Read my TLDR version ON REEDSY.

I think the title of this book is very misleading: Conversations With My Daughter: How To Have a Healthy Baby. This book was primarily very medical and technical. When I’m having conversations with my own mother – or even other adult mothers I know working in the medical field – these are not conversations we casually have. The scientific words and jargon were hard to follow and threw me off when I picked up this book.

That being said, while Dagmar Ganser is involved with medicine, it’s important to stress that she is a naturopath. This book will only resonate with those who are very much homeopathic and naturopathic-obsessed. And I mean obsessed – because some of what is suggested sounds dangerous or downright absurd to me. I find a lot of what she states as factual is actually a fallacy of “cherry picking,”  and there is a very big vibe of dogmatism which I find to be quite unethical.

Cherry-picking occurs when someone selectively chooses data or evidence that supports their argument while ignoring or dismissing evidence that contradicts it. This selective use of evidence can lead to a biased or misleading presentation of information and is a common tactic in argumentation that lacks objectivity and fairness. A robust and reliable argument should consider all relevant evidence, even if it challenges the presenter’s viewpoint.

I think there is a lot of cherry-picking in this book, particularly when it comes to sharing somewhat fear-inducing data to support what she is pushing. An example of this is on page 126 when she states, “Closely spaced pregnancies were associated with an increase in the odds of a second child being diagnosed with autism, according to a study involving Californian children.” 

This is false – the results of this are inconclusive and very mixed in the Scientific and Medical community. It also doesn’t consider numerous other factors about the parents themselves that may contribute to the risk of autism; it just pushes a fearful point to stress what she wants the reader to believe. This unsubstantiated assertion happens often. 

A secondary example appears on page 84 (in my Kindle), where she states that, “It is further advised not to drink water with meals, as this can impair digestion.” This is a Chinese Old Wive’s Tale and quite literally not factual. 

Another example is when she states on page 101 that morning sickness is associated with a decreased risk of miscarriages – without saying, in the same breath, that it’s important to note that the absence of morning sickness does not necessarily indicate an increased risk of miscarriage. Fear-inducing. 

I also find it quite odd that someone who is promoting a perfectly pure, clean diet wouldn’t promote a vegan diet (she promotes organic meat -the term “organic” primarily refers to the farming methods used and does not necessarily imply anything about the health or quality of the meat itself). 

I’m not even a vegan (I’m a vegetarian), but I understand how damaging meat and animal byproducts like dairy and eggs are to humans, including causing chronic diseases, weight gain, inflammation, and more. She even states that plant-based mothers were 21% less likely to experience preeclampsia; wouldn’t this be reason enough to promote it even further? “The best-known sources of protein are animal products” – animals get their protein from plants because they cannot make it on their own; ergo, the best-known sources of protein are actually plants.

She also makes definitive statements that I believe are quite hazardous. She states, on page 54, “vinegar, baking soda, borax, washing soda, and essential oils provide natural protection from bacteria,” – only borax has some antibacterial properties (SOME), and it’s extremely toxic. She also advises against giving antibiotics to your child or using pharmaceuticals to reduce the fever of a baby; I think this is immensely dangerous advice. It will cater to the crunchy mamas, but I think it’s risky. 

And then one particular piece really disgusted me – especially as a former educator and administrator in Special Education. On page 71, she states that a woman, “…unaware of the important of methylation and prenatal supplementation, had a child with Down’s Syndrome. Fortunately, once she’d learned about how supplements can aid this condition and prevent future babies from suffering a similar fate, her second child was born healthy.” It’s absolutely disgusting coming from someone working in healthcare, and this alone should cause anyone to completely boycott the book. 

First, as if it even needs saying, Down’s Syndrome is not unfortunate and children with Down’s Syndrome can live full, complete, and healthy lives, and is not, under any circumstances, a fate you suffer (or a parent suffers). But if you require more medical proof about how completely and utterly absurd this conclusion is: Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. This extra genetic material leads to developmental and intellectual delays. It is not something that can be prevented or combated through methylation or other interventions during pregnancy.

Methylation is a biological process that involves the addition of methyl groups to DNA and can affect gene expression. It plays a role in various biological processes, including development, but it cannot alter the underlying genetic cause of Down syndrome.

Down syndrome occurs during the formation of reproductive cells (eggs or sperm) or early in fetal development when cells divide. The extra chromosome 21 is present in all cells of the body and is not a result of environmental factors or lifestyle choices before or during pregnancy

Skip this dogmatic book and have a better conversation with an ethical naturopath.

One Star out of 5