, the book demonstrates how relatively simple dietary choices can provide a remarkable amount of nutrition.
And this is where I think the book is particularly valuable. Pregnancy nutrition advice can sometimes feel like a long list of rules — don’t eat this, limit that, take this supplement, avoid that food — without explaining the bigger picture. Nichols instead asks us to consider what pregnant women can add to their diets to support their own health and their baby’s development.
As a midwife, I also really appreciate the way Nichols encourages readers to look beyond the prenatal vitamin. Supplements have an important role to play during pregnancy, but they cannot replace a nourishing diet. Real Food for Pregnancy makes a strong case for building a nutrient-dense dietary foundation alongside appropriate supplementation.
The book is also beautifully referenced. Nichols doesn’t simply make nutritional claims and leave the reader to take them on faith; she provides an extensive reference list throughout, allowing readers to explore the underlying research for themselves. For someone like me who loves being able to follow the evidence back to the original research, this is a huge strength.
I also think the book is particularly useful for maternity professionals. Even if you don’t agree with every recommendation, it is an excellent resource for expanding your understanding of prenatal nutrition and questioning whether some of the advice we routinely give women is genuinely supported by the best available evidence. It encourages a much more nuanced conversation about food.
That said, I wouldn’t suggest that every recommendation in the book should automatically be treated as fact. Nichols sometimes concludes observational research, mechanistic evidence and emerging areas of research, and some of her recommendations differ from current UK guidance. As with any nutrition book, it is important to understand the strength and limitations of the evidence rather than treating the author’s interpretation as definitive.
For me, though, this doesn’t detract from the book’s enormous value. In fact, one of the things I love most about Real Food for Pregnancy is that it encourages exactly this kind of curiosity. It makes you want to look at the evidence, ask questions and understand more.
This isn’t a book about achieving a perfect pregnancy diet. It is about understanding the incredible nutritional work happening throughout pregnancy and recognising that food can be an important part of supporting that process.
I absolutely love this book. It is one I would recommend to pregnant women, midwives and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between nutrition and pregnancy in greater depth. It is detailed without being inaccessible, evidence-focused without being dry, and genuinely empowering.
If you are looking for a pregnancy nutrition book that goes beyond the usual “eat your fruit and vegetables and take your folic acid” advice, Real Food for Pregnancy is an excellent place to start.
