New Book Coming this Summer!

First 1000 Days: How Your Baby's Gut Microbes Shape Lifelong Health

Multiple copies of a book titled 'First 1000 Days: How Your Baby's Gut Microbes Shape Lifelong Health' by Savita Srivastava, M.D., arranged on a blue background. The book cover features images of strawberries, apple slices, a small bottle, a teddy bear, a toy truck, parsley, and other baby-related items.
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What to Expect:

In the past three decades, we've witnessed an alarming rise in chronic diseases among children in developed nations. From food allergies and autoimmune conditions to obesity and mental health disorders, this unprecedented surge has left parents and healthcare providers searching for answers. The key may lie in an unexpected place: our children's gut microbiome.

This book reveals that a child’s lifelong health is shaped in the first 1,000 days-mainly by gut bacteria, not genetics. Drawing from cutting-edge research and my unique experience as both a physician and mother of a child with food allergies and eczema, I show how modern practices disrupt the microbiome that guides immune and brain development. And, more importantly, I offer practical steps to nurture your baby’s microbiome to empower parents to help prevent chronic disease early.

Ideal For:

  • Parents and expecting families who want science-backed guidance for their baby's healthiest start

  • Healthcare professionals looking to fill the microbiome knowledge gap from medical training

  • Public health experts in maternal and child health working to solve the chronic disease epidemic at the population level

  • Microbiology researchers who want to see how their microscopic work creates macroscopic impact

  • Anyone with gut health issues seeking to understand the root cause of their digestive problems

First 1000 Days Received Starred Kirkus Review ⭐️

“Srivastava writes with clarity and inviting simplicity, smoothly and effectively breaking down even the most complex aspects of her subject. The work will be a great boon to her target audience of worried new parents, but such is the strength of her prose and the scope of her inquiry that nonparents will be interested, too (healthy eating is healthy eating, after all).

A wonderfully accessible and wide-ranging guide to helping babies eat right.”
— Kirkus Reviews
READ FULL KIRKUS REVIEW

What Other Experts Are Saying

  • “Insightful, timely, and deeply necessary, her work embodies the essence of the physician-author—bridging cutting-edge research with the real-world needs of families and delivering a masterclass in foundational health.”

    —Amy S. Oxentenko, MD, MACP, MACG, AGAF
    Vice Dean of Practice, Mayo Clinic
    Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
    Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

  • "What I appreciate most about this book is its balance of scientific rigor and compassion. Dr. Srivastava empowers parents with practical guidance while recognizing that birth, feeding, and medical decisions don’t always go according to plan. There is no guilt here—only knowledge, perspective, and a roadmap for nurturing a child’s internal ecosystem. First 1,000 Days is an important and timely guide for parents, clinicians, and anyone interested in the future of preventive health.”

    — Robynne Chutkan, MD, FASGE
    Integrative Gastroenterologist
    Author of Gutbliss, The Microbiome Solution, The Bloat Cure, & The Anti-Viral Gut
    Host of The Gutbliss Podcast

  • "To call this book timely is an understatement. Now more than ever, parents need rational, evidence-based medical guidance to help nurture themselves and their families. Dr. Srivastava clearly explains how we can thoughtfully support our children’s intestinal health, laying the foundation for a lifetime of health and well-being. This is a must-read for any parent seeking clarity amid the morass of misinformation surrounding gut health."

    —Anish Sheth, MD, AGAF
    Gastroenterologist and Chief of Gastroenterology at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center
    Best-selling Author of What’s Your Poo Telling You?‍ ‍
    Guest medical commentator on The Rachael Ray Show.

  • “Dr. Savita Srivastava beautifully connects the dots between early gut health and lifelong immunity, development, and well-being. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking clarity on how early life influences can shape future health.” 

    — Sumona Saha, MD, MS
    Gastroenterologist, Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease and GI Disorders in Pregnancy Clinics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

  • "Savita highlights a critical and understudied topic with passion. She earnestly sheds much-needed light on what babies require during their most formative years to ensure health across the entire lifespan. Kudos!"

    — Latha Alaparthi, MD, MBA, FACG, AGAF
    Gastroenterologist, Associate Chief Medical Officer at Yale New Haven Health (Bridgeport Hospital)
    Past President of the Digestive Health Physicians Association
    Co-founder of Olvi Health

  • "It has been an honor and a privilege to watch Dr. Srivastava evolve from an outstanding trainee, (GI fellow) at Yale into a leading voice in clinical and practical gastroenterology. This book is a testament to her clinical brilliance and her ability to translate complex mucosal immunology into a useful and successful guide for everyone - parents and children alike."

    — Deborah D. Proctor, MD, FACG
    Gastroenterologist, Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the IBD Program at Yale School of Medicine (2005-2024)
    Author of Every Child Counts.

  • “Dr. Srivastava’s book is a tour d ‘force in educating mothers, families and providers in the foundational principles of GI nutrition and the developing knowledge of the GI microbiome and how those issues may affect their newborns and their health as they age."

    — Rosemarie L. Fisher, MD, MACP, FACG
    Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Digestive Diseases) at Yale School of Medicine
    Past President of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)
    Former Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at Yale