Natural Prenatal Care
Having a baby is a happy and yet stressful time. As many women know that have had a child, your brain pretty much goes, and so below is a list of helpful reminders for women going through this amazing time.
Eating right
Eating right is very important when you are pregnant. How anyone can think that eating poorly will not affect a child should have their head examined. In fact there was an article in Discover Magazine in May of 2004, called The Good Egg (You can access this article on the web at http://discovermagazine.com/2004/may/cover/?searchterm=diet%20affects%20the%20baby) that explains that what we eat up to 3 months before we even get pregnant, can affect the baby.
This isn’t rocket science it is just common sense. Eating correctly can make the mother and the baby stronger, help with the natural stress that happens during pregnancy and prevent complications.
There was also an article in Newsweek, 9/17/2007 stressing the same issue. If you eat correctly when pregnant, you and your baby will be healthier. In addition, a study was done by Doug Odom, M.D. an obstetrician and gynecologist in Jackson, Mississippi, on 350 pregnancies within his group practice over a 3-year period. He documented the use of a product called Juice Plus that contains 17 fruits and vegetables and the results where amazing. They documented fewer premature deliveries, fewer C-sections, and fewer incidence of preeclampsia. They also noticed the newborns had higher birth weights, fewer admissions to neonatal intensive care units and a lower incidence of respiratory distress syndrome. Eating right also can help your moods, your energy, your sleep patterns, and prevent other pregnancy side effects.
Avoiding toxins
In the March Voice of Choices I wrote an article about all the many places in our home that are toxic and how we are exposed to them. When you are pregnant this can cause damage to the baby, and also bring about annoying side effects. When I was pregnant the guy across the street kept spraying his yard with weed killer. Every time he did it, my hands and feet broke out with rashes. I used bentonite clay internally and topically (soaked my hands and feet in it) to naturally help absorb the toxins. It is very important to NOT cleanse when you are pregnant – but taking something that absorbs toxins is fine and can help make you much more comfortable. Pay attention to what you are putting in, on and around yourself. Your baby will be healthier because of it.
Drinking water
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see new pregnant mom’s make. They don’t drink enough water. This can lead to bladder, kidney infections, toxic levels in the body and rashes. Think of your body as a river. Then think about what it is like when the river dries up. You are left with residues, toxins on the side, and create an environment for organisms that live off of a dying river. If you keep your river flowing with fresh water, then that prevents it from happening. Think about how high the toxic conditions can be in your body if you don’t drink enough water.
Picking a good prenatal
In May of 2006 I wrote an article on choosing a good multi-vitamin. You can read this article on this webpage: (http://www.truhealth.com/May2006-ChoosingaMulti-Vitamin.htm) The same issues apply to a prenatal. In addition, you will want to make sure the multiple has folic acid, and that it won’t make you sick as many of them do.
Helpful supplements
With limited space here I can only talk about a few of the most popular supplements that we recommend for pregnancy:
Red Raspberry – this has been called “The Female Herb”. It helps to strengthen and support the uterus, strengthens the heart, is high in manganese and magnesium, and helps with morning sickness and delivery pain. If you can only take one herb, this would be it. It is often available in teas, tinctures and capsules.
Iodine – iodine has helped many women with preventing post-partum depression, helping with insomnia, providing energy, and depleting iodine deficiencies that prevent the body from naturally detoxing on its own. I have seen this help many pregnant women get through their pregnancy much easier. Check with your health professional to find the best source of iodine for your body. In addition it has been proven that many women have trouble getting pregnant because they are deficient in iodine. You can read more about that in Iodine: Why you need it, why you can’t live without it by Dr. David Brownstein.
Progesterone cream
There are all kinds of progesterone creams available. These creams are typically very helpful in balancing hormones which can affect your moods, prevent stretch marks and also can help some skin issues women get when pregnant. Some of these creams are wild yam based, some contain USP progesterone and some contain preservatives (try to avoid those). They also come in many different strengths. Each person may react differently based on their body chemistry. See if you can get a sample to try, or that you can return something to the store if it doesn’t work for you.
Yarrow
Yarrow is a wonderful herb for delivery. It typically isn’t recommended for use during pregnancy as it can stimulate the uterus. It is great however to help stimulate the uterus for delivery. It also boosts the immune system, stops internal bleeding, kills infection and flushes the lymph system. All things that are beneficial for delivering a baby. Yarrow made into a tea, is very effective to help stop vomiting and calm the stomach. When I was delivering my son I started throwing up, and it worked great for me.
Doula’s
If you don’t have a doula, I would highly recommend you get one. It can make this amazing time in your life much more special. A doula is there to help do any and everything you need to make you as the birth mother more comfortable. It isn’t that the other people present (daddy, grandma, aunty, etc) don’t want to help, or that they can’t, but typically they are busy in those roles and aren’t getting paid to make sure everything is perfect for you. Check with your midwife or health professional to help find a doula that is perfect for you.
There are so many things to think about when having a baby. Keeping yourself healthy and your baby healthy should definitely top the list.