I Want A Healthy Pregnancy
()
About this ebook
Related to I Want A Healthy Pregnancy
Related ebooks
Nurture for the Nurturer: A 12 Day Meditational and Technical Guide for Breastfeeding Mothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby (A March of Dimes Book): The Ultimate Pregnancy Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChoices: A Pregnancy Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou and Your Bump: Simple steps to pregnancy wellbeing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaby Maker: A Complete Guide to Holistic Nutrition for Fertility, Conception, and Pregnancy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPainless Childbirth: An All-Natural Nutrition Plan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Have a Mindful Pregnancy and Birth: 30 Simple Ways to Connect to Your Baby and Your Body Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPure Nurture: A Holistic Guide to a Healthy Baby Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings9 Months—A Joyful Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBreech: Empowered Stories of Babies Born Feet First!: Empowered Birth Stories Books, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaby and Toddler Basics: Expert Answers to Parents' Top 150 Questions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVitamins & Pregnancy: The Real Story: Your Orthomolecular Guide for Healthy Babies & Happy Moms Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nourishing Newborn Mothers: Ayurvedic recipes to heal your mind, body and soul after childbirth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSupported In Birth: Stories of Empowering Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInto the Mouths of Babes: A Whole Foods Nutrition Guide to Feeding Your Infants and Toddlers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth & Babies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pregnancy – The CommonSense Approach: Sensible Advice for Enjoying Your Pregnancy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaby Talk to Me: Spirit Baby Messages for the Journey to Motherhood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaturally Healthy First Foods for Baby: The Best Nutrition for the First Year and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNewborn Mothers: When a Baby is Born, so is a Mother. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Tandem Nursing Journey: Breastfeeding Through Pregnancy, Labor, Nursing Aversion and Beyond, 2nd Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSOS FOR YOUR HORMONAL HOT MESS Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProtect Your Pregnancy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Made It to Motherhood: A Guide for New Moms Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSafe Food: What to eat and drink in pregnancy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Midwife in My Pocket: Pregnancy, Birth, and Life with a New Baby, Told as It Really Is Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTop #100 Natural Remedies For Female Fertility Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPreconception and IVF- Preparing for Assisted Reproductive Techniques Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen's Fertility: A Beginner's Guide to Increasing Fertility through Diet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wellness For You
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Lindsay C. Gibson's Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Body Says No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Language of Your Body: The Essential Guide to Health and Wellness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/552 Prepper Projects: A Project a Week to Help You Prepare for the Unpredictable Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for I Want A Healthy Pregnancy
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
I Want A Healthy Pregnancy - Alia Almoayed
Center
Introduction
How Babies Are Made
When my daughter was five years old, she asked me the dreaded question: How are babies made?
Seeing that she was too young for the real answer, I tried to make my explanation as mild as possible. I said that when two people love each other, they get married and give each other a big hug. During the hug, a small ‘dot’ from the father meets a little dot inside the mother’s womb. The two dots become one and keep growing to form a cute baby.
She was happy with that answer, and I gave a long sigh of relief.
One year later, when I got pregnant with my third child, I sat with my two children and delivered the good news. I explained that there was a baby growing in my belly.
My daughter (then six years old) jumped up and down with joy. Did baba give you the ‘dot’?
she asked innocently.
That question was the first of many over the next nine months. I was bombarded with queries about what it feels like to be pregnant, how the baby grows inside, what it looks like, how it comes out, and many more.
But the questions did not only come from my kids. Many women were asking me about my pregnancy too. As a nutritional therapist, many people wanted to know what pregnancy was like for me. They wanted to see if pregnancy is different when you’re healthy.
Secretly, many of them wanted proof that what you eat during pregnancy does make a difference.
I got comments like:
• I want to see what you eat during your pregnancy so that I can do the same
• I want to know if eating well really makes a difference in pregnancy
• What are your views on natural remedies during pregnancy and how can I have a pain-free delivery
• And last, but not least – why don’t you do a reality show of your pregnancy
Don’t worry, I never did the reality show (there are way too many of those as it is), but I did decide to share parts of my long, handwritten pregnancy journals from each of my pregnancies. Looking back at my writings, I found tears and laughter between the lines of my journal entries. But, most of all, I realised I was very confused and had a lot of questions regarding pregnancy and my symptoms. I could have used some guidance.
That is why I decided to write this book. In a strange way, this is the book I would have liked to have had when I got pregnant the first time around. In fact, I wish I had read it even before I considered conceiving.
What this book is about
I wrote this book during my third pregnancy. By then I was an experienced mother (or at least I thought I was), and I was determined to enjoy pregnancy to the fullest the third time around.
So I took out all my health weapons. I wanted to enhance this pregnancy with my own nutritional advice and see if it worked. I even went a step further to make sure that I aligned mind, body and spirit for the journey.
I loved the maternal feeling, the curves and the thick hair of pregnancy, and I found it amazing how my body almost had a mind of its own and did what it needed to do to create this new being. But underneath the bliss of carrying a new life was a lot of exhaustion and complaints.
The healthy lifestyle certainly helped me address many issues, and avoid many of the complaints I had in my previous pregnancies. And although pregnancy is different for each woman, eating well always elevates that experience and gives you great results – a healthy baby and a vibrant mummy!
This book is about small changes that I made to my diet and lifestyle that really made a difference during the most special and exciting journey of my life. They worked for me and I hope they can work for you too.
Chapter 1
I Want to Get Pregnant!
Maximising your fertility
Alia’s Pregnancy Journal Entry:
Should we have a baby? I would love to but I don’t know if my body is ready to go through another pregnancy. I even forgot what it’s like to have a baby, it’s been a while! Am I fertile enough; how will my body handle it; whom will the baby look like; will I be a good mother... So many questions!
It’s very natural to have all kinds of questions and thoughts when you’re planning for a baby. As you can see from my journal entry, each of my babies came with its own set of questions. Having a baby is fun, tiring, and unpredictable all at the same time; and let me tell you, it is still all that with each new pregnancy.
I’ve had a lot of women tell me that they’re putting off getting pregnant because they are not sure if ‘it’s the right time’. To be honest, having a baby is such a big decision that there will never be a perfect time to do it.
I absolutely love it when a woman comes to me and tells me that she’s planning to have a baby in 6-12 months time and wants to know what she can do until then to improve her chances of getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy and baby.
If you’re considering getting pregnant, please remember that it’s not just your health during pregnancy that counts, but your health BEFORE conception makes a big difference as well. For women, it takes a month to form an egg, so everything you do during that month will affect your chances and the quality of your offspring. For men, it’s even longer than that. It takes about four months for sperm to form and be ready to fertilise, so for men, it’s not just about what they’re eating today, it’s actually about everything that they’ve been doing for the past four months!
Of course, I’m sure you also know that your overall health matters, not just the time it takes to create an egg or a sperm. Many of the women I see spend their whole teenage years destroying their bodies with fizzy drink, caffeine and cigarettes, and then regret it when they realise that their bodies will not allow them to have babies later on because of it. And the same applies to men of course. Nature will always do its best to ensure only healthy babies come into the world. And healthy babies cannot grow in unhealthy bodies.
So, ideally, you should start thinking about how to improve your diet and lifestyle at least six months before you get pregnant. But if you don’t have that long and you want to get pregnant NOW, you can still benefit from the tips I have for you. These are the tips I used for myself, and they really made a difference. They will help you boost your fertility, and hopefully ensure that you have a healthy and hassle-free pregnancy, and a super baby!
Where to start
Before you do anything else, stand back and take an honest look at your body and your health. Keep the following in mind:
• If you are overweight or underweight, now is a good time to address either. Of course, you should not go on a strict diet if you want to get pregnant next month. If you are very overweight or very underweight, it might be worth considering a delay in conception until your body is at a more optimum weight. A healthy-eating approach to weight loss or weight gain is always more beneficial than quick fixes
• Make sure to take out any form of toxins (see Chapter 14 for more details). Toxins, such as mercury fillings or pesticides, can cross the placenta when you’re pregnant and affect your baby. They can also hinder your chances of getting pregnant. If you have at least six months before your planned conception, it might be worth it to also consider a detox. Always do a supervised detox with a qualified practitioner; do not attempt one on your own
• If you are on the contraceptive Pill, stop it as soon as you can and allow at least three months before you start trying for a baby. This gives your body a chance to get rid of the hormones accumulated while on the Pill. Of course, you have to consider other forms of contraception while you’re waiting for your body to clear out
• If you already have another child, it’s good to keep a gap between your babies of at least 18 months before you get pregnant again. This allows your body enough time to recover from the first pregnancy and birth and to replenish all the necessary nutrients
• Keep your nutrient levels in top shape. You will need all your nutrients now to make sure your reproductive system is in excellent condition. Make sure you’re getting enough zinc (from seafood, rye, oats, and nuts), B vitamins (from whole grains and greens) and vitamin C to boost your fertility. Also, top up on your essential fats, especially omega 3 from raw nuts and seeds. (See more in Chapter 11)
• Take a good quality pre-natal multivitamin supplement and consider taking a high omega oils supplement such as Udo’s oil
• Don’t forget to stop all harmful habits such as alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes. Those are sure to affect your fertility and your baby when you’re pregnant. Research has shown that as little as one cup of coffee a day can reduce your fertility by half
Balancing hormones
The most important thing you should do before you get pregnant is make sure your hormones are balanced. When you have hormone havoc going on inside you, it will be harder for your body to get pregnant or have a good pregnancy.
And guess what is the biggest factor in hormone imbalance. Sugar!
Cut out added sugar from your diet (see Chapter 9) and make sure to also implement all the steps that will help you achieve maximum blood sugar balance. This will make a big difference to your cycle and the quality of the egg you produce.
Should you delay?
If you feel that your diet and your health are in too much of a mess at the moment, it might be worth it to delay for a couple of months just to make sure everything is in order. I know you may be very keen on having a baby, but remember that you want to give this baby the best chance in life. The health of your baby starts way before conception. Trust me, it will be worth your efforts.
Get your partner on board
If your partner thinks that the burden of making a healthy baby depends solely on the mother, then he’s very wrong. If he doesn’t believe you, then please show him this chapter.
After all, your baby will be 50% from his father! So your partner’s health before conception is crucial to the baby’s health and also to your chances of fertility. In many cultures, infertility is blamed entirely on the female while it has been established that about 60% of infertility cases are traced back to the man.
So, all the tips in this chapter and this book also apply to him. If more fathers took a more active role in improving their health before conception, we would have a much healthier generation to come.
Having said that, many men are eager to help out but just don’t know what to do (other than the obvious act of fertilisation of course). If you let your partner know his role in this baby’s life, I’m sure he will be more than happy to help. Just remind him that his health initiative should ideally start at least four to six months before your planned