Tips for a Healthy Holistic Pregnancy

Pregnancy is an exciting, unique time in a woman’s life. This season of life can also be marked with apprehension or fear—especially during your first pregnancy. These days, there is an abundance of information available about pregnancy—and knowing where to begin can boggle the mind.

Oftentimes, it is best to start with a few simple basics as you pursue supporting your pregnancy in a healthy, holistic way.

Sleep

Creating a new life within uses up a lot of energy, so allowing your body to rest and rebuild each day is extremely important during this time. For many women, fatigue is one of the chief symptoms they experience during the first trimester due to the many changes within the body including shifts in hormones, blood sugar, blood volume, and blood pressure.

Your body’s immune system is naturally weaker during pregnancy, thus adequate sleep is crucial for bolstering immune function. Allow yourself to go to bed earlier, sleep in, or sneak in a nap during the day. While various factors impact sleep, a study suggests that women who don’t get adequate sleep may be at an increased risk for pregnancy conditions such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure.

By the third trimester, your baby is likely to be quite active inside of you and may love to perform their acrobatic movements at night time while you are trying to sleep. You’ve also likely gained a few pounds which can make getting comfortable at night a bit more challenging.

Your body is going through extreme hormone changes which can lead to night sweats or insomnia. All of these factors can lead to poor quality sleep. If you are struggling to get restorative sleep, consider investing in a pregnancy pillow to relieve some pressure and support your bump while you sleep.

Sun

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the sun should not be feared, especially during pregnancy. Ideally, shoot for 15-30 minutes per day of sun exposure—making sure you expose as much skin as possible to the sun’s rays.

The body is best able to synthesize vitamin D from the sun. If the climate where you live does not make daily sun exposure feasible, consider food sources of vitamin D such as quality cod liver oil, beef liver, egg yolks, grass-fed dairy, and wild salmon.

Vitamin D supports your immune system, which is working double-time during pregnancy. It also helps support healthy bones, muscles, and teeth, and is vital to the bone growth and development of your baby.

Hydration

Staying hydrated is something to pay close attention to throughout your pregnancy as your body’s blood volume increases significantly during pregnancy. Proper hydration not only keeps you and your baby thriving, but it also helps to form amniotic fluid and aids the body’s elimination of toxins. Staying hydrated will also lessen common pregnancy issues such as urinary tract infections and constipation.

Adding in mineral-rich drinks will help to hydrate and nourish you. Bone broth is a comforting drink that provides electrolytes and minerals along with gut-healing collagen. Drinking pure coconut water, or adding trace mineral drops to your filtered drinking water will help ensure you and your baby are properly hydrated throughout the pregnancy.

Nutrition

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage “eating for two!” in reference to your diet during pregnancy. However, this doesn’t mean it’s a free pass or an excuse to eat whatever you want. The general rule of thumb is to consume roughly 300 extra calories per day.

It’s important to avoid empty calories and refined foods, and focus on clean, nutrient-dense whole foods. What you consume is providing the body with the raw materials needed to build your growing baby.

Protein

Pregnant women need higher amounts of protein. While needs vary for each individual, it’s best to aim to consume between 80 to 120 grams of protein daily. Many women find eating adequate protein lessens their morning sickness. Excellent sources of protein are grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, pasture-raised chicken, pastured eggs, raw yogurt and cheeses, wild-caught salmon, etc.

Health-Promoting Fats

Consuming quality fats is vital to a baby’s organ and brain development. Grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, ghee, butter, cream, coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil are good choices.

Blood Sugar

Balancing your blood sugar throughout pregnancy is crucial for the baby’s well-being as blood sugar spikes are inflammatory for the body. Blood sugar balance is vital for avoiding gestational diabetes.

Eating balanced meals with protein, healthy fats, fiber, and moderate complex carbs will help avoid blood sugar spikes. Avoiding refined sugars, processed foods, and industrial seed oils can go a long way in fostering proper blood sugar regulation.

If you know you have blood sugar dysregulation, supplementing with inositol will help support your blood sugar and also can have a calming effect on the body.

Gut Support

Much of our overall health begins in the gut, so supporting gut health will benefit mama and baby throughout your pregnancy and will help to establish a baby with a thriving microbiome once they are born.

Adding fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, or other lacto-fermented vegetables will offer support to your gut. Incorporating a tablespoon or two of fermented foods to each meal provides the body with a regular dose of beneficial probiotic organisms throughout the day. Additionally, supplementing with a quality probiotic is equally beneficial.

Due to the shifts in hormones during pregnancy, the digestive process can slow and cause symptoms such as acid reflux, heartburn, nausea, or bowel issues. Supplementing with hydrochloric acid can support proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Iron

Be mindful of supporting your body with iron-rich foods, as anemia is common during pregnancy. Iron is crucial for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. If you have anemia during pregnancy, you may feel exhausted, dizzy, cold, or short of breath.

It is recommended to get proper testing to determine if you are dealing with anemia and what type of anemia it is, as this can determine how to best support your body.

Iron-rich foods include liver, grass-fed beef, beets, and dark leafy greens. Keep in mind that iron from animal protein is more readily assimilated than iron from vegetables.

For proper absorption, it’s best to pair them with vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruits, strawberries, kale, broccoli, and peppers. I often recommend pregnant moms supplement with desiccated liver since liver provides important cofactors for proper iron assimilation.

Magnesium

Due to our nutrient-poor soils and food systems, taking a quality prenatal vitamin is a strategy to provide important vitamins and minerals to support your pregnancy. The vast majority of the American population is deficient in magnesium, which is particularly important in pregnancy.

Supplementing with magnesium can help your body to avoid pregnancy conditions such as preeclampsia. Magnesium can help ease morning sickness, improve energy levels, alleviate constipation, calm restless legs, and help with blood sugar regulation.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

If you’ve had a pregnant friend, you’ve likely heard about this nourishing tea that expectant mamas are often found sipping on! This tea is made from the leaves of the red raspberry bush and has a mild black tea flavor which is easy to make into a tasty sipping beverage served cold or hot.

Red raspberry leaf tea is a powerhouse of readily absorbable vitamins including vitamins A, C, and E, as well as several B vitamins, as well as magnesium, calcium, zinc, potassium, and manganese. All of these vitamins and minerals are a great addition to a nutrient-dense diet to ensure you and your baby are well-nourished.

Midwives and doulas have recommended drinking red raspberry leaf tea to women for centuries. This tea helps to strengthen the pelvic muscles and assists with toning the uterus. This can aid in improving the effectiveness of contractions, shortening the duration of labor, and helping to lower the chance of birth complications or the need for interventions.

Many practitioners will recommend waiting to consume this tea until at least the second trimester, sometimes even into the third trimester as it has been known to cause uterine cramping for some women. As always, it’s best to discuss with your practitioner when to begin drinking red raspberry leaf tea, and how much each day.

Movement

Get your body moving as often as you can, each day. The daily movement will not only make you feel good, but it can make a huge difference in preparing your body for labor and supporting your body to heal quickly postpartum.

Walking

While it may sound simple, taking a 30-minute walk each day will make a huge difference in keeping you physically fit and your body in balance as it changes throughout pregnancy. Whenever possible, take your walk outside to breathe in fresh air and soak in a little sunshine.

Squatting

Squatting is an excellent way to build and maintain strength and make sure your range of motion is the best it can be, even as your body changes. Squatting daily is a great resistance exercise to tone your pelvic floor muscles and help to open your pelvis in preparation for giving birth.

Be sure you are performing squats with proper technique that engages your core and supports your lower back and belly, especially as you get further along in your pregnancy.

Spending Time in Nature

I can’t say it enough, get outside as much as you can to spend time in nature. Grounding with your bare feet to the earth and spending time outside will lower your stress levels, help to balance hormones, and give you a deeper sense of peace and relaxation.

Stress Management

You might be thinking “easier said than done!” as you read this, but managing stress is crucial to a healthy pregnancy. Whatever you as the mama are feeling affects the little one growing inside of you. If you are living in a state of stress, that stress is also transferring to the baby and can cause negative effects.

Practicing breathing techniques to calm and keep yourself regulated can be extremely helpful if you start to feel stressed.

It can be a challenge but ask for help if you are feeling overwhelmed with tasks and to-do’s whether at home or work. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be able to “do it all,” and do try to accept help when it’s offered.

Daily exercise, grounding, prayer, gratitude, warm baths, and journaling are all helpful methods for managing stress.

Functional Medicine

Getting a full panel of blood work done early in pregnancy is helpful in understanding any potential concerns and you can take steps to address any weaknesses that are identified.

Some things to check are various thyroid markers, iron handling, inflammatory markers, and hormone levels. Progesterone is vital to growing a full-term pregnancy, so knowing if your levels are high enough early on in pregnancy can give you great peace of mind.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care can help maintain a healthy pregnancy, ease nausea, relieve back, neck, or joint pain, reduce the time of labor and delivery, and potentially prevent cesarean delivery.

It’s important to find a chiropractor that you trust and who is trained to work with pregnant women. Working with a chiropractor trained in techniques such as the Webster technique can help to flip breech babies, ensure babies are better positioned for birth and achieve proper balance in your pelvis.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

Working with a pelvic floor physical therapist (PT) throughout pregnancy will help to tone your pelvic floor muscles, prevent long-term diastasis recti, provide postural support and pain management, and strategies for safe exercise during pregnancy. Pelvic floor PTs empower women with knowledge of how to labor and push effectively to do less damage and have a shorter recovery period after birth.

Supporting yourself and your baby throughout pregnancy can be overwhelming at times—but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Focusing on eating a whole food, nutrient-dense diet, supplementing where your body might be lacking, and making sure you are getting movement and exercise into your daily routine are all excellent ways to support your pregnancy. The providers at Restorative Wellness Centers love helping mothers pursue a healthy pregnancy through functional medicine, chiropractic, and primary care medicine.

This is such an exciting time of life, and I hope these tips and ideas will be helpful and supportive to you throughout your pregnancy journey!