Pregnancy nutrition from experience and my story so far

Hello again, let me appologise for the long pause between blogs! I've been gestating these last 6 months, and writing has slipped my mind as I've delighted in my ever changing body.

I've experienced first hand the effectiveness of good nutrition during pregnancy, and also the pitfalls of slipping up. For all those women who have yet to concieve their babies, let me share my experiences in the spirit of sisterly advice.

Also during this time I had to make a decision between birthing at home and birthing in the hospital system, and that's been a journey well worth sharing.

First though, the food! When a woman decides to become pregnant, ideally she should prepare for as long as possible by cleansing her body, nourishing it with pure, organic foods, stocks made fresh at home from biodynamic animal bones, by eliminating alcohol, processed foods, sugary foods and damaged (fried or hydrogenated) fats, and replacing all harsh chemical beauty (eg deodorants and shampoos) and cleaning products with eco friendly, chemical free versions. (And of course there's plenty of spiritual and emotional preparation to consider, but I'll leave that to other blogs!)

Since I was not planning to become pregnant, I was not actively doing any preconception care, although the organic food, stocks, and use of natural cleaning and beauty products are mostly part of my routine. My big trip-up was (and is) Sugar.

This baby was concieved in the wake of the enormous sugar binge known as Christmas. Luckily, when I discovered that I was pregnant I'd already begun a blood sugar balancing regimen, eliminating sugar and wheat in a bid to rebalance after the holidays. I kept this diet up throughout the first trimester, and consequently suffered minimal tiredness and nausea. I most certainly found that if I did enjoy a pizza or sweet treat, the nausea would be much worse the following day, and in fact on one occasion, after an Easter indiscretion, I actually did throw up.

Now, I do realise everyone is different on account of varying hormone levels. If your hormones are out of balance when you concieve you will certainly struggle to rebalance them while you're throwing up your breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner) every day. This is why it's a good idea to see a Naturopath for preconception care, but even after you have concieved, avoiding sugar and refined grains will make a difference to those with severe imbalances.

Once I'd reached the end of my first trimester I was almost back to full energy levels and the nausea had ebbed off. I was most grateful! But during pregnancy it becomes even more difficult than usual to balance blood sugars thanks to an increased nutritional requirement. My stumbling block was my body's insistance on an early dinner. This meant that at 5pm, while leaving work and heading through a city full of food to the train station, my body was asking for a full meal. On a good day this would constitute avocado rolls from the sushi bar. On a less good day, Lord of the Fries was suddenly in my way. Or worse. And so, with the nausea issues out of the way, I became lax with my diet and my blood sugars were more uncontrolled than I ever rememeber them. This may have contributed to my low iron count when my blood test results came through. It certainly contributed to more weight gain than was necessary.

However I have recently rectified the situation, just in time to head into my final trimester (which begins tomorrow). It was actually easier than I expected. With the help of some magnesium powder, which helps the pancreas deal with sugar, and the diet tips detailed in my last blog, I was able to nip the sugar cravings in the bud and I'm feeling much healthier.

Finally, here's a list of foods to enjoy abundantly during a pregnancy:

Avocado - loads of good fats which will give the baby a healthy nervous system, hormonal system and skin, and a dose of smarts!

Nuts and seeds - same as above, but also with protein to help baby grow, and to keep your blood sugars in check

Sprouts - these are baby plants, with loads of vitality and potential, (and vitamins and minerals) which you and baby absorb to give energy and zing!

Fruits - these become great snacks to prevent sugar binges, and provide vitamins, fibre and a little water

Veggies - alwyas the best source of fibre, carbs and protein, rich in vitamins and minerals. These should make up the bulk of your diet

Eggs - the whites (cooked) provide protein and the yolk (left runny) provide vitamin D and great fats such as phospholipids, to feed the brain. Eggs make a great breakfast

Quinoa - called the Mother Grain by the Inca people, which is believed to be part reference to the staple grain, part reference to its usefulness for pregnant women and nursing mothers. See my blog on quinoa for info and recipes

Oats - provide a balance of complex carbs and protein to keep blood sugars balanced. Also provide fabulous fibre to keep the intestinal system clean.

Fresh fruit and veggie juices - to increase your intake

Pot set, unsweetened yoghurt - keep that gut flora balanced


And now the story of the home / hospital birth question.

The first thing I did when I discovered I was having a baby was to order a stack of books on the subject, amongst which was a book by some lovely Australian naturopaths, entitled "The Natural Way to Better Birth and Bonding". This book cited the overwhelming evidence in favour of natural, non interventionist birthing, which gives the child and mother the best chance of perfect health and a great relationship. Its message was that the birthing mother should be as relaxed as possible and comfortable in her surroundings in order that things proceed as they should. This, they argued, was most likely to be achieved if the mother remained at home to deliver with a midwife, rather than removing to the foreign environment of the hospital with loud machines, sick people, bright lights and uncomfortable, unfamiliar furniture.

So I decided that my age and profession put me in a very low risk category, making it safe to birth at home, and cosied up to the idea. My man was supportive, having been convinced by the same literature I'd read, and together we began to research such details as midwives, costs and equipment.

As it turns out, homebirthing is a very political thing. In this country it's very uncommon practice, and the AMA strongly advise against it. (On the other hand, the WHO stats are quite supportive of homebirth, and rather critical of the hospital system.) All this makes it the most expensive way to give birth, since homebirth midwives are unable to gain insurance. We found that by the time the baby is born the costs, including the midwife's fees, a birth pool and so on, may leave little change out of 10 grand. Even this we were prepared to wear, though, and we plugged on with the planning.

The plans changed, however, when it became apparent that our parents' concerns were impossible to ignore. The fears didn't affect me much, but the argument that got me was provided by my Mum, a nurse, who pointed out that though homebirthing might be perfectly safe in those countries that are set up for it, imagine what would happen should you need to transfer to hospital in this country. It's true. Without any medical records for the birthing mother, a doctor in an ED would be within his rights to become stroppy. In other countries this wouldn't be the case.

At this point I was 16 weeks pregnant and becoming afraid that there was no way I'd find an obstetritian who wasn't booked for my due date. Boy did I get lucky!!! Not only did I find an ob on my thrid phone call, I found Lionel Steinberg, aka Vaginal Lionel. How blessed I felt when I sat down with him for my first appointment, explained that the reason I was making first contact at 16 weeks was because I'd been planning a homebirth, and his calm reaction was "oh, well then I know exactly what kind of birth you'd like". I could have kissed him. He explained that though the hospital has a C section rate of a whopping 50%, his personal rate was a measly 11%, and he added that about half of those were electives. (Which makes me wonder why you'd take up Lionel's time if you didn't mind having a C section...) I suddenly felt a renewed faith in the medical system, and with my private health insurance it was even going to be the cheapest option. I was overjoyed. As were my family. My man still hasn't had the oportunity to meet Lionel, who's recovering from a back injury, and is a little uncertain about whether this is what I really want, but I know as soon as they meet he'll be as grateful as I am.

And that's my story so far! I'm now, as I said, entering my final trimester, so I'm onto the Raspberry leaf teas to strengthen up my uterus! I promise to keep up the info as I go.