Unmedicated Pregnancy: Using Nutrition & Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum

With winter here to stay for a bit, we wanted to give you some tips and basic guidelines for how to stay healthy and low-risk as well as what you can do if you end up getting sick while you're pregnant! Pregnancy is a common time for mothers to find more natural and holistic means of preventing and treating ailments. 

Nutrition During Pregnancy

 Why should you care about nutrition during pregnancy? Because pregnant women who are healthy and low risk have more birthing options available to them. Things like: birthing in water, the ability to let your body & baby determine when to go into labor, and freedom of movement.

So how do you have a healthy pregnancy? A lot of that is determined by what you eat! And, just a quick note, being underweight or overweight doesn’t mean you can’t have a great pregnancy and birth. You may gain more weight if you started your pregnancy underweight, or you may lose weight or gain less if you started pregnancy a bit overweight. With good nutrition, weight is just a number!

Good nutrition encourages a healthy balance of hormones, energy, strength, stamina- all vital for an awesome birth!

What We Recommend for Nutrition

Overall, we want you to eat a high-protein, well-balanced diet. Drink about half your body weight in water and be sure to take your prenatal supplements and a good probiotic. You may also consider supplementing with Vitamin D and good fish oil. Women who follow a high-protein, well-balanced diet have better outcomes overall including less incidence of preeclampsia. (And by well-balanced, we mean eating from all the food groups and eating a variety within each food group. Eat a rainbow!)

The best way to see where you’re at is to track what you eat for one week and then review. Where can you improve? DO NOT beat yourself up though! Being a mom is hard enough. *We do offer worksheets to help you track your nutrition, meal plans, and more detailed info in the course.

Gut health is ALWAYS important, but especially during pregnancy and birth as this can influence things like your GBS test outcome. Because of that, we recommend that you decrease sugar intake if possible, and limit caffeine and other irritants.

What if I get sick?! What can I take?

Here are some of the favorites that we discussed in this episode- links to many of these in the show notes below!

• Fresh garlic/minced with honey
•  Honey tea with apple cider vinegar
•  Vitamin C
•  Vitamin D
•  Magnesium (constipation/leg cramps)
•  Zinc
•  Echinacea
•  Essential oils: OnGuard, Copaiba, Frankincense, Oregano topically
•  Ricola Cough Drops (the kind with honey)
•  Humidifier
•  Warm shower with Eucalyptus or Breathe essential oils
•  Gargle with saltwater or use with a Neti Pot

Nutrition Postpartum

It's the same diet as when you're pregnant, but be sure to add in gentle exercise and outdoor time as often as you can. Be patient with your body- it took 9 months to grow your sweet baby, give it at least 9 months to heal and recover fully.

When moms find themselves experiencing postpartum depression or mood disorders we encourage a return to the basics including moving your body, fresh air, sunshine, and nourishing foods.

Is your newborn fussy and you worry it could be related to something you're eating? Before you begin putting the breaks on certain foods, we recommend that you meet with an IBCLC. Sally with Motherfed talked specifically about moms being told they could only eat chicken and rice, and that’s rarely necessary.

You're busy and tired enough as a new mom so try to keep meals as simple as possible- you can even ask family and friends to bring freezer meals. Aim to have protein, veggie, healthy fats, and a carb with each meal.

Here are some meal ideas:

 Breakfast

-Avocado toast with a fried egg 

-Asparagus with a fried egg

-Bacon and cheese with hashbrowns

Snacks

-Cottage cheese and yogurt

-Apples and cheese slices

-Apples and peanut/almond butter

Lunch

-Chicken salad sandwich with kale chips/broccoli salad/fresh fruit

-Salad with hard boiled egg

-Grilled ham and cheese with sliced tomatoes in oil/vinegar

 Dinner

-Chicken, rice, veggies

-Tacos with lime rice

-Beef Roast with potatoes and carrots

Final Thoughts

 The goal of nutrition during pregnancy is to fuel your body and birth a healthy baby. There are many ways to do this within these guidelines. It’s ok to mess up and it’s ok to follow some of it, no one expects you to be perfect! There are far more and far less healthy prenatal diets than what we’ve given you here. It’s all about balance - do what works for you! DO take time to track your intake every week and work to make small changes that are realistic and will give you a win!

Would you like us to take a look at what you’re eating and help you with some suggestions? Send us a pic of your meals for the week (through IG or email) and we will send you our best recommendations to help you get to whatever your goal is with nutrition!