Bumps to Babies: Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy Helps
Thinking about bringing a little one into your life? If the answer is yes, you will want to be in the best shape you can possibly be so that you have a healthy pregnancy and produce a child brimming with vitality and ready to meet the developmental challenges of life. Here are tips to make sure you and your child each reach your full potential.
One of the concerns facing women attempting to get pregnant is weight. For an optimal pregnancy, your body should be like goldilock’s chair, not too big and not too little.
For a healthy pregnancy, physicians recommend that women who are overweight work to shed some pounds before conception, because excess weight can cause high blood pressure or diabetes and strain the heart, which needs to work to supply blood to mother and baby. Being underweight can also cause trouble, usually affecting conception and perhaps developing a newborn who is underweight and can have problems during birth.
Getting in shape before pregnancy is key. Start eating healthy meals and making it a point to get plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as full-fat dairy products for calcium. Supplementing with Omega 3 Plus (120) will allow you to store up the Omega 3 fatty acids that are so critical for the baby’s brain development and are passed from mother to infant in breast milk.
If you are a careless eater or dieting before you become pregnant, keep in mind that as soon as pregnancy occurs, your developing fetus gets first pick of the nutrients in your body, and what is left is what is available for you. Eating a diet of nutritionally dense whole foods is essential for keeping yourself in shape as more and more demands are placed on your body.
If you are used to a fitness routine before you become pregnant, you can usually continue the routine during pregnancy. Regular exercise will help maximize the baby’s health as well as your own. And regular exercise will keep you from becoming sluggish as you gain the weight of pregnancy and progesterone supplants estrogen as your major hormone. Talk to your doctor about any changes that you may need to make in your fitness routine.
Getting enough sleep is always a part of keeping your body healthy, and plenty of restorative sleep becomes even more important during pregnancy when your body is being called upon to nourish and regulate for two.
A nutrient very important to the early days of pregnancy, often before women even know they have conceived, is folic acid, one of the B vitamins. Folic acid helps to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus, and is highly important during the first few weeks of pregnancy when the body of the fetus is experiencing rapid differentiation. Folic acid is found in foods like leafy, dark-green vegetables, citrus fruits, beans and whole grain breads and cereals. If you are thinking about having a baby, start taking a folic acid supplement now. The 400 mcg of folic acid that is the required daily amount is difficult to obtain only from food. The 800 to 1200 mcg needed by a pregnant woman is almost impossible to obtain from food.
While some habits should be started, others should definitely be stopped if you may become pregnant. Smoking, drinking alcohol and using any drugs during pregnancy can harm the baby. Even using these substances only on occasion or only in small amounts can harm a developing fetus, and make it harder to get pregnant if you are trying.
Not only should the mom-to-be stay away from harmful substances, but the father too. Smoking, drinking or using any kind of drugs can lower fertility and have a harmful effect on the fetus.
If you are taking prescription drugs, let your doctor know you are planning a pregnancy and explore the possibility of substituting a natural remedy for the drug, or managing without it. Many pharmaceuticals have been documented as causing birth defects. Also, some studies have shown a link between high levels of caffeine consumption and delayed conception along with miscarriages among women who drink more than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day.
Lastly, one of the best ways to assure a healthy pregnancy is to prepare your mind by reading books on pregnancy and child birth, so that you are educated and feel prepared throughout each step of the pregnancy.
Sources: American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Pregnancy Association.
Editor’s note: Dr. Esposito has specifically pointed out the prenatal sector of the nutritional supplement world as providing some of the most dangerous and unhealthy formulations. Not only are the formulas seriously deficient in nutrients critical to pregnancy outcomes, but some have added toxic ingredients.
To answer the demand for prenatal supplements that can be trusted, he has created the Ultimate Prenatal Program. This program provides all the essential nutrients needed for the optimal development of your baby, as well as those necessary to support you during your pregnancy and afterward when you will need to be at your peak.
