Supporting a healthy pregnancy begins with your care pre-conception. The idea that we can take steps preconception to improve the health of our future children is truly incredible, and with the enormous rise in childhood illnesses such as allergies, autism, asthma and ADHD, it has become essential.
The good news is, that there are many steps parents can take, preconception to reduce the risk of childhood illness. Areas that we examine include:
- family history, to look for risk factors and strongest areas of prevention
- gastrointestinal health and microbiome support
- optimal nutrition and supplementation to prevent deficiency, based on your current diet and individual metabolic needs
- detoxification to reduce your toxic load preconception
- stress reduction, and balance of adrenal hormones
- hormonal balance, including thyroid function to optimize fertility and pregnancy outcome
- appropriate lab testing, including personal genomics in many cases
You can make an impact on the outcome of a pregnancy, and the health of a child by taking the appropriate steps preconception.
In Pregnancy
Optimal pregnancy health begins with nutrition, high quality prenatal vitamin support, stress reduction, regular exercise and a proactive plan. During pregnancy, choices you make with your diet and lifestyle can make an extremely positive impact on your baby-to-come. A comprehensive prenatal plan will also include:
- Preventative strategies for gestational diabetes, hypertension, yeast infections, preterm labour and miscarriage.
- Treatment of pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue, nausea and vomiting, heartburn, leg cramps and more.
- A thorough examination of current and past health risks, with plans for prevention.
- Nutrition coaching for optimal prenatal weight gain, and nourishment.
- Supplement recommendations to top up nutritional intake – prenatal vitamins, probiotics, vitamin D, omega-3 supplements and more.
- Helping you to find the right team to support the labour and delivery your want.
- Thorough planning for postpartum recovery, including guidelines to prevent postpartum depression.
Your health during pregnancy can be impacted largely by your nutrition, stresses and overall health. Naturopathic medicine provides healthier alternatives to common complaints during pregnancy, and also longer visits to address all of your questions.