Yesterday was the birth-day of my first-born child, he turned 34 & it had me thinking of my pregnancy’s & birth’s, and I wanted to share some really valuable information with you.
First though, I really need to start with the health of the parents. As we know, providing your baby with the best possible start to life is perhaps the greatest gift any parent can give to their child. Achieving a healthy pregnancy & a healthy baby can be optimised by what time couples spend on their health before conception. And, I also want to point out straight away that BOTH MATERNAL & PATERNAL HEALTH are just as equally important LEADING up to conception! We know from many studies that paternal health DIRECTLY INFLUENCES your child’s health BUT ALSO the health of the next THREE GENERATIONS!! And, NO I AM NOT MAKING THAT STATEMENT UP!! It has already been proven from a study that began in the 1940’s & released in 2019! Pre-natal health really does determine the quality of all the genetic materials within both the egg & the sperm, thus leading to the genetic potential of your baby.
The influences on our genetic material is really negatively impacted by a variety of factors, such as smoking, toxin exposure, chronic stress, alcohol. obesity a high-fat diet, nutritional deficiencies & even diabetes. But! we can maximise our health both before & during pregnancy with specific supplemental support, because as we know, the demands in our modern & technological world can make it very hard for us to meet our required nutritional amounts. We can ensure our nutritional status with supplemental use, along side dietary strategies to keep peak levels & this will prevent those nasty deficiency symptoms like fatigue, digestive disturbances & even brain fog!
As your practitioner, I can recommend specific nutra-ceauticals to address any of your concerns & support you towards a healthy pregnancy & beyond. My key ingredients for a healthy start with pre-conception & pregnancy are trialled & tested (only the absolute best you can obtain for my patients!). Let’s look at Iron first, it supports maternal energy & also Bub’s brain development, plus Iron can prevent iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnancy. Zinc is essential for Bub’s growth & development. Folate, this supports the genetic development of Bub, and reduces the incidence of neural tube defects by a whopping 50%-70%!! Iodine supports foetal growth & brain development & for Mum-thyroid function for energy. Lutein & Choline, both a little well known but important for growth, plus brain development & central nervous system for Bub. We also use Omega-3 essential fatty acid found in algal oil (marine algae) or fish oil to support brain & eye function & structure. Vitamins D & K2 for Bub’s bone growth & development, remembering that VitD also supports immune function. Finally, specific pro-biotic strains (because not all pro-biotics are the same), for pregnancy I always recommend Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG), Bifidobacterium animalis spp. lactis (BB-12), Bifidobacterium breve (M-16v) & Bifidobacterium longum (BB536) to help maintain healthy levels of blood glucose in women, and support Bub’s gut microbiome for healthy immune development.
I want to share a little on diet & lifestyle choices, as the food we eat & the lifestyle choices you make before conception & throughout Bub’s first 1000 days lays the foundation of your Bub’s growth, health & on-going development. So, eating a healthy & well-balanced diet full of fresh fruits & vegetables (choosing as much colour as you can), good lean protein-rich foods like fish, chicken, free-range eggs, plus legumes, pulses & tofu. Lovely cold-pressed oils, avocado, seeds & nuts, oily fish provides us with naturally formed, good quality essential fatty acids, try to have at least one serving at every meal. Foods that are high in good quality fibre (but start slow!), like wholegrain breads, brown rice, fruits & vegetables that nourish our beneficial gut bacteria for maintaining our health. I remember, my Grandmother always telling us to “shop at the end of the grocery store where all the fresh food is kept”, and she was right! Some lifestyle strategies that I also recommend is getting regular exercise because improving your fitness before, during & after pregnancy & lactation, can bring you many physical & emotional benefits! It’s a massive shift in dynamics when we first bring Bub home, suddenly there’s this tiny little person & we all need increased abilities to cope from all the extra demands of parenthood. Exercise & relaxation will help! But, it also helps your body to recover after the birth & is a great stress reducer! So, creating time to rest & finding exercises you enjoy that will bring you happiness & well-being is vital! I wish someone told me when I had my first pregnancy, I had to figure it all our myself, which is part of the reason I became a Naturopath, so that I can share my knowledge to those I reach, for your own pregnancy care that will give both parents & Bub’s best start to life. I look forward to working with you!
X Sharon
References available upon request
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