When I'm pregnant, I follow a program that includes things like diet, exercises/stretches, and supplements. The entire program is designed to make pregnancy comfortable, labor safe and fast and not a horrible experience, and the recovery quick. I didn't really follow this program when I was pregnant with Ashtyn but I did with Parker and the difference was night and day.
In this post, I just want to outline what it is I do and the reason I do each thing. I'll have it organized by topic a little.
Diet
Diet is the biggest thing I do. This pregnancy, I didn't try to follow the diet strictly while I was morning sick, but as soon as I felt good enough to get on diet, I started it. I am very strict about the diet while I am pregnant, I don't go off for cheat days or holidays even, I stay on until after I deliver.
No flour
This includes wheat flour, natural yeast breads, rice flour, oat flour, etc. It doesn't have anything to do with being gluten free (I eat oats all the time, for example, or I could eat cracked wheat). Even things like putting oats in smoothies can be detrimental if your smoothie grinds it into a flour.
There are exceptions to this rule: corn flour, coconut flour, and almond flour. With these flours, I guess they can't be ground fine enough for the flours to cause the same problems that other flours do. I do try to limit them to just a couple times a week (I'm not as good at limiting as I am at just not eating something at all), because they can cause excess weight gain.
Reason: There are a few reasons I do this. One obvious one is weight gain. Flour is so high carb condensed that it adds excess weight to both baby and mother (even if the mother is eating healthy overall besides this and exercising). It can also add weight to baby's bottom (making it bottom heavy and more likely to be in the wrong position for labor). The one time I went off diet while pregnant with Parker, I gained 10 pounds in a month (I gained 18 overall with her). The excess weight can cause emotional problems, difficulty breathing, and discomfort. It can also make it more likely for the mother to suffer from postpartum after labor.
The biggest reason for me personally is the affect flour has on labor. Because of the way our bodies process flour, it actually causes your cervix to thicken, making it harder for your body to thin it out and open it up when the baby is coming. That means longer labor. No flour combined with Evening Primrose Oil (I'll talk about that later) means very short, easy labors, even for first time mothers.
My first labor (not on diet) was 12 hours and very hard on me (if I'd been in a hospital, I would have had an epidural); my second labor (on diet the entire nine months minus the month in the middle that I mentioned earlier) was three. I was dilated to a six before I'd had a single contraction (which, after remember how hard it was to get to a six with the first labor, I was ecstatic). It is common for Donna's girls to be dilated to a six or eight before contractions begin and for labors to be very short--seven hours would be considered a long labor.
Having such short labors has so many benefits. Obviously it's easier on the mother, which is fantastic. This means that they can do a natural birth much easier, which in and of itself reduces the risk of needing further interference like a c-section. It also just reduces the risk of something going wrong with the baby and the birth in general because the mother will feel better and stronger and there is less chance that the baby's or mother's heart rate or blood pressure will change in a negative way. It also means a much easier recovery for the mother simply because her body hasn't gone through as much.
The last reason I want to mention is that flour can actually cause or add to hormonal imbalances, creating depression and other emotional problems for the mother during her pregnancy. I actually experienced this with Parker (though I didn't realize until after). The time that I was eating flour, I went through a very hard, emotional, hormonal depression where my goal was to get dressed each day. I'm sure that the flour I was eating at the time at least contributed to the problem.
Things I do eat:
I eat whole grains, like oats and rice. I have granola and granola bar recipes that I love. I make cookies and other desserts with things like peanut butter or coconut flour. I have an almond flour waffle recipe and a recipe for dinner rolls that uses cheese and a little bit of almond flour. I buy Triscuit crackers (they use only shredded wheat) and have those with cheese or tuna fish sometimes. I also eat corn tortilla tacos pretty often. Another great thing I've discovered since my last pregnancy is how much I love lettuce wraps--whether it's to replace a sandwich or a taco or a hamburger, they are so yummy and you can hardly tell you don't have bread with it (especially after being on the diet for a couple months ;)).
Limit potatoes and corn
Corn and potatoes are not off limits, but they aren't foods you're supposed to eat all the time either. They should be limited to once or twice a week at most. Limiting corn is just to keep from gaining too much weight, but doesn't have the same affect on the cervix as flour.
Potatoes are the thing you want to be careful with. Because of how much starch they have, eating too many potatoes can have the same affect as eating flour: excess weight gain, thickening of the cervix, and emotional problems. Sweet potatoes are NOT included in this, you can eat as many sweet potatoes as you want.
I also just wanted to mention white rice here. White rice is something that you should only have every once in a while (like once a month or less). It's basically a no, but if you're eating at someone else's house and they serve white rice, you'd be fine to eat it.
No sugar
This includes white sugar, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, sugar alcohols, and anything ending in ose. There are sweeteners that are diet approved: pure maple syrup, raw honey (NOT processed honey), agave, brown rice syrup, and any fruits (dates or fruit juices, etc.).
Reason: Again, there are quite a few reasons for this one. One is that sugar can actually make morning sickness or sickness in general during pregnancy worse. Your body has to use a ton of magnesium to process sugar, which is something that most women are low on during pregnancy anyways, and low magnesium levels can cause nausea and food aversion. Sugar also causes your blood sugars to spike and then drop and when they drop, it can also cause nausea.
Sugar also lowers your immune system (which is already lower while you're pregnant because of how many nutrients are going to the baby, etc.). This makes it more likely you'll get sick, especially with things such as colds, and take your body longer to recover. If you eat sugar right after getting over something like a cold and then it comes back, it will take much longer the second time to go away.
Sugar can also feed or cause yeast infections or UTI's. This is true of milk, flour and other really high carb foods as well, and yeast (like in bread).
Consuming sugar and other high carb foods (such as flour, especially white flour) does increase your chance of gestational diabetes. My midwife has no case of gestational diabetes with her girls who follow this program.
Sugar also thins out your blood. This can be dangerous while pregnant because it can cause hemorrhaging after labor. This is one of the most dangerous possibilities for a home birth, but not eating sugar (as well as no hot peppers) drastically decreases your chance of this; with watching things like if your teeth bleed while brushing them and having supplements around like Vitamin K, my midwife never needs to transfer for hemorrhaging.
Sugar does contribute to weight gain, obviously, in both baby and mother and again can make the baby bottom heavy. It can also contribute to your baby having a bigger bone structure, making it harder to push them out, increases the length of time baby is in the birth canal (increasing the chance of a complication), and increases the chances of a tear. While pregnant, women have elevated levels of estrogen, which is a fat storing hormone, which is why you're more likely to gain weight from flour or sugar while pregnant.
Sugar also turns acidic in the body, which increases heartburn and acid reflux. Since it also lowers pain tolerance, any discomfort caused by the sugar consumption will also make the discomfort feel worse.
The most motivating reason for me is that sugar lowers your pain tolerance. While in labor, you want your pain tolerance as high as possible. If your body isn't working as hard to open up your cervix (because you've been off flour) and your body is at it's peak (from exercise, calcium, and no sugar), then you' contractions are going to be easier to deal with, meaning you'll be more relaxed. That's how your body can progress through labor quickly, through relaxing the muscles. The more relaxed you are, the more effective each contraction is. This makes your labor shorter and easier to get through.
I have no doubt that the difference in how my first and second labors went was because I didn't eat sugar or flour and I took the right supplements. It isn't easy to go off flour and sugar for so long, without really even cheat days, but I've experienced the difference and man is it one hundred percent worth it.
What I eat: I use maple syrup and honey the most often. I never use agave, simply because I don't prefer it, and I don't really use dates just because I have found them to be too much of a pain to cook with (though my sister-in-law does occasionally).
I honestly don't have as hard of a time with this one (flour is the one that's hard for me, because it's hard to find really good replacements and I love bread). We're used to making treats using healthier sweeteners and have tons of yummy recipes that we love. The hardest part for me is just the fact that you can basically never buy a treat (I've never really found much anyways); if you want a treat, you have to make it and that can get annoying, especially at the holidays.
No carbonation
This one is so easy for me, because I don't like carbonation and never drink it anyways. This includes soda pop and sparkling water or juice. Anything that has carbonation is off limits.
Reason: Carbonation can shut down the liver and kidneys, making it so they don't function how they're supposed to. This can cause high blood pressure, water retention (a really common side effect during pregnancy), toxemia, allergies, and infections.
No cow's milk
On the diet, you're not supposed to eat any dairy except block cheese (block cheese doesn't seem to have the same effect as other diary). This would include cream, milk, yogurt, cream cheese, etc. We use almond milk instead, and I honestly never miss it, though I've never been a huge milk drinker. A really good replacement for cream is coconut cream.
Reason: There are a few reasons here as well. The first is that dairy is mucous forming. This can cause morning sickness or sinus problems, including sinus infections or headaches. This is especially true of pressure headaches that feel worse when you lean over.
It also (especially stuff from the store) has a lot of hormones, including estrogen. This can cause early contractions or uncomfortable cramps. There are often antibiotics found in milk as well, with can compromise the immune system. Organic milk doesn't contain the hormones or antibiotics, but it is still mucous forming and can contain infection (which, because again, your immune system is already compromised during pregnancy, can cause a lot of problems).
The most common source of problems like morning sickness, constipation, digestive issues, respiratory problems, or headaches during pregnancy is dairy combined with sugar (in foods such as ice cream or yogurt).
What I eat: I do eat a lot of cheese. I also am not as strict with this part of the diet. I buy almond milk to cook with or eat with my granola. I do eat things like plain Greek yogurt (I sweeten it with a teaspoon of maple syrup and put berries in it), cream cheese, homemade ice cream (made with maple syrup, almond milk, and cream), and cottage cheese. I had a time near the end of my pregnancy with Parker when I stopped eating almost all dairy because it gave me braxton hicks every time I had it and I have had a time with this pregnancy when I stopped diary for a while after a cold because it was causing me horrible chronic headaches. I stopped the dairy and the headaches stopped. Now, I eat it occasionally but try not to eat very much. I most often have just a little (for example, my dinner roll recipe calls for a little bit of cream cheese), and then only have something like yogurt or ice cream as a special treat once a week or less.
No citrus
This includes oranges, cocoa, tomatoes, or coffee. Eating a tomato on your salad or something shouldn't be a problem.
This is actually something that I don't currently do. This is to make sure your PH level is not too high. If it's normal, as mine has been the whole time in all three pregnancies (between 6.5 and 5.5), I don't have a problem having an orange or pineapple every once in awhile. I don't have citrus every day, but I'm not worried about eating it. If your PH is high, then eating citrus is a good thing to do.
No heat producing foods
Hot peppers, curry, spicy salsa, cayenne, chili, etc. This one is also not hard for me because I don't love spicy foods anyway. I occasionally eat mild salsa with a tiny bit of jalapeno in it or a little bit of cayenne in a recipe, but I know that won't be enough to cause a problem.
Reason: Eating these foods can cause things such as headaches, joint pain, nosebleeds, excessive uterine bleeding, irritability, hot flashes, and red complexions. The biggest thing is that it can cause hemorrhaging at birth; there's usually 50% more bleeding during and after labor in women who eat heat producing food or sugar.
You know you're at risk for hemorrhaging (and therefore need to be extra careful with these foods and sugar) if you have nosebleeds, vaginal bleeding, bruising, or gums bleeding when brushing or flossing.
What I eat: sweet and mild peppers, mild salsa, non heat producing spices, and onions (I love green onions in things like bean dip).
No Soy
This includes tofu, soybeans, soy milk, or any soy product. Using a little bit of soy to cook with (for example, in chicken fried rice or something) is fine as long as not used daily.
Reason: Soy is high in estrogen, which you already have a lot of during pregnancy. Extra estrogen can cause weight gain (it's a weight storing hormone) and can cause contractions. This can lead to early labor or uncomfortable cramps. The one time you do drink soy milk is during the last week of pregnancy to help naturally induce labor.
Olive oil or coconut oil
I only use coconut oil, olive oil, or butter for cooking and baking. Deep frying food and hydrogenated oils are hard on the liver. I am not as strict with this either. When Ben and I go out to eat (once or twice a month), I'm okay eating fried foods that are otherwise diet approved, like french fries. I don't buy vegetable oil, corn oil, canola oil, etc. though and I try to bake things (like if we make fries) rather than deep frying them if we eat at home.
Protein and vegetable with every meal
This is a goal, not something I am perfect at. I usually eat eggs with squash or cabbage for breakfast, then a meat and a vegetable (even if it's just carrot sticks) with lunch and dinner. This is an easy way to get the protein and vegetables I need. Proteins and vegetables are building foods (they build up our muscles, etc.) and fruit and grains are cleansing foods. You should be aiming to get twice as much building food as cleansing.
One other thing I try to do is have two tablespoons of beef gelatin a day. Beef gelatin is very high in protein (there are 9 grams in each tablespoon) and the protein is very good for building up skin cells, making it perfect for pregnancy.
I also wanted to note here that I snack often when pregnant, usually before breakfast, then once mid morning and once mid afternoon. My goal is to have a healthy fat (like cheese or nuts) with each snack, because fats are what keep you full longer.
Water
On top of my tea, any broth or milk, I drink between 80 and 160 ounces a day. I have an 80 ounce water bottle that I fill up at least once a day. I will say, taking my supplements really helps me get a lot of water in.
Water is so important in pregnancy. It helps keep blood pressure lower, prevent swelling, dehydration, constipation, sinus or urinary tract infections, and keeps your energy up. Getting enough water is always important, but in my opinion, it's most important when you're pregnant and nursing.
Exercises/Stretches
Squats
Squats are one of the best exercises to prepare for pregnancy. It builds the right muscles and also keeps the baby's head rubbing on your cervix, keeping the baby in the right position and preparing the cervix to thin out and open up for labor (during the last month of pregnancy).
My goal right now (this is something I read online and thought it was a good idea) is to do ten squats each time I use the bathroom. I've heard of trying to squat rather than bend over when picking things up or doing squats each time you walk into the kitchen. Any way you do it, making squatting a more frequent part of your daily life when pregnant will help with making your labor better.
Daily exercise
I do try to exercise each day. I do about ten minutes of HIIT exercises (just my own routine, things like lunges and push ups). I do upper Monday and Wednesday, lower on Tuesday and Thursday. I try to do a few minutes of yoga on Wednesdays.
There are a lot of studies that have found women who exercise regularly during pregnancy have shorter, easier labors. I chose HIIT because I know how effective it is and I chose ten minutes because that's something that I will do consistently. I just do my own stuff because that's easiest for me and I can really customize it to my pregnancy and how big I get (using weights instead of jumping as I get bigger, etc.).
Pelvic Rocks (or Cat and Cow, a Yoga move)
You get on your hands and knees, with your hands shoulder length apart, your legs spread wide enough that a baby could come out. You lower your back (so your belly is reaching to the floor) and lift your head up and hold that pose for about 20 seconds. Then you lower your head and lift your back so it's arching to the ceiling and hold 20 seconds. Repeat for 15 repetitions and do several times a day.
This moves the baby into the correct position, of head down and facing the right direction, for labor, and also moves the baby so there isn't pressure on the mom's back, allowing for a more comfortable pregnancy. It can be done more often if needed (if the baby's movements feel low in the mother, the mother has a backache, or the baby is the wrong position).
This is also something that should be used if the mother slips and falls. The mother can do this every hour or so that day to ensure the baby gets back to the correct position.
Walking
*Not recommended if you are cramping or at risk for miscarriage. You also want to be careful not to overdo it as your due date gets closer. Walking can naturally induce labor, but starting labor fatigued is never a good plan.
I try to do a brisk walk (I put the girls in our double stroller) for about a mile. I'd really like to each day, but some days I don't have the energy each day and I have a harder time when it's cold. The closer to labor, the better because walking strengthens the hips and legs and helps the baby's head rub on the cervix.
Throughout pregnancy, walking helps strengthen hips and legs and increases oxygen assimilation. This helps prevent varicose veins and other leg pains and also makes sure that your muscles and oxygen levels below the waist are ready for labor.
Walking stairs
Usually for about 30 minutes, with knees directly in front of you while holding onto the railing. I'm not doing this yet, as it's something that is done during the last few weeks of pregnancy. It helps the baby's head to soften and thin and cervix and getting it's head positioned. Walking on the stairs also works different leg muscles than walking on a flat surface and both are important to build.
Butterfly stretch
I do the butterfly stretch each day (after doing the pelvic rocks each morning). Then I go through and do different leg stretches, just to stay flexible. Stretching the muscles next to the birthing canal makes it easier for baby to come down through the birth canal, causing a shorter push time.
Supplements
There are actually a lot of supplements involved in this program. I usually take them in two doses, one at breakfast, one at lunch.
Olive oil
One thing I do during pregnancy is rub olive oil on my stomach. This is a really effective way of preventing stretch marks and avoiding the famous itching that comes as your stomach grows (following the diet will also do this, as you will grow less and more slowly).
Nature Sunshine Super Supplemental vitamin with iron
2 AM and 2 PM
This is basically the prenatal vitamin. It is easily simulated into the body and has great vitamins in it. I also take these after the baby is born to help me keep my energy up (husband can do this too).
Albion Chelated Multi Mineral
2 AM and 2 PM
Because of how our food is grown, a lot of pregnant women actually have a mineral deficiency.
Chelated Copper (Vitacost brand)
1 AM and 1 PM
Folic Acid
1 AM and 1 PM
This is an obviously important vitamin during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. They've found your chance of birthing a baby with birth defects is significantly lower if you take folic acid, even before you know you're pregnant. This is because it assists in cell division. It also assists in the formation of hemoglobin.
Vit E 400 i.u.
1 per day
Vitamin E protects against toxins, especially from things like air pollution and food contaminates. It also helps your body to heal with less scarring, assists in oxygen assimilation, and is oil soluble.
Hawthorn Berries
2 capsules 3 times a day
This helps with heart and blood vessels, so it helps as the baby is forming it's organs.
Cal+Mag (KAL) liquid calcium
1 tablespoon a day
(as I get closer to my due date, I begin taking 1 Tbsp with breakfast and lunch and 2 in the evening)
This is the best brand of calcium we've found. It has magnesium, which helps your body assimilate it easier, and has different kinds of calcium (all of which are better than the calcium milk contains). It obviously helps the baby as its bones are forming, help keeps mother's bones strong, and helps the pain tolerance be higher. It also helps your muscles to relax, which helps during labor. This calcium plus not eating sugar really helps with the actual contractions during labor.
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
2-4 cups a day
I drink at least two cups a day, I aim for four. This really helps to strengthen your uterus so that when you are having contractions, each contraction is effective and strong. This helps to shorten labor time.
Licorice Root
2-4 capsules per day
I take one capsule with breakfast and one with lunch. I only take this because otherwise my blood pressure gets pretty low. When I take these, it keeps my blood pressure normal (I didn't take this when pregnant with Ashtyn because I didn't have a problem at all with blood pressure).
Electrolytes
Donna has an electrolytes recipe (using baking soda, sea salt, lime juice, and honey). This seems to be really important to me during pregnancy. I have a lot more energy and just feel better overall when I'm drinking one to two cups a day consistently.
Probiotics
I get the PB8 brand, because I know it's a good one and safe for pregnancy. I have read that taking one capsule a day can help prevent a lot of serious complications in pregnancy, as well as just help your digestion and feeling of well being during pregnancy.
Sarsaparilla
3 twice per day
I am taking this because I was having cramps, tender breasts, and feeling emotional. This was probably due to higher levels of estrogen in my body (which could be there if I'm having a girl) and sarsaparilla helps even out my hormones.
Supplements I'm not taking yet (but will)
Granulated Soy Lecithin (start at 25 weeks)
2 tbsp per day (usually ground up in juice)
This assists in the mucous lining around the heart, brain and lungs as well as other functions. It really helps grow the baby's brain, which helps with their IQ and ability to learn and also makes them head heavy (making it more likely that they'll be in the right position at birth, especially if they're not bottom heavy from flour and sugar). It also helps in baby's ability to take their first breath.
Evening Primrose Oil (start at 35 weeks)
13, 3 times a day; add one capsule per time a day each week until labor
This is my favorite supplement, because I think it's a big reason I had such a short labor with Parker. One of the main things this does is help prepare the cervix for birth by softening it. This is because it contains essential fatty acids specifically for the female body (if you have really dry skin despite drinking enough water, you can take some of this and it helps your body to absorb the moisture you're taking in).
Blue Cohosh (start at week 39)
One dropper in a cup of warm water, twice per day
(if too much is taken at once, it can result in an upset stomach; fix accordingly)
Helps the cervix to soften and begin effacing, without any contractions. I've never actually used this with either pregnancy and I'm not sure I will this time. It's not supposed to be used if you have a history of short labors (and three hours is pretty short) because while you want short labors, you want it to be long enough that you can get where you want to be and your attendant can get to you as well. I will talk with my midwife as I get closer to my due date and see what she thinks.
Conclusion
The thing I love about this program is it's view that pregnancy and birth are meant to be wonderful experiences for the woman. We have a lot more control over how we feel and how our labor and delivery goes than most people think. We just need to be educated and then actually do these things. I know that there are times when things happen that are out of our control, but these are actually more rare than people think. During pregnancy, we can feel wonderful. A lot of those miserable pregnancy side effects are preventable if we make sure our bodies are getting what they need.
Labor, delivery, and recovery are also this way. For me, I'm one hundred percent sold on the work and self control needed during pregnancy because of how much better I felt while and after delivering Parker than Ashtyn.
Right after having Ashtyn
Right after having Parker
I know it's a lot of work and that it's not for everyone, for a lot of different reasons. I'm really passionate about it because of the difference it has made to me and because I know the other success stories as well. I am so grateful to have this knowledge and to have the support system in place that helps me to be able to follow this program. It has been life changing for me.
