By Cristina McMullen, Bioenergetic Practitioner
One of the most exciting times in a woman’s life is when she decides that she wants to become a mom. The thought of creating a tiny human that will call you mama stirs up so many emotions of joy, wonder, and excitement. Unfortunately, all of the wonderful emotions surrounding pregnancy can quickly be met with those of worry and even fear.
Any woman who has been at this crossroad in life before knows these fears all too well. We want to get pregnant at the drop of a dime but fear about the rising rates of infertility. Once pregnant, we want to be the perfect little host for our growing babies and are constantly worried about doing or not doing something that would negatively affect their health. And then, once they are born, we quickly realize that these helpless little humans rely on us for everything and so many decisions can easily become daunting ones with the never ending fear of whether or not you will make the “right” decision for them.
Whew! It’s stressful and exhausting just writing this! But it shouldn’t be this way! All of our worries should never hold enough power to rob us of the incredible joy that comes with parenting! Fortunately, we live in a time where science has uncovered so much about what a little baby’s body needs in order to develop into a healthy adult. And as a Naturopath, one of my jobs is to teach my clients everything I know about these scientific discoveries. Together, we can ease these mama fears with medical facts and take charge of what we can control while also learning how to pivot if and when need be.
So grab some tea or coffee, find a comfy spot to sit, and let’s explore some of the things we can do here at Longevity to help support you, your husband, and your future babies in your journey to becoming a happy, healthy family.
The Biggest Ounce of Prevention Starts Before Conception
When we think about the fact that life is formed by the combining of two cells that come from two other humans, it only makes sense that the health of that new life starts with the health of those two humans. Whether you have underlying symptoms or health conditions you want to address or feel generally healthy, there is so much we can do to optimize your health before you conceive.
Now, I know this is an exciting time in a couples’ life, but I always advise these couples to take anywhere from 3-6 months to really focus on their own health before even trying to conceive. I know it may seem like a long time to some, but this “slow down phase” really optimizes our cellular health and improves fertility rates as well as both the short and long term health of our babies. Plus, more energy is a common result of better overall health and you are going to need all the energy you can get once you are busy taking care of that little one. So what do we need to be doing during these 3-6 months?
Clean Up Your Diet
It is no secret that the standard American diet is not only void of our necessary nutrients but is also loaded with a slew of harmful chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and emulsifiers. This combination of nutritional deficiencies and toxic burdens can really wreak havoc on the health and integrity of our cells and completely disrupt our gut’s microbiome (something we will talk about in a minute because it plays a major role in the health of our babies). And, no matter how hard someone might try, no amount of supplements is going to overcome a poor diet and lifestyle. This is why our first focus needs to be on cleaning up our diet.
We need to remove the harmful processed foods while also increasing nutrient dense produce. Simply avoiding the aisles of the grocery store as much as possible and focusing on the perimeter of the store is a great way to start. Reading labels of the packaged items you do buy will allow you to avoid ingredients like pro-inflammatory seeds oils and hydrogenated oils, as well as emulsifiers and preservatives. Buying organic produce as much as possible, or at least learning about the “dirty dozen” and making sure those produce items you buy are organic will significantly reduce your exposure to pesticides and herbicides in your food.
If you feel like you need an extra helping hand as you navigate through some dietary changes, scheduling a nutritional consultation with Carrie Rutledge here at Longevity would be a fantastic idea. She can walk you through how to easily make some changes that will truly set you up for success!
Focus on Lifestyle Factors
Aside from the types of foods we are putting into our bodies, the environment around us and how we live in it is the next thing that has the biggest impact on our overall health. So, while we are cleaning out our diets we also have to look to see how we can clean up our environment and balance our lifestyle.
Some of the obvious factors include our quality and quantity of sleep, our activity levels, and our overall stress levels. We have all heard time and time again how important it is to get enough restful sleep at night and how exercise helps improve metabolic health and overall immune function. We have also heard of one if not multiple couples who were so stressed out trying to conceive and it wasn’t until they gave up and went on a relaxing vacation that they finally got pregnant.
So, while we all innately know better, the time leading up to conception is when you really want to prioritize sleep, movement, and ways to decrease overall stress levels. I know first hand, though, that this is so much easier said than done. Life has a way of “getting the best of us” when we want or need things to be as uneventful as possible. This is where some herbal and nutritional supplements can be very helpful in allowing our bodies to wind down, get out of fight or flight, and allow our bodies to get into a more restful, parasympathetic state of functioning.
Other, less common environmental factors people tend to forget about but still have a huge impact on the overall health of our bodies include the toxicity of personal body care products and the air quality in our homes and work environment. Our skin is our largest organ and absorbs every single thing that we put on it. This includes shampoos, conditioners, lotions, deodorants, makeup, and hand sanitizers to name a few. We want to reduce the level of toxins we are putting on our skin because so many of them are endocrine disruptors and can impact fertility rates by throwing off our own body’s hormones.
Toxins in our air also easily make their way into our bodies by the simple act of breathing and things like mold can wreak havoc on every single cell in our bodies. You also do not want to bring your newborn baby home into a moldy environment so navigating through any mold remediation before your baby begins growing both inside the womb or in their new home is going to prevent a lot of stress on everyone involved.
Get On An Individualized Detox Protocol
While we are cleaning up our diet and lifestyle to prevent the accumulation of more toxins into the body, we also want to discover what underlying pathogens and toxins we might already be dealing with that need some help getting eliminated. This is where setting up an appointment with one of our bioenergetic practitioners is going to be extremely beneficial. Yes, there are dozens upon dozens of detox programs on the market, but detoxing is not a one size fits all and many of the programs out there overlook the fact that many people’s detoxification pathways are blocked and end up causing more harm than good.
This is why no two Longevity patients are ever put on the same detox protocol. Instead, each person’s unique toxic load is discovered during an evaluation along with uncovering which organs and systems need to be supported so that the toxins can actually be removed from the body. This information then helps guide each practitioner towards a unique blend of supplements that will allow each person to detox without causing more cellular damage than there already may be.
This step is unfortunately what can take the longest amount of time to complete but is such a vital step before conceiving. This is because both mom and dad run the risk of transferring some of their toxic burdens on to their offspring. And, even though this isn’t completely unavoidable, I know we all would like to minimize this as much as possible. It definitely reduces or even eliminates much of the need for our kiddos to have to go through a rigorous detox program at young ages.
Heal Your Gut And Balance Your Microbiome
Our GI tracts and microbiomes are hot topics these days, and for good reason. So much of our overall health seems to stem back to the health of our guts. This is also why gut health is such an important part in every single one of our detox protocols. But what does mom and dad’s gut health have to do with the baby? You might not initially think very much but emerging science is showing that it might actually have the biggest impact on your baby’s health. Mom’s microbiome in particular is going to play an extremely important role in the immune development of baby during pregnancy, delivery, and in infancy and is why we really need to get our guts happy and healthy before conceiving.
The Importance of Mama’s Microbiome
I know 3-6 months of working on your own health can feel like quite a journey, but once this time has passed and you have been given the green light to start trying, you should quickly see the fruits of your labor in an easy conception. Yay, you’re pregnant!!! But now what? This little one still has to grow in utero for 9 months before making his or her debut into this world. And contrary to original belief, the uterus is not a sterile environment that protects a baby from the outside toxic world.
This is why the health of the expectant mama needs to be the center of attention. No, we do not want to put mama on any detox program during the time she is pregnant or even nursing, but we can impact the health and development of baby’s immune system by focusing on the health of mama’s microbiome.
Believe it or not, microbe-mediated immune education begins during gestation! That’s right! While your precious little one is growing inside your uterus, it is getting messages from your gut and immune cells and learning what is good vs bad. A healthy microbiome that sends healthy messages to the baby has been shown to prevent infant obesity and other metabolic issues, improve infant brain health, decrease infant eczema and allergies, and reduce the risk of autism.
And it doesn’t stop there. Mom’s microbiome has been shown to even modulate neurodevelopment in kids, so much so that it may even provide protection from neurological diseases later on in life!
Thankfully so much of what mama was doing leading up to pregnancy will continue to support her microbiome during pregnancy. Healthy fibers from fruits and vegetables will provide food for the good bacteria in her gut that she is either supporting through a probiotic supplement or fermented foods. This will then ensure that the bacteria have what they need to produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate, which is a major component of breast milk and is currently being studied on its ability to reduce food allergies in little ones.
What we want to be cautious about is upsetting the microbial balance in mama’s gut through things like antibiotics. Granted, there are times when antibiotics are necessary, but those who do end up having to take antibiotics while pregnant really should follow up with one of our naturopaths to make sure we get the microbiome back to where it needs to be as fast as possible.
Supporting Mama During Pregnancy
Every phase of pregnancy is different, and with that comes different nutritional needs and symptoms for mama. During the pregnancy, we want to periodically check mama for nutritional deficiencies. There may come times when she might need more iron, magnesium, or calcium to support her growing baby while also preventing common pregnancy symptoms like nausea, fatigue, muscle cramping, etc.
Other therapies can be very relaxing and beneficial as well. I don’t think I have ever heard an expectant mama turn down a prenatal massage and we have an absolutely amazing massage therapist! Acupuncture can also really help with first trimester nausea as well as possible round ligament pain and discomfort towards the end of pregnancy.
Building Baby Up During their First 1000 Days
The importance of supporting your baby’s developing gut and immune system continues after they are born all the way up until things seem to become fully established by the time they are around 3 years old. This is when they continue to learn and begin to differentiate between good and bad and are taking messages both from mama’s immunity in breast milk and from the environment around them.
This is why mama’s health still needs to be at the forefront, but also the baby’s environment. Gut health for both is front and center as is their exposure to environmental toxins and specific nutrient needs. And, just like each phase of pregnancy takes on different needs and potential challenges, so does every phase in baby’s development.
We absolutely love seeing babies and establishing care with them sooner than later. This way we can come alongside parents during each growing phase, cold and flu season, and nutritional milestones to help ensure that we can build up the microbiome and immune system within these first three years as best as possible. It also helps us keep track of moms to make sure they are adjusting well to parenting, getting the support they need, and that their body and hormones are adjusting during the postpartum phase.
