Unfortunately, one of the most common concerns I hear about Dr. Brewer’s website and the information presented on the nutrition factor in toxemia
, is that it makes women feel guilty. Some women find out that their nutrition was insufficient to support their pregnancy, and they feel guilty. While I understand that feeling as a natural response, I also want to be sure that no one thinks Dr. Brewer EVER had that intent.
If you find that the truth about diet and drugs in pregnancy makes you feel guilty, or if you think it’s intended to make women feel guilty, then you are sadly misunderstanding the point. Women are the victims here…not the perpetrators.
How would you know what a proper diet for pregnancy is, unless someone told you? If this is the first time you have heard this information, feel angry at those who failed to inform you, not guilty about something you had no control over. Dr. Brewer’s information should EMPOWER you to make changes, not make you feel guilty.
Doctors won’t tell you how to eat. So if you didn’t know, and didn’t eat very well, you are not to blame. This information has been hidden under a bucket for ages, so it is not surprising that you didn’t know. But all that has changed now, so instead of being angry at Dr. Brewer for pointing out the truth, or blaming yourself for something you didn’t know, commit yourself to learning all there is to know about proper prenatal nutrition and health and be one of the CHANGERS who helps other women to learn the truth and not become victims.
I have been in the unenviable position of trying to explain the HOPE contained in Dr. Brewer’s diet to a woman who had a child with cerebral palsy, following premature delivery due to severe toxemia. She was expecting her second baby, and they were telling her it was likely she’d have the same problem again. I wrestled for months, trying to figure out how to tell her. When I finally did, she was glad I had told her! She read Dr. Brewer’s book, and made changes in her diet. She felt better, and she felt empowered to make changes. And she carried her second baby to term. I wish I had told her sooner…I waited until her blood pressure went up, and the fears started to come true. She did get her blood pressure back down with Dr. Brewer’s diet, and everything ended well….but it would have been nice for her to have avoided the scare, and just enjoyed her pregnancy.
But I mention that story because I decided not to wait anymore. I can risk that someone will feel guilty, if I can explain that they are NOT AT FAULT. And that is what I want you to hear. It’s what Dr. Brewer wanted you to hear. Women aren’t doing anything wrong, they just aren’t being told the TRUTH by those who should know.
That leaves it up to us. You, me, and every woman who reads this. We have to tell our sisters the truth. We have to help them learn how to eat right for two. The doctors are still denying that there is any help in good nutrition, but some of us moms know better.
September 15th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
If you would, please tell Dr. Brewer thank you for me also. My first baby was twins, I got HELLP syndrome and had a near death experience, the babies were 30 weeks gestation. They are 15 now, and as healthy as can be and I’ll be 40 on Monday and pregnant again. In between these two, I had a big fat healthy baby via VBAC, no complications, thanks to Dr. Brewer’s diet, except a lot of hassle from the OB who said I was getting too fat. I’m seeing a midwife this time who reminded me of the diet and I’m following it closely again and feel much better, it’s amazing what you forget in just a few years.
I thought I dealt with the guilt of the boys’ birth the last time, but it has recurred. It is very helpful to be reminded that when I ASKED the OB what I should be doing, I was told, “eat normally, a healthy, well-balanced diet, not too much salt, gain 35 pounds.” (I am 5′11″ and was probably underweight when I conceived.) When I told him I was mostly vegan and 100% vegetarian all he said was, good, then you won’t get too fat if you don’t eat ice cream and cookies. I was a 25 year old person obsessed with my appearance, severely restricting my diet for years, pregnant with two babies. I had NO idea what a healthy well-balanced diet was. No one ever told me that eggs were the perfect protein. No one ever mentioned 120 grams of protein a day. I didn’t know. And we almost died. And when I asked the first OB I saw this time, he said the same simplistic thing, “eat a well balanced diet, limit your salt, gain 20 pounds.” I found a midwife as soon as I could convince my husband it was essential for our survival. Your book helped open his eyes.
What you share IS what every pregnant woman should know. I remember you in my prayers every day and thank you for your work to save us from ourselves.
Lee Ashwood Stone
Tyler, Texas