Nutrition For Fertility, Pregnancy, and New Mom and Baby
Struggling with fertility? Check your diet.
To conceive, experience a healthy pregnancy, and have the healthiest baby you possibly can, you need all of you to be the healthiest you can be.
Why? Fertility is not an essential bodily function. To get your body into reproductive mode, you need all systems operating at optimal health first.
There’s a reason you’re struggling—so why not focus on the root causes and what you can do to help?
Trying to conceive
When trying to conceive, most of us focus on the timing, the future baby, possible names, and if need be, IVF. But might there be steps we can take ourselves to improve our odds for fertility from the start?
Yes! The foundation for conception is your body’s health and your partner’s health, and thus the quality of his sperm and your eggs. I like Rebecca Fett’s evidence-based book It Starts with the Egg because it drives home the idea that to deliver a healthy baby you’ll need to start with good nutrition and low stress to produce high-quality eggs for your partner to fertilize.
Furthermore, your body can‘t be inflamed to hold and carry an egg. Research has found that checking the markers of inflammation like homocysteine*, ROS**, and 8-DOHG helps ascertain if your body is likely to conceive and also whether you have a greater risk of miscarriage.
Doctors who specialize in infertility can help you through the IVF process, but they do not help you with the foundation of health that’s so important for fertility. So where do you start and what can you do?
Functional Fertility Tips: Improve fertility and reduce risk of miscarriage.
Recurrent Miscarriage. Find out if you have elevated *homocysteine. A simple fasting blood test can help you ascertain in advance whether you are at greater risk for a recurrent miscarriage. Read research articles on homocysteine here and here and get this test done today.
Oxidative stress contributes to infertility. Read research articles on **ROS in pregnancy and reproduction, infertility in men and infertility in women.
Working with a qualified functional medicine nutritionist and fertility specialist can provide the custom solutions and support you need.
What is functional medicine and functional nutrition, anyway?
Why see a fertility nutritionist when trying to conceive? Many of us think about a nutritionist for pregnancy to help the baby grow healthy but forget that our bodies must be healthy to conceive and get pregnant in the first place.
Functional medicine looks at the root cause of disease and disorders. Instead of finding growing plaque in your arteries and saying, “Here is a drug to stop it,” a functional medicine doctor asks, “What is happening in your life and the terrain of your body that’s influencing your heart’s ability to function properly?”
The same is true with fertility. Instead of saying “Let’s use drugs to bypass the whole process,” a functional fertility expert will ask, “Why are you not getting pregnant or staying pregnant in the first place?”
The foundation of health is how every cell works, every organ works, and how the whole system works in sync. Conception is a process of syncing in the body much like a symphony. Every instrument has a role to play at a certain point in the musical score, and every instrument needs to be in tune to achieve an excellent result.
How fertility nutrition works
Over the last decade, we’ve begun to understand that personalized nutritional medicine is the ideal. At Simplina, we figure out what you need and take a blend of functional medicine, functional nutrition, and personalized medicine to custom create an ideal blueprint to optimize your health.
We take a functional medicine look at your circadian rhythm, your hypothalamus-pituitary axis, your hormones, your gut health and ability to digest and absorb nutrients, your liver and kidney detoxification, your mind and neurotransmitters, your genetic predispositions and muscle/bone and structural health to see where there are “weak points” in your body and what needs to be changed, tuned up, or better supported.
We utilize functional nutrition to identify good quality food to match your specific needs, guide your eating in a rhythm that supports your body, control your blood sugar, and reduce inflammation, adding targeted nutrient support through supplementation. We layer your custom nutritional plan on top of support for your mind, body, and stress-relief and explore how your environment (i.e. your home life, personal care, and cleaning products, etc.) supports or hinder your ability to be as healthy as possible.
What nutrition is needed for fertility?
Optimal nutrition. This means really good quality organic fruits and veggies and lots of them (2-3 servings of fruit and 5-9 servings of veggies a day), a rainbow assortment of colors on your plate (signifying nutrient density), organic grass-fed protein (red meat, dark meat chicken, and cold water fish), no added sugars, and limited nutrient-rich whole grains.
You might benefit from a specific diet like gluten-free or dairy-free based on your profile. You’ll want meals to be high in antioxidants, low in inflammatory foods, and for each meal to be a powerhouse of energy to support ATP production, which goes into intensive gear when the body is trying to successfully conceive and implant.
What is needed for nutrition in pregnancy?
Pregnancy is a uniquely different process in that every week new milestones are achieved. New organs are made and new bones form. Therefore, as the body goes into intensive building mode you need to have all the materials on hand, or else it will pull from your stores and the baby will get marginal nutrients.
A classic example is low Vitamin A causing poor eyesight in young children. Yet, Vitamin A is tricky as it can be toxic in high doses which is why a pregnancy nutritionist is key to getting it exactly right for you.
Note that not all foods are good for fertility and pregnancy. Did you know that many herbs, such as sage, oregano, and even peppermint, can increase the risk of miscarriage? Do you know which foods should be avoided in pregnancy? These include caffeine, high fructose corn syrup, charcoaled meats, and artificial dyes/sweeteners.
There are even some fruits that should be avoided in pregnancy. Pomegranates have long been used in indigenous cultures to prevent pregnancy. This does not mean a handful of pomegranate seeds will cause problems, but it’s definitely best to avoid gulping down pomegranate juice, especially if you have a high-risk pregnancy or have had trouble staying pregnant previously.
Why use functional nutrition for the postpartum period?
There is an immense demand on a woman's body in the post-partum period when the rapid shift from pregnancy to new baby occurs! Nutrient depletion through blood loss in labor as well as breastfeeding can take a significant toll on a woman's body as she recovers from pregnancy and labor. She’s also.passing necessary nutrients along to the baby via breast milk, the best source of food and immunoglobulins the baby could have.
It’s also a time when you don’t exactly have the bandwidth to pick out the right foods, not to mention the change in hormones, drop in progesterone, and post-partum blues that may accompany that hormone shift—along with a lack of sleep! This is the time you need good food and supplements delivered to your door and for someone else to do all the other household chores.
It helps to have a nutrition and self-care plan in advance.
Start with fertility, be ready for pregnancy and be all set postpartum
Seeking out a functional medicine certified nutritionist and fertility expert is a great first step in building a healthy foundation for your body to enhance your chances of conceiving naturally, having a healthy baby, and recovering postpartum. We are here to take the guesswork out of what to do! Book a short consult today to see if Simplina is a good fit for you.
Warmly,
Annina
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Annina is a PhD, Registered Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist and Board Certified in Functional Medicine specializing in nutrition and functional medicine for fertility, pregnancy and new mom and baby. She has 7 years of practice experience and has co-authored several books on infant, child nutrition and obesity prevention.