By Guest Blogger on October 13, 2009
by Judy Panke, RHN
There is no time of greater nutritional importance in one’s life than during gestation and the first year of life; the nutrition received while in utero will directly influence health after birth and later into life. Eat an organic, varied, colorful diet during pregnancy to ensure that you and your baby receive plenty of good quality nutrients necessary for health and wellness.
Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of nutrients during pregnancy. Choose organic whenever possible, and try to buy local and in season for optimum nutrition. Fruits and vegetables contain lots of fiber, water, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and other phyto-nutrients, and are best consumed raw. Get an immune boost with foods rich in vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals selenium and zinc – broccoli, peppers, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, apricots, peaches, and garlic are all great choices.
It’s very important not to skip meals, and to snack regularly throughout the day to maintain blood sugar levels and avoid fatigue. Aim for colorful meals and snacks – throw some fresh, raw greens into your breakfast fruit smoothie for added nutrients and a pop of bright green. Add blueberries, strawberries, or cranberries to your lunch time salad for extra vitamin C and anti-oxidants; make it a whole meal with a small handful of almonds or walnuts, full of protein and healthy fats. Choose broth based bean and vegetable soups for fiber, protein, and minerals, and try whole grain breads, pastas and cereals for extra fiber and nutrients. Fight hunger with frequent snacks like hummus and carrots, apple slices and almond butter, zucchini slices with salsa, toast and nut butter, or fresh fruit salad sprinkled with hemp or sunflower seeds.
During pregnancy, essential fatty acids (EFAs) are also very important. EFAs are used in the creation, development, and growth of a fetus, particularly in the neurological development, increasing an adults already high need dramatically. If EFAs are not present in sufficient amounts, general growth and neurological development may suffer, immunity may be reduced, and intelligence later in life may be impacted. Ensure adequate consumption of EFAs with olives and olive oil, raw nuts, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil, flax seeds and flax oil, and chia seeds.
One of the most important, and also simplest dietary improvements to make during pregnancy is to drink more water! Many women avoid drinking water during pregnancy because of the (constant) need to urinate due to increased pressure on the bladder. Unfortunately there is not a lot to improve this but it is still necessary to drink lots of water. Take comfort in the fact that frequent bathroom trips may reduce your risk of spider veins of varicose veins, by encouraging blood flow from extra walking!
Fortunately, there are not many foods to avoid during pregnancy. Raw fish, seafood, eggs, meat, and some cheeses should not be consumed. Deli meats and smoked seafood carry a risk of listeria and other bacteria that may cause miscarriage, and therefore should be avoided during pregnancy and breast feeding. All fish and seafood should be reduced or eliminated during pregnancy because of unsafe mercury levels and other heavy metal levels. Accumulated heavy metals in the tissues of fish and humans can contribute to disease, impaired neurological development and function, and hormone disruption, among many other things.
It’s also important to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners during pregnancy. Commonly referred to as ‘non-nutrients’, these items do not promote healthy fetus development or growth.
Some common complaints during pregnancy are morning (or all-day!) sickness, constipation, indigestion, insomnia, and irritability. Fortunately, you can influence these symptoms with simple dietary improvements.
Believe it or not, nausea is a good thing – it’s your body’s natural protective mechanism for keeping out potential pathogens that may hurt you or your baby. Eating smaller more frequent meals can help with sickness, and avoiding overly spiced or flavored foods can be helpful as well.
Constipation is a frequent symptom during pregnancy because of compression on the bowels from the uterus. This is often amplified by prescriptive iron supplements, which are very hard on digestion. If your Doctor or health professional has suggested iron supplements, choose one sourced from spring water for easier digestion and less constipation. If constipation persists, try flax seeds, known to be helpful for constipation. For a quick solution, soak 1 tbsp whole flax seeds in 1 cup filtered water overnight. Drink the mixture in the morning, followed by one large glass of water, and await a complete bowel movement. Ground flax seeds may be helpful for some people with constipation, and can be added to foods such as yogurt, applesauce, salads, cereal, oatmeal, and even ice cream. Remember to drink plenty of water to offset the effects of fiber, and to aid with bowel movements.
Indigestion is not as easily addressed as constipation. Because of increased pressure from the uterus and fetus on the stomach and other organs, indigestion is common for many women. Avoid foods that aggravate indigestion, such as fat and greasy foods, and do not drink liquids with meals. Also, only eat fruit alone, and always before a meal instead of after for comfortable digestion.
Insomnia and irritability during pregnancy are accepted as normal, but they don’t have to be. Include sufficient protein from clean sources such as beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, and good fats like olive oil, flax oil, and avocados for good moods, good sleep, and stress management. Whole grains like brown rice, quinoa and barley provide B vitamins which are important for fetus growth and development, as well as mood stabilization and stress management of the mother.
Nutrition should not be neglected during breast-feeding; all of the baby’s nourishment comes via milk made directly from mom’s diet. Keep the diet clean with lots of purified water, fruits and vegetables, and avoid common allergens such as wheat, soy, dairy, corn, eggs, and peanuts. Breast milk can often contain toxic levels of heavy metals and other environmental pollutants; these toxins can be passed from mother to baby and negatively impact health. To reduce toxic exposure to the baby, expel and discard the first few ounces of breast milk at each feeding. To encourage milk flow, try herbs such as fenugreek or blessed thistle.
Give your child the nutritional advantage, and watch them reap the rewards for years to come. They’ll thank you.
Judy Panke is Registered Holistic Nutritionist based out of Ottawa, Ontario Canada. She specializes in raw and vegan nutrition, and pre-natal nutrition. Judy has her own nutritional counseling and healthy dessert catering business, and can be reached through her blog, www.judysnutrition.blogspot.com.
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By Guest Blogger on July 23, 2009
Continuation of Part I: Childbirth Today…
The next step is for pregnant women to relearn the true experience of childbirth. We deserve to have a say in the medications we take or decide not to take. We need options so that we can decide where we will deliver our babies and who will be present at the delivery. We can take personal responsibility in creating exactly the kind of childbirth we want. We want to be treated as partners instead of as patients. We want to bond with our children immediately after their birth. And we want to design and create a childbirth that is safe, peaceful, and secure.
The absolute truth is that there are no rules when it comes to creating what you really want for your childbirth and for every aspect of your life. In fact, there aren ’t any rules except the ones you make up. My recent book, “Better Birth, The Ultimate Guide to Childbirth from HomeBirths to Hospitals” is based on the The BornClear program I created over 7 years ago and was created out of my own experiences.
When I was first pregnant, I searched for new as well as ancient ways to create a peaceful and memorable birth. I wanted to fully educate myself, so I pulled information from many resources, piecing together and creating exactly what I needed to be mentally, emotionally, and physically ready. I started to prepare my body for birth by learning to control the connection between my mind and my body through a variety of mental and physical practices that included prenatal yoga, meditation, and deep relaxation. Over the course of my journey, I became able to fully trust my natural birthing instincts, as well as my body, and I found myself tapping into a deeper, more enlightened space in my mind.
Nine months later, I witnessed the birth of my daughter. What impressed me most was that I felt completely awake and present to the divinity and wonder of the birth. Two years later, I experienced the same with my son, whose birth was also peaceful and beautiful. My life’s work has always been about teaching others how to create lives they can be proud of. After my childbirth experiences, I decided to focus this mission more specifically to be able to share my extensive birthing knowledge and life practice tools with other women.
The BornClear approach that I have developed works whether you plan on giving birth at a hospital, at a birthing center, or at home. What ’s most important is being mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared so that you can create the birthing experience you want for yourself and your family.
As you prepare yourself for birth, one of the other great facets of this journey is how much you personally grow. This gift of self-awareness and growth is also crucial in having a comfortable childbirth, but it is the one component that women often neglect. Without it, we have been forced to surrender fertility issues and the birthing of our children to a script defined by someone else, be it a doctor, a nurse, a midwife, friends, or even the media. This is why many women describe childbirth merely as the few hours they spent in a delivery room, instead of focusing on the lessons they learned during the entire pregnancy. These lessons support them in birthing themselves as mothers, fathers—conscious parents.
My main goal is to globally change the way we perceive and talk about childbirth. I want to empower all women so that childbirth is no longer talked about as “surviving an ordeal.” For this to happen, women have to take control of this experience. That is why I want every woman to be able to harness this gift — the ability to trust ourselves — so that we can reclaim birthing and make it a unique, individual event that meets our greatest expectations and desires.
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By Guest Blogger on July 22, 2009
Denise Spatafora, author of “Better Birth, The Ultimate Guide to Childbirth from Home Births to Hospitals”, is the creator of Bornclear, a nationally recognized birthing method backed by renowned doctors, midwives and celebrities. Her revolutionary book, Better Birth is based on the mind-body connection preparing women and couples on all levels for conception and birth: emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually-leaving them educated, empowered and trusting themselves and their choices. Be the first two people to tweet @Kris_Carr with a link to this blog and win a free copy of Denise’s book!
The way we have come to expect a “traditional” pregnancy and birthing to look and feel has dramatically changed in our modern, technically enhanced times. The once customary rite of passage, with its inherent understanding that women were designed to give birth, has morphed into a sterile and oftentimes lonely medical procedure. This shift in thinking has inadvertently led us into an era where many women feel as if they are bringing new life into this world without really being present for the experience.
Before the 1920s, most births took place at home and were attended by doctors or midwives, but by the 1930s women were flocking to hospitals, hoping to experience the revolutionary methods of “painless” childbirth. Even though the doctors of the time did not deliver on this ridiculous promise, we continued to follow and “improve” on these new scientific practices, and before we knew it, we had unintentionally relinquished control over the entire childbirth experience. Every aspect of hospitalized childbirth became almost mechanical, and they were all orchestrated by a doctor. Women were separated from their husbands, sedated by drugs that made them oblivious to the birthing process, and kept in sterile environments. Breastfeeding was discouraged, and breast milk was replaced by “enhanced” infant formulas. As time passed, we completely forgot how to own and control pregnancy and childbirth: the natural, normal aspects of delivery no longer existed.
Doctors gave great arguments to pregnant mothers. As Dr. David Chamberlain, an expert in prenatal psychology, said, “The doctor ’s byline was, ‘Let us do it. Trust me; we know how to do this.’ But they didn’t. All they had to offer was a protocol. They treated every mother the same, every father the same and every baby the same.”
According to the World Health Organization, “By medicalizing birth, i.e., separating woman from her own environment and surrounding her with strange people using strange machines to do strange things to her in an effort to assist her, the woman’s state of mind and body is so altered that her way of carrying through this intimate act must also be altered and the state of the baby born must equally be altered. The result is that it is no longer possible to know what births would have been like before these manipulations — they have no idea what non-medicalized birth is. The entire modern obstetric . . . literature is
essentially based on observations of ‘ medicalized’ birth.”
Before women could muster up opinions to the contrary, technology took hold once again, to the point where today the Cesarean section is the most common form of surgery performed in any hospital. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 1 in 3 babies in the United States is delivered by Cesarean section. USA Today reported that in 2006, 31.1 percent of U.S. births were by C-section, a 50 percent increase over the previous decade. Some doctors are even referring to C-sections as vaginal bypass surgery! While C-sections can be lifesaving operations when either the mother or the baby faces certain health-related problems, many health-care experts believe that a good number of C-sections are performed unnecessarily. Too often, they are scheduled to meet the personal needs of obstetricians or the hospital staff or to conform to the hectic lives of mothers themselves. In almost every country in the world outside of the United States, 75 to 80 percent of all low-risk pregnancies are attended by midwives. In the United States, most women are still opting for a hospital birth, but many report afterward that their experiences were less than ideal and sometimes traumatic. Often, they are disappointed with the clinical character of the process. Women often say that they felt as if they were not included in their childbirth. Other mothers have told me that even though they were well informed about “what to expect,” they were too scared of the pain to be emotionally present, so they relinquished control to the medical team. They did not know how to deal with the totality of the experience in real time because they really weren’t prepared.
On top of individual experiences, the main conversation about birthing that is often shared among traditional health-care providers, birthing professionals, and even girlfriends is that childbirth is a painful ordeal, an uncomfortable means to an end. The discussion then compartmentalizes the process into two categories: “successful” mainstream or “alternative” vaginal births, and “unfortunate” or “scheduled” C-sections.
Yet this negative and limiting conversation doesn’t have to exist at all. Today, many women, as well as mainstream health-care professionals, are speaking up against the current culture of childbirth, and changes are happening, even in hospitals. Doctors and midwives are uniting to find better solutions to the increasing rate of C-sections, as well as the rising costs of hospital births. Husbands and partners have reentered the birthing room. Mothers are encouraged to breast-feed by both obgyns and pediatricians: medical statistics now back up what many women have known all along, that breastfeeding is the healthiest feeding option for both mother and baby.
Tune in tomorrow for Part II: Childbirth Today…
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