I’m not sure how time passes so quickly: here we find ourselves at the close of yet another year. It’s always good to take a bit of time to reflect over some of the highlights and challenges, and I’m once again grateful for those of you who have invited me to be part of your family’s story in such a special way.
The past year was intentionally a slower one when it comes to the number of babies I was privileged to welcome. I continue to find that life has various seasons, and trying to navigate how to focus more on my own children versus putting more energy into midwifery is a real part of life right now. As my children grow, the need for mom’s focus and presence seems to be more intense (in a different way than during the years when they were all tiny!), which in turn has caused me to pull back from too busy of a midwifery schedule. We also took some time this year for some out-of-the ordinary events such as Joel and I celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, spending several days at a missions conference in Pittsburgh, a week-long trip to Mexico (visiting missionaries who are part of the ministry Joel works for), several camping/family trips, and then our most recent opportunity: spending 5 weeks in Thailand while Joel attended an international Bible Translation conference and then spent several weeks teaching at a missions training school for young people. This trip was such a rich opportunity and we have returned home with many amazing memories!
When it comes to babies in 2025, there were many sweet little footprints added to the board in the office. While some years include mostly repeat clients, this year I worked with quite a few families for the first time. The smallest baby weighed in at 6#15oz and the largest at 8#15oz, and these newborns ranged from being the first baby in the family to the fifth.
Births weren’t the only aspect of my midwifery work this past year: I also spent time working on renewing my Certified Professional Midwife credential for the 5th time, making this 16 years since I became certified. I was also involved in editing & looking over an exam that another group of midwives is putting together for a certifying agency. This was a great opportunity to brush up on fine details and give input on what is important for newly graduated midwives to be familiar with. I also ended up doing quite a bit of long-distance communication with women who are serving on the mission field or are in areas without midwifery care, so all of these opportunities keep me continually studying and learning so that I can pass on help to others!
As I think about all it takes to provide midwifery care, I want to give a shout-out to the amazing assistants who drop everything at a moment’s notice to come assist me at births! These ladies do so much to make your birth experiences good ones, and I’m thankful to have Lanna, Emily, Janine and others willing to help out. One highlight of this year was when my own daughter Yoanna was invited to join me at a birth. She’s dreamed of training to be an assistant for years, and this was such a delightful experience for her. As we head into the next year, I plan to involve her more, as she has had the opportunity this fall to take a basic Neonatal resuscitation class as well as doing quite a bit of specific study in the field of midwifery. I’ve always hoped that one of my daughter’s might want to join me, and I’m excited about involving her more when it works out.
In closing, just a reminder that you can find quite a few helpful articles and links listed on the Gentle Delivery website, so be sure to check it out. Use the search bar function to look for topics you might need information about, and please feel free to pass these links on to friends! Our summer play date was a huge success, so stay tuned for more of those to happen in 2026 as I hope to get these on a more regular schedule again. If you want to be added to the email list for playgroup invites, send me a message and ask to be added to the list: gentlemidwife@gmail.com. Be sure to add the addresses of any friends who may want to join, as these are not limited to Gentle Delivery clients but are intended to build up the local homebirth community. May each of you have a blessed Christmas season!
Whether you are pregnant with your first or postpartum with your fifth, taking care of your pelvic floor/core muscles is such an important goal! Over the years there have been many new studies done and more insights shown on the importance of a strong pelvic floor and solid core for women during their childbearing years. Taking the time to focus on this part of your body can help to make pregnancy more comfortable, reduce lower back pain, help eliminate the “mummy tummy” that can be so frustrating after growing a baby, prepare your body for future pregnancies, and guard against future challenges such as prolapse & urinary incontinence. When you think about all that your body goes through to grow, nourish, carry and push out a baby, it’s no wonder that these muscles and areas might need some extra focus to help everything function at it’s optimal potential!
It can be confusing to figure out what is right and wrong when it comes to pregnancy and postpartum exercise, and you want to make sure you are helping your body and not causing further trauma or muscle separation. The purpose of this list of resources is to help you get started in finding a program or plan that will work for you and your current situation. I would love to encourage you to try to fit in at least 10 minutes of purposeful exercise in 5 days a week, both during pregnancy and then once you are 8-10 weeks postpartum (you can start slow beginning at 6 weeks, but give your body grace to build up strength!).
And a clarification: these resources are specifically for helping to rebuild core muscle and pelvic floor strength. We’ll focus on other general exercise in another post, but the purpose of this list is to help you wade through some options that specifically focus on rehabilitation of your muscles after pregnancy and birth (or helping to prevent strain to these muscles if you’re currently pregnant!).
If you prefer reading books and having pictures to reference, here are a few helpful titles:
Postpartum Exercise Essentials is a great guide to have ready and available before you give birth. With suggestions on movement and gentle stretches, it helps you to begin rehabilitation during the first 8 weeks following delivery, building a foundation for the rest of the postpartum season.
Training for Two by Gina Conley is a handbook for prenatal exercises, with good info on how the body works and how to make adaptations and care for your body while exercising during pregnancy so as not to cause any harm. While this book focuses more on general pregnancy fitness, the last section focuses specifically on how to rest and then gently build up your body during the postpartum period, with great illustrations and photos.
Mom’s Guide to Diastasis Recti is an easy-to-read short book with photos illustrating about 50 exercises to help rebuild postpartum.
The Core Program this is an older book (easy to find cheap online!) written and complied specifically for women of any age who need to strengthen their core. Best to wait until after 6-8 weeks postpartum to begin this one!
DVD or online options:
Spinning Babies Daily Essentials Here’s a blog post with excellent exercise suggestions and other recommendations for maximizing positioning and alignment during pregnancy.
Trim Healthy Mama Workins You can find DVD’s on eBay, but this exercise program is now available online with subscription. Good foundational 20 minute exercise sessions with modifications for pregnancy and postpartum with excellent focus on pelvic floor and diastasis health.
Down There for Women by Katy Bowman (DVD, can sometimes find used copies for cheap!) Produced specifically to help women experiencing pelvic floor issues such as prolapse, incontinence, postpartum rehab, etc.
Finally, here are some suggestions that come by recommendation from other midwives-but I haven’t personally used or watched these. So I would love to hear about your experience if you if you choose to try one or more of these options!
As we approach the end of 2024, I’m grateful for the chance to reflect over the opportunities that presented themselves throughout this past year. I count it a privilege to work with so many sweet families, and to be present during such a special life event as when a new life enters the world.
2024 began bright and early with the arrival of a baby girl on January 1st, who decided to come fast enough to beat my arrival by a few minutes! Interestingly, my last baby due in 2024 arrived the same way on Christmas Eve, so I guess fast births were the theme of this year. It’s fun to consider the stats: most of the families I worked with this year were new to Gentle Delivery, and many were having their first homebirth. About half of the babies were born in water, most came close to or after their due dates (a few made us wait an EXTRA long time), and the majority weighed around 7#14oz. The largest was 9#3oz, and the smallest was 6#14oz: it’s so interesting what variety there is in the realm of “normal”. There were a few “first experiences” this year, as well: a flat tire on the way to a birth (yes, I drove on it and yes, I made it to the birth!) and parking tickets at 6am. There’s never a dull moment when doing birthwork!
I’m always grateful for the assistants who help me out at any time day or night, and there were many different ladies fulfilling this role this year. Many of you met Natasha, a midwifery student from VA who spent several months this winter helping me. She is still in midwifery school, and hopes to be finished before too much longer! Lanna, Maria, Lynelle and Janine have also pitched in depending on schedules, and these women do so much to make your experience that much better. I couldn’t do what I do without their help, and appreciate them sacrificing their time & plans when I need help.
Having a nursing baby who needed to be with me added another need for flexibility during the early months of the year, and I was so grateful for the help my oldest daughter Yoanna provided as she cheerfully got up any time day or night to come along and babysit. While I’m happy to be past the stage of needing to have Shekinah with me, Yoanna is eagerly looking forward to the day when she can graduate from babysitter to birth assistant, and that can’t come soon enough for her!
Our family’s move to Philipsburg was another big change. While that has shifted the radius that I’m able to serve, it’s also opened some new doors in an area that doesn’t have as many midwifery options. The midwifery office suite that we were able to finish out has made appointments and midwifery work SO much more sustainable for our family life, which has also been a tremendous blessing.
As my children grow and family life shifts into new stages once again, we find ourselves taking time to reevaluate our schedule and commitments as I move forward with midwifery responsibilities. I love the opportunity to serve families in this way, yet the constant demand and on-call schedule does make things challenging at times. My dream would be to be able to team with another midwife someday, thus being able to provide home birth options while at the same time having the opportunity to take off when needed for family time and other commitments. At this time, keeping midwifery sustainable for our family means limiting service radius at times, and taking off various months when we have other plans pending. It can be very hard to say no to former clients, but I’m thankful to have a number of other options that I can pass on when this happens. I couldn’t do midwifery without my family’s support, yet the only way to keep that support is to keep them priority whenever I can!
In closing, please note that there is a new office and mailing address for Gentle Delivery (if you need it, please email or message me and I’ll happily send it your way!). I would LOVE to get your family pictures & updates, and want to make sure they get to my new location! I’m hoping to get back into a schedule of doing Mommy Meetups again in 2025, so email me if you want to be on the list for those updates! gentlemidwife@gmail.com
Blessings to each one of you in 2025! ~Kelsey Martin/Gentle Delivery Midwifery
It’s hard to believe another year is almost completed! As we head towards the New Year, I wanted to take a few minutes to update you all on happenings here at Gentle Delivery, as well as thank each of you for your continued support. Whether it’s returning clients, new clients, supportive local services (lactation consultants, medical teams, ultrasound technicians, etc.), back-up midwives, students or assistants, I am blessed to be part of the local midwifery community, and I’ve been grateful to see the way this community works together!
So far in 2022 I’ve been privileged to assist in welcoming 15 babies, most of whom were little girls. Several of these were born to first-time mamas, and once again I was amazed, humbled and stretched throughout the experiences of assisting these families with the unique challenges and victories that accompany the unknown journey of becoming parents for the first time. Besides the first time babies, the rest ranged from being sibling #2 to sibling #8 for their families, and I had the special privilege of attending 3 moms for the 3rd time. Seeing children that I remember catching as tiny babies become big siblings is a fun perk that comes from providing ongoing care for client families! The smallest baby this year was 6# 4oz, and so far 8# 14oz was the biggest, with one more baby pending who could change these statistics!
Lanna and Christine, my usual assistants during 2022
The teamwork of our community stood out to me in greater ways throughout the pregnancies and births this past year. Over and over again I have been thankful for good working relationships both with other midwives and the medical community—which is such a key factor for providing sustainable, safe midwifery care options. There were times this year where additional medical help was needed in order to provide us with the ultimate goal of having a healthy mom & baby, which made me especially grateful for several MFM’s and CNM’s willing to provide consultations, input & care for clients as well as for a welcoming hospital environment when complications necessitated a transfer of care. Along the lines of providing good care options, it was exciting to add the services of a diagnostic ultrasound tech who has been able to regularly perform scans right in my office!
Birth teams have varied this year depending on availability of different assistants & midwives, but each one of these ladies have added to the birth experiences and help me in so many different ways, bringing their own special support and care to births. There are many behind-the-scenes details that these women take care of, besides their willingness to drop whatever they have going on to come help me in any way they can at any hour of the day or night, and I couldn’t continue to provide midwifery services without them! Due to a family emergency for one local midwife, I ended up covering at various times for her over the year, and catching several babies while she needed to be out-of-state. While I know it can be disappointing to not have your expected team for your birth, it was also a blessing for these families to still be able to continue with their homebirth plans despite the need for the original midwife to attend to important family needs. Along similar lines, I was very thankful for midwives willing to cover for me so that I could spend a few weekends away with my family, both for vacation and a family wedding. The strain of on-call life is challenging (especially with young children!), and being able to rest knowing that your clients are in competent hands while you take a break is a huge factor in maintaining a sustainable midwifery practice!
Denae, a midwife in Philipsburg who assisted and covered for meEmily, a local birth assistant who helped me out a number of times when I was in a pinchHannah, a midwife who covered for me and assisted with births & appointments…and Christine, my faithful assistant this past year
In closing, I also wish to express my thankfulness to my supportive family. The way they pray for me when I’m at births, pick up the slack when mama needs to rest or is away, and adjust their lives and schedule is such a vital part of midwifery work, and it really is a family effort. Also, I realize that none of this could happen without God’s continued blessing, provision and care. As we head into 2023, my children are very excited about the addition of a baby sister arriving in early spring, Lord-willing. I’ll be taking a few months off for maternity leave, and trying to put into practice the things I tell all of you about rest and recovery postpartum! Blessings to each of you in the New Year!
The photo we sent to our families, to let them know baby #6 was on the way!
Please note: I am NOT affiliated with any of the mentioned companies, and I do not receive any sort of reimbursement from sharing their products other than occasional free samples that are sent to my office (which is how I was introduced to several of them!). Some of these companies have offered discount codes for my readers, and I’m passing those on when available, at no benefit to myself!
As a mom who has struggled with severe morning sickness with most of my pregnancies, I know from experience how incredibly difficult and challenging those first months can be when you feel so miserable! In fact, the mere thought of going through those early weeks and months of sickness makes me desperate to find some type of relief to try. Because of this, I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading any new research, thoughts and suggestions that I can get my hands on regarding combating morning sickness over the past couple of years. My hope with this post is to help you understand what might be going on under the surface, and to provide you with a number of suggestions and resources so that you can hopefully find something that works for you! I know each mom (and each pregnancy!) can respond differently, and that there is NO cure-all that works for everyone. But sometimes you find out about something that can make a difference, so my hope is that you might discover something new that can bring some relief to you as you nourish and carry that tiny baby that is already requiring so much from mama!
For the foundation, it’s important to be caring for your body BEFORE pregnancy whenever possible. If you haven’t done so, I would highly recommend that you take the time to read Real Food For Pregnancy by Lily Nichols. Having a high quality diet in place that is low in simple carbs and refined sugar and high in quality protein has made a big difference for many moms, but this provides the most help for morning sickness if this has been a way of life long before pregnancy. Along these same lines, taking the time to do a liver cleanse and possibly a candida cleanse have made a big difference in pregnancy health for moms.
Talking about the liver brings me to the first important suggestion for morning sickness relief, and that is LIVER HEALTH. As you know, a mom’s body works hard to support the massive amount of growth that is happening for baby during the first weeks after conception, and one of the organs under a lot of stress is the liver. It is fascinating to study into this more, and realize how gentle support of the liver can help alleviate the severity of morning sickness (you can read more about this here). A great way to provide liver support is through taking Milk Thistle twice a day (and if you are planning a pregnancy, start taking this a couple of months before pregnancy for even better success!). Some good Milk Thistle options are: Jarrow Milk Thistle & Natural Hope Herbals Milk Thistle Tincture. If you want more support (and possibly more success), consider taking a liver support complex such as the pregnancy-safe tincture from Mountain Meadow Herbs Liver Glow II. This product from Earthly Wellness includes dandelion which is another herb that provides liver support, along with some additional herbs to aid in reducing nausea: Mama’s Tummy Relief (use code “gentlemidwife” for 10% off your first order from them!). Another form of liver support comes through the addition of lemons to your diet, which is most easily done by squeezing fresh lemon juice into your water that you sip on throughout the day (add some honey for a bit of a natural sugar boost!).
Another factor that can make morning sickness worse, and be especially problematic when a mama is vomiting often, is maintaining good hydration and electrolyte balance. Staying on top of this before it gets to the point of needing IV treatment is key, and one of the ways to help with this is having some high-quality electrolyte drinks available (that are not full of artificial flavors & dyes like Gatorade!). A few good choices that I’ve personally tasted an tested are: GoodOnYa Organic (this one tastes like delicious lemonade, yet it has only healthy ingredients: use the code “gentlemidwife” for 10% off + free shipping on your order!), Nectar (another organic, sugar-free option with multiple flavors), LMNT (available in several different flavors-you can purchase a sample mix on Amazon to get you started), and DripDrop. You can even make popsicles out of these electrolyte drinks in order to sip on them…just make it a priority to stay hydrated and prevent your electrolytes from orbiting out of order…we want to prevent the need for an IV or other intervention whenever possible!
A “newer” remedy that I am finding quite fascinating is that of additional magnesium supplementation for morning sickness relief. Here’s a couple of articles that go into more detail: Magnesium for Morning Sickness Relief, & Magnesium for Morning Sickness: My Story. If I have another baby, I’m definitely planning to try this idea! Besides swallowing pills or drinking magnesium-containing drinks (which many sick moms can’t handle), a few ways to supplement with magnesium that might be easier on your stomach are creams and sprays. Pink Stork carries this Magnesium Spray for Morning Sickness, and a local company that I highly recommend carries this cream: Shade Mt. Naturals Magnesium Cream . Another magnesium cream I have used personally is this one: 8 Sheep Organics Magnesium Cream
If you’ve read other posts on my blog or talked with me long, you probably have heard how strongly I feel about incorporating high quality probiotics into your life for pregnancy, nursing and newborn health…and now I’m finding proof that probiotics can also help with morning sickness! These two articles show how: Study: Probiotics Reduce Nausea & Vomiting and Study Finds Probiotics Significantly Improve Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy. Based on this research, as well as knowing how beneficial probiotics are to your overall health, it seems like it can’t hurt anything to increase or start your probiotic intake during the early weeks/months of pregnancy. If you’re looking for some good quality options, here are a few that have been recommended by other midwives and clients that I trust: Klaire Labs Therbiotic Complete, This Is Needed: Prenatal Probiotic, and Entegro:Flourish. Another way to increase your probiotic consumption is through fermented foods, such as raw sauerkraut and drinks like Kefir. Some moms have found the “sparkling” aspect of water kefir to be especially appealing while feeling sick, and many stores carry options such as Kevita in the cold drink section. You can also learn How to Make Water Kefir at Home or purchase something like this: Coco-Biotic Coconut Water Kefir
Some moms can obtain relief by supplementing with some specific vitamins & nutrients. Adding a few drops of this Liquid PhosFood by Standard Process to your drinking water (it tastes similar to lemon) has been beneficial to a few clients. Other times your body really needs some additional B vitamins, both for the B6 that specifically helps with nausea, and for the energy that is so lacking during the first trimester! My favorite B complex for those early weeks is the Max BnD Fermented B complex that helped me SO much with my last pregnancy. Whatever type of B vitamin you find, make sure that is contains bio-available forms, such as folate and methylated Bs, in order to obtain the most benefit. Jarrow and Seeking Health are two good brands to purchase.
Now we’ll move on to some random suggestions and options that have helped other moms (thanks to so many who shared in response to my question on what has helped!):
Ginger: many people find ginger helps to settle the stomach, and you can try it in the form of Ginger Ale, Ginger supplements, or even through chews & candies such as these: Gin-Gins Ginger People Candy & Chews
Pink Stork offers a product called Total Morning Sickness Relief that contains needed vitamins & minerals for nausea.
Frequent snacking (don’t let your stomach get empty!), and eating something light before you get out of bed in the morning. Make sure you’re getting protein in whenever possible, even adding it to smoothies if needed!
Some moms find that they need to quit taking daily prenatal vitamins during this time, as they can be too hard on the already sensitive stomach. Don’t stress if you need to do this-you & baby will both do better overall if you can keep food down, and this is more important than the vitamins during these weeks! Remember, baby needed the vitamins the most during the first few weeks, so by the time morning sickness hits with a vengeance this key foundation is over, so the goal is keeping mom hydrated and healthy! An alternative is to find a different vitamin and see if it might be gentler on your stomach. There are gummies, powders and pills, so another form may work during these initial weeks, especially if it does not contain iron which can be particularly hard on a queasy stomach.
IF you really are struggling to keep anything down, and need to move past the natural supplement stage, don’t hesitate to reach out to your care provider for additional support. Some moms MUST have prescription meds to survive these months, and that is totally warranted depending on the situation. Other moms need to have an occasional IV in order to restore hydration, and we are thankful for these interventions when they are desperately needed. Some over-the-counter yet more medically-based solutions are:
I would love to hear from you readers: what did you find helpful?? Any suggestions that aren’t on this list? Did anything listed here benefit you? What did you find helped from one pregnancy to another? Thanks so much for sharing so that we can all learn and hopefully be better able to handle these early weeks and months of pregnancy!
I’ve had several ladies reach out this year asking for information to consider as they hope to conceive sometime in the next few months. As I started replying to some of these inquiries, I realized that it might be helpful for others in similar positions to have some of this information at their fingertips. My hope is that some of these suggestions can help you to achieve the healthiest pregnancy possible as you actively prepare your body for the amazing stress and strength that growing a baby places on your entire system-this is certainly worth seriously considering and prepping for, and I can guarantee you won’t regret any time and effort you invest before pregnancy!
Let’s start at the beginning:
Educate Yourself on Your Hormones and Cycle:
Understanding how your body works, and how to read your fertility signs (temperature, cervical mucous, etc.) can make a huge difference in both your ability to conceive and in determining an accurate due date. There are some disorders or challenges that can be identified early on if you have been keeping track of your fertility signs, and this can save you time, money and heartache if you know what to look for and when to get medical intervention. Simple things such as knowing you ovulate “late” compared to traditional due date calculators can save you the challenge of being considered “overdue” when you actually didn’t have an accurate due date to start with!
For better understanding, I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. This guide helps you to really get to know how the women’s body works, how to chart your cycle, and how to understand all the information you are pulling together. The TCOYF app is also a great way to track your cycle, and it’s free! Another helpful book on the subject is The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack (as a disclaimer, I JUST ordered this book and have it sitting in my “to read” pile-it looks great, but I haven’t read through it yet!).
For those particularly wanting to use fertility tracking as a guide to Natural Family Planning, the Art of Natural Family Planning Student Guide is a good way to delve into some of the details, which can also be an aid in achieving pregnancy.
Birth Control/Hormonal Contraception:
If you’ve been on hormonal contraceptives, it’s important to remember that it can take up to three months for normal cycles and fertility to return. The sooner you can get off any hormonal BC the better for your overall health! Aviva Romm has a great article on fertility issues after hormonal contraceptives and getting off the pill here: Post Pill Reset and I highly recommend the new documentary The Business of Birth Control for better understanding of how hormonal contraceptives can negatively affect your overall fertility and health while providing an introduction to other non-hormonal options.
Deal with Any Current Health Concerns Now
Do you have weight you need to gain or loose? Start understanding healthful eating, and work on that now BEFORE you add pregnancy to the mix! I’ll add more on diet below, but healthful eating habits should begin now, and will provide a great foundation for the demands of pregnancy on your body.
Are you currently on any medication that could have a negative effect on a developing baby? Many health challenges (such as elevated BP) can be managed by diet, lifestyle and supplement changes, and these are best achieved before pregnancy. If you’re hoping to have a low-risk delivery at home, this is even more important to consider, as any compilation of medications can increase your risk and rule out homebirth. Also, remember that you should be under the care of a physician or medical provider before attempting to wean off any medications, especially for BP, anxiety, depression, etc. You need to do this safely, and sometimes these changes can take time!
Thyroid health: many women these days experience thyroid imbalances, and it can make a huge difference on your ability to carry a healthy pregnancy if you are on top of these imbalances before pregnancy, and have a provider who can work with any sort of needed thyroid medication especially during the early days of pregnancy. Learn more about thyroid and it’s effect on pregnancy by reading Aviva Romm: Thyroid in Pregnancy
Learn more about healthy food choices:
There are so many things to learn about how food and our daily choices affect the way in which our body works! From supporting the organs, optimizing brain function, regulating blood sugar…the food we eat has so much to do with how our entire body operates. Add to this the growth and development of an additional entire human body and placental organ, and you’ll start to get a glimpse of how important solid nutrition is to your body and that of your future baby! The best book on the subject that I have read is Lily Nichol’s Real Food For Pregnancy, and I would encourage any woman who is pregnant or considering pregnancy to read it and really digest her wisdom and suggestions. Lily covers more than just diet, and her overall suggestions when it comes to regulating blood sugar, exercise guideline, and prenatal vitamin recommendations are all amazing and educational.
Did you know that Gestational Diabetes is a real issue for many women during pregnancy? This can also be changed through diet, and Lily has a specific post on this topic here: Gestational Diabetes & Preconception Nutrition
Support your Liver!
This might seem like an odd topic, but did you know that your liver performs under extra stress during pregnancy? There are many pregnancy complications that can arise when the liver is not functioning well, and there are some studies that suggest that a healthy, supported liver can reduce the amount of morning sickness a mom might experience. With all of these factors on the table, I highly recommend either purchasing a liver cleanse and using it a few months before getting pregnant, or at least taking a high-quality Milk Thistle supplement for a month or two before conception, and continuing to take it during the first trimester. Here is an article that addresses this further: Milk Thistle for Morning Sickness
Prenatal Vitamins:
Start your research on prenatal vitamins now, and begin taking them daily. Remember, the critical time for baby’s development are in the early weeks, so your body needs to start getting a good foundation of nutrients so that your body is ready to nourish the developing brain, organ and other nutrient needs of a growing tiny baby. Many moms end up sick enough that they cannot continue taking prenatal vitamins during part of the first trimester, so having this foundation laid ahead of time is key!
Not all supplements are the same: do your research and be willing to pay for quality. Making sure your prenatal vitamin has bio-available nutrients (for instance, folate instead of synthetic folic acid!) can make a huge difference in how much actual benefit you receive from them. Some helpful links: Folate vs. Folic Acid, Prenatal Vitamins by Aviva Romm and some information with recommendation links: Basic Supplements for a Healthy Pregnancy
Further Reading:
If you’re wanting to read more about how to optimize your fertility and prepare well, many providers recommend the book It Starts with The Egg. Rebecca Fett goes into detail about diet, supplements and other foundational principles of helping your body to achieve healthy conception!
In closing, I hope you’ve found these suggestions informative! I’d love to hear what else you would add to this list, and what has helped you as you’ve prepared for pregnancy. Maybe you’re not pregnant yet, but you’ve found a great resource…or maybe you followed some preconception guidelines and are currently in the middle of pregnancy…either way, I’d love to hear what you found most helpful!
If you’ve recently given birth, you’ve probably wondered how to really help your body heal as you navigate the postpartum period and adapt to your post-baby body. Over the years I have developed a greater passion to see women really cared for and their bodies aided in this healing process, realizing that taking the postpartum period seriously can have long-term benefits for mom’s health & well-being in a variety of areas.
One component to long-term women’s health that often lacks attention is that of the physical rehabilitation needed after birth. If you think about all the changes that the body goes through during pregnancy (stretching, repositioning of internal organs, increased blood volume, muscle strain, weight gain, uterine growth, etc.) and then during birth (the physical exertion, movement, muscle & tissue stretching, internal organ placement changes, and more!), we should consider it normal that our body might need some help in recovering and rehabilitating in order to be able to function optimally. But there are SO MANY voices out there telling you what you should & shouldn’t do, and it can feel overwhelming to know where to start and who to listen to! In light of this (and because I wanted some better information to give to my postpartum clients!), I reached out to several local experts who provide support and services to postpartum women in our area. I’m grateful that they were willing to share a little bit about themselves, the services they have to offer (if you’re local, they are great options to consider as you prepare for postpartum recovery!!), and give us a few tips when it comes to understanding the recovery process and how to integrate physical exercises that will actually help our bodies heal without causing further trauma or injury.
By introducing you to these women who are aiding local moms specifically in their pelvic floor and post-birth rehabilitation health, I am hopeful it can give you an idea of some of the options you have right here in Centre County. Any of these providers will be happy to aid you in recovery from the marathon of growing a baby and giving birth! I also know that many moms are hesitant to reach out for this type of support and therapy, sometimes due to having many unanswered questions about what physical therapy or other services might entail. After learning more about these professionals and the specific focus and background each one has in their respective areas of expertise, you will hopefully have some of your questions answered, and perhaps have a more informed idea of what care might be best for your situation, preference, and recovery.
Hi! I’m Dr. Julie Kulig, a chiropractor in Bellefonte at Kulig Chiropractic & Rehabilitation. I have a strong interest in treating pregnant and postpartum women (and their littles). I have 2 children currently of my own and find joy in observing and assessing these littles movement patterns and developmental milestones.
My educational background is Doctor of Chiropractic, Webster Certified (for all you pregnant mommas), Birthfit professional, DNS (dynamic neuromuscular stabilization), and MDT (the mckenzie method of mechanical diagnosis and therapy.) Previously I held BIRTHFIT postpartum classes 2x/ wk for 4 weeks to help women improve core and pelvic floor function postpartum. I still treat pregnant and postpartum women daily and am happy to offer this service alone if you are interested (no adjustment needed).
Dr. Julie gently caring for my own newborn!
The BIRTHFIT exercises are based on DNS: dynamic neuromuscular stabilization. These are a series of exercises based on the study of babies and their motor milestones that occur 0-18 months. We use these movements to help treat moms both pre – and post – baby! The exercises are based off of diaphragmatic breathing and the relationship the diaphragm has with the pelvic floor (much more intricate and we can talk about that more!!)
We treat: pain, pelvic floor pain, urinary stress incontinence, diastasis rectus abdominus and more. Trunk stability is the basis of all of our movements and essential in our recovery postpartum. Wondering if we could help you?? ASK: drjuliekulig@gmail.com. I’m always happy to chat more! www.kuligdc.com
Hello! I’m Becca Beck. Originally from GA, I live in State College with my husband and 3 sons. I am a Functional Movement Teacher who specializes in the Core and Pelvic Floor and a Certified Restore Your Core® Teacher. Restore Your Core® is a movement program, founded by Lauren Ohayon, that takes a whole-body approach to the Core and Pelvic Floor. It uses exercises that are a mixture of corrective exercises, yoga, pilates, and functional movement to help women reboot their core and pelvic floor. I educate my clients on the contributing factors to core and pelvic floor dysfunction, help them to uncover their movement blind spots and repattern their core and pelvic floor to be functional, reflexive, responsive, and supportive to their bodies.
Here are some things I want my clients to consider and try in their Postpartum Recovery
Rest. Even if you are feeling good, you still went through a dramatic physiological experience and you still have a dinner plate sized wound on your uterus. I hear all the time from women who regret getting back into things too soon after birth but I have never heard a woman regret giving her body time and space to rest and heal. You have to think of it as an investment. This time you take to rest now, sets you up for a better recovery and getting back to the things you love sooner.
Reconnect With Your Core. Your first 6 weeks do not have to be without movement but we want to be smart about how we approach it. You wouldn’t sprain an ankle, rest 6 weeks and then jump into the same movements you were doing before without doing some rehab. Your abdominal system just spent 9+ months rearranging itself and being stretched to new limits. Those early postpartum days are a great time to start reconnecting with your core, waking up your brain to this area of your body, and preparing your body to return to the daily movements of life and the activities you love.
Where to start: Dandelion Breath. Sitting, standing, or laying down. Place one hand on your lower abdominals. Imagine you are holding a dandelion right in front of your mouth. Inhale, and then on a long exhale blow all the seeds off your dandelion and keep blowing smooth and steady until you have no air left. Did you feel a natural drawing in of your abdominals away from your hand? It’s okay if you didn’t. Try a set of 5 about 1-2 times a day. You may not feel it right away, but the more times you ask the stronger that brain connection will become and you will get there eventually! When you feel more comfortable with this exhale and feel that natural corseting in use this Dandelion Breathing whenever you are going to lift or exert. Remember, “Blow before you go.”
Show Your Back Some Love. Early post-partum can be a beast on the low back with all the sitting, feeding, bending over for changes and lifting out of the crib.
A few tips to try:
When sitting, try to sit on your sits bones (the bony parts you feel where your legs and butt meet) instead of letting your pelvis tuck under (don’t feel militant about this advice, slouching isn’t evil we just want you to change it up some!). You may find it easier to sit up if you place a pillow under your sits bones.
When you bend over, think about sticking your bottom out vs tucking your tail like a sad puppy dog. Also consider putting a step stool by your baby’s crib so you don’t have to round as much in the upper back to get baby in and out of the crib. This will allow you to use a squat for lifting and lowering baby putting less strain on the low back.
Working with me or a Pelvic Floor PT can be a great way to learn exercises for early postpartum and how you can progress them as you move through the 4th trimester and beyond. It is never too late to get started. www.beccabeck.com or email: beccabeckmovement@gmail.com
Hello! My name is Kyla Dunlavey and I am delighted to be included in this group of women! I have been an orthopedic/sports med physical therapist for almost 25 years and I launched my private practice Core Physio LLC in February 2021 with a special interest in helping active women stay active. I am originally from NW Pennsylvania and spent 14 years of my career at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington DC before moving back to Pennsylvania in 2018. I started my own practice in order to practice the way I wanted to… Instead of the typical PT clinic ‘mill’, I wanted to see fewer clients for longer sessions, offering the true one-on-one, in-depth, unique, holistic attention to my active clients deserve. I don’t do any internal pelvic floor work, but rather I approach the entire system through exercise, pressure management, breath work, and mindfulness. I refer as necessary to pelvic floor PT. I look at the entire person and empower them with knowledge about their bodies, movement, and the breath, for greater carryover into activities like running, or even just picking up and carrying a child!
I have an endless curiosity and fascination about the human body and I constantly strive to keep up on the latest research and treatment techniques, as what we know about the human body is continually evolving! Case in point, over the past few years, research has started honing in on the pelvic floor and its connection to low back, SI joint, and hip health…and vice versa! Not only this, but also identifying it’s buddy the diaphragm and proper breathing technique, as part of a missing link in establishing true core stability, along with its teammates: the pelvic floor, the abdominals, spinal extensors, and intra-abdominal pressure. The way women stand, move, and breath typically changes during pregnancy, as the baby grows and hormone levels alter. Ligaments become more lax, abdominals are on stretch, the back extensors may become taut, it’s difficult to get a breath down into the abdominal cavity, and postural alignment changes impacting optimal muscle recruitment like the glutes. This often carries over into postpartum life, impacting return to activity or just simply keeping up with the demands of motherhood. Women may experience things like diastasis recti, leaking (with coughing, sneezing, laughing, or jumping), hip pain, SI joint pain, pelvic floor pain, or low back pain. A bonus, in establishing proper breathing technique, is tapping into our parasympathetic nervous system which gets us out of the tense fight, flight or freeze state most of us stay in all day! Try the 10 minute-Time Out: Go to a quiet area. Have hubby watch the kids. If you don’t have 10 minutes, do 2 minutes! Lie down on the floor with your legs up on the wall and a pillow under your head, (or on your bed with legs up on the headboard if it is flat). Without getting into specifics of proper breathing, just breathe through the nose slowly for 4-5 seconds, letting go of any tension in the body. Exhale. How long did you exhale for? It should be at least 4-5 seconds, if not double your inhalation! How do you feel afterwards? Hopefully relaxed and energized!
If you think you might be interested in tackling your issues, call for free 15min consultation: 814.314.8880 www.TheCorePhysio.com
I have 20 years of experience working as a physical therapist. Born and raised in Belgium, I graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven as a Physical Therapist in 2001. Afterwards, I pursued a 2 year program at the University of Ghent to become an Orthopedic Manual Therapist. I have worked as a physical therapist across the world: in Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, New York City and State College, PA.
Becoming a mom in 2010, I became more acutely aware of the need for pelvic rehab in the US compared to Europe. I decided to expand my practice and become a Pelvic Health Specialist. I have done extensive continuing education through Herman and Wallace, the APTA Women’s Health Section, Pelvic Guru, and others. I take pride in staying up to date in the emerging field of pelvic rehab, women’s health physical therapy and pre- and postpartum care with extensive continuing education, literature, and books.
I feel extremely passionate about providing the best possible care to all people experiencing challenges with their pelvic health. Being able to help people achieve their goals and highest potential is my biggest reward.
Why Pelvic Shanti?
Pelvic Shanti was founded to provide resources to women during their pregnancy and in the postpartum period (and beyond). A lot of the symptoms that we experience during this time in our lives are quite common but not normal.
We recommend a consultation with a pelvic floor physical therapist if you experience:
● Urinary or fecal incontinence
● Urinary or fecal urgency
● Heaviness, pressure, bulge or dragging in the pelvic area
We are here to answer all your questions and guide you as you return to your physical activities. To best support the new moms we work with, we offer office or in-home visits and remote consultations. www.pelvicshanti.com
I’m a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy and a researcher at Penn State University. My clinical practice focuses on treating women with pelvic floor problems like incontinence, pelvic pain and prolapse (heaviness in the pelvic organs), and my research aims to better understand pelvic floor muscle function, how it works with the rest of the trunk, and develop innovative new treatments for pelvic floor problems.
Pelvic floor physical therapy aims to restore optimal function in the muscles that support bowel and bladder use, sexual function, and keep the pelvic organs lifted. These muscles get stretched and can even tear during pregnancy or delivery and can contribute to problems of leaking (bowel or bladder), scar tissue or painful areas of the muscles, and poor support of pelvic organs causing dropping or prolapse. Treatment with a physical therapist may involve local pelvic floor interventions to improve the scarring, strength, mobility and tone in the muscles. It may also involve exercises and movements focused on the whole integrated body so people can return to the movement that matters most to them, whether that is playing on the floor with babies or training for a triathlon. In my practice, I treat the pelvis and pelvic floor as a piece of the puzzle and will also address the whole body and the whole individual.
I will be resuming my private practice in the spring/summer of 2022 and will provide updated information on my website: www.centered-physio.com
NOTE: Dr. Rudavsky will also be recruiting participants for her research in pelvic floor functioning in the spring of 2022. For more information on participating in pelvic floor research, please email Dr. Rudavsky at axr5794@psu.edu
In closing, I want to thank each one of these women for taking the time to share their thoughts, suggestions & tips as well as providing us with an introduction to themselves and the services they provide. If you’re local and end up using one of these providers, please let them know you read about them here! And if you’re not local, it’s my hope that you at least learned more about the services pelvic floor therapists, chiropractors and other professionals can provide to postpartum moms, and perhaps you can use this information to aid you in your search for good postpartum care. I know you won’t regret taking care of your body now and avoiding potential long-term challenges!
If you’ve used a pelvic floor therapist, chiropractor or other professional during the 4th trimester and beyond, would you tell us about your experience?
As I think back over this past year, it is with a sense of gratefulness for the ways that God has led, protected and provided. 2021 has included more complications, challenges and adrenaline rushes than I’ve ever had in one year’s time since I began practicing as a midwife 12 years ago! The additional gray hairs accumulated over the months prove this, and I am ending the year feeling like I’ve gained a level of experience that I honestly wouldn’t have minded doing without. However, I’ve also been reminded that this is WHY a midwife takes training seriously, and I’m more committed than ever to doing my best to assist families in safe births, even when at times this requires a different birth location than what we had hoped for, or more invasive assistance than what I prefer to provide.
Besides being the most intense year complication-wise and the most stressful year when it comes to constant changes & research due to the ever-changing Covid landscape, it was also my busiest year baby-wise! I had the honor of helping to welcome 6 girls and 11 boys by the time the last December babies arrived. Weight ranges were fairly average: smallest was 6#8oz and the biggest was 9#9oz. While a couple of little ones came a week or two early, most typically went on the later side with two babies waiting until 13 days past their due date. Three babies made child #6 for their families, and two boys were the first ones for their families. While there were several long labors and many hours spent with a family before the birth, one little guy was in a big enough hurry that he made his appearance in his home before I did! As usual, birth always has an element of surprise that keeps us all on our toes.
Lynelle, Myself & Lanna
I was blessed to work with several great assistants this year! These ladies really help to lift my load, and add a lot to our team. After assisting with births throughout the past 6 years, Lynelle is sensing a need to step back for a time, so she won’t be seen as frequently in the next year. Lanna began helping this spring at the height of our busy season, and has been such a blessing! She will continue to assist as her schedule allows, and there’s the potential of another assistant joining the team in the near future. I’ve also been grateful for the continued help of the midwifery community here in central PA: other assistants and midwives have been willing to fill in as needed, and I’m thankful to have had help available whenever I’ve needed an extra set of hands or someone to cover for a trip or emergency. I was especially thankful for RoseMarie’s willingness to cover for me this fall when our family had COVID, and I was thankful for the baby who so beautifully cooperated in waiting to arrive until I was recovered and my family was past quarantine!
Guerrero, Mexico Summer 2021
On the home front, my little family is growing and doing well! In spite of lots of babies and the craziness this adds to our calendar, we were thankful to get to spend some time camping over the summer, as well as taking a family trip to Mexico to visit missionaries serving with the organization my husband works for. I couldn’t serve as a midwife without the amazing support of my husband Joel, who graciously steps in to care for everyone when mama disappears at a moment’s notice. With children ranging in age from almost 2 to 10, life at home is always exciting and active, and my girls can’t wait until THEY are old enough to “help mama at births”.
A big thank you to each one of you who have trusted me to support you as you navigated your pregnancies and deliveries—it is something I count a privilege and honor! I love to hear from families, so please feel free to send an update and picture when you have a chance!
Many blessings as you head into the New Year,
Kelsey Martin & Gentle Delivery Midwifery Services
Be sure to check out the blog and Facebook page to stay updated on current news, helpful information, health suggestions, birth stories, and announcement of special events such as playdates!
As we enter into the Christmas season again, I have to think about the year we were anticipating our own Christmas baby, and what a delightful time of year it was to cozy up inside with a newborn! Our little Tirzah had quite the dramatic entrance into the world, and it almost makes me laugh every time I recount it…
By the time I was expecting my fifth baby, I knew to expect lots of contractions and discomfort, and this pregnancy was no exception. Thankfully my blood pressure was staying within normal limits, and everything else was proceeding smoothly. But after several nights with contractions and signs that labor could be imminent, I was getting TIRED. Once you loose that much sleep and feel heavy and uncomfortable all the time, you start to wonder how on earth you are going to make it through labor yet! One night I was pretty sure it was the “real deal”, after being up for hours with regular contractions, only to find everything stopped once the birth team was here and the pool was filled! Funny that it took the fifth child to experience that “false run”, but after not calling the midwife soon enough last time, we were trying to not repeat that scenario—only to send everyone home after a couple of hours!
My previous baby had come after an extremely intense labor, and I was trying hard to not allow fear to overcome my anticipation of this birth. Lynelle, my good friend and birth assistant, had told me that I really should try the birth pool this time around, and even offered to take care of all the set up and prep to make that happen. So we had set up the pool in the office, and had everything ready to go, and I was really hopeful that it would make a difference in the intensity, especially at the end.
Everything set up and ready go for round #1!
Fast forward a couple of days: after getting a good night’s sleep, I woke up on Saturday feeling like this baby needed to be encouraged to come. I’ve taken Castor Oil before, but every time I thought about that option it made me want to puke. So I figured there had to be an alternative: enter the Midwives Brew! I had read about this recipe (used often by European Midwives), but had always figured that the small amount of castor oil combined with the other strange ingredients wouldn’t actually be effective. But by this point I was willing to at least TRY it and see! My husband was on board (he was ready to see me up at night nursing a baby instead of up at night with contractions!), but I warned him that I really didn’t think it would work.
Mid-morning, I took my youngest for a little “mommy date”, and we headed to Wegman’s for a few groceries and the ingredients for the brew (see this post to find out what those are!). I had fun picking out a few things that I thought would sound good to eat or drink IF I was in labor later on, and we had a pleasant little outing. Once I returned home it was about lunch time, so while Joel fixed lunch, I blended up the brew, and sipped it down before eating a little lunch. While not the best flavor I’ve ever tasted, it wasn’t nearly as bad as downing large amounts of castor oil in juice!! My stomach felt a little funny, but eating some food and then chewing some gum seemed to settle things.
strange blend of ingredients!
This was the weekend that one of our little local Victorian towns always holds an event called “A Victorian Christmas”. That event combined with the opening of an exhibit of an Underground Railroad station in one of the museums there had made me want to take the children out for awhile if we were still waiting on a baby over that time. Since Joel had a Bible Study planned at our house for the afternoon, it felt like a great opportunity to take out the older children for some educational distraction and let me get a chance to think about something other than baby waiting! Since all I had been experiencing for two hours was some minor stomach discomfort, I decided to head out around 2:30pm, despite my husband’s slight misgivings. Laughingly I joked with him that if I called him he’d better answer the phone, as it might mean I needed him to come pick me up!
Bellefonte is about 10 min from our house, and we parked and went through the historical museum, only to find out that it did not contain the Underground Railroad Exhibit like I had thought. The curator pointed us up the road about half a block to the right museum, and the children and I headed that direction. Right as we hit the steps (around 3:30pm), I felt a slight “pop” and had a thought that perhaps my water had broken. But I wasn’t sure, and decided since we were RIGHT THERE we might as well go in. I felt a bit of dismay when the museum volunteer cheerily told us that the exhibit was on the top floor…UP THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!! We started up the stairs when I felt my first real contraction, and I immediately thought that we’d better not stay long. The children were oblivious, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring, while I tried to act like nothing was amiss as the contractions quickly started getting stronger and harder. I hurried them through the exhibit and back down the stairs, stopping briefly in the bathroom where I confirmed that indeed my water had broken. As we headed outside, my children excitedly discussed the next place we would go…and I seriously informed them that we needed to get home NOW. They looked at me puzzled, and I told them I thought baby sister was going to be coming, to which my 6 year old son replied “how do you know? Your water hasn’t broken yet, has it?”. That made me laugh in spite of the situation, and when I told him it HAD, they all got really serious!
The half-block walk back to the car seemed to take forever, as the contractions were definitely picking up in speed and intensity. Once we pulled out and started on the road, I called Joel. The first time he didn’t answer, but then when the phone rang the second time he figured he’d better pick up! I told him that labor had begun, and to please have all the Bible study men out of the house by the time I got home and figure out where the boys were supposed to go…and to pray I could drive home safely! Next I called my friend Lynelle, as I knew that she would need to get a babysitter for her children, and I really wanted her free to get the pool started if things continued. Once I was finished with this phone call I knew I couldn’t make any more calls and drive, as things were just too intense. It was all I could do to stay focused on driving! I kept praying a policeman wouldn’t pull me over, as I had no bandwidth to explain why I was headed home instead of to the hospital!
I reached home, and our friend Daniel had his van running so he could pull out with the boys as soon as I arrived with Matthias. I pulled in the garage around 4:20, and had a massive contraction that made me unable to even get out of the vehicle. I heard Joel on the phone—he had called our midwife to see if I had called her yet (I hadn’t!! She was next, but I couldn’t make another call after I talked with Lynelle!), and she said she’d be on her way. I still remember running inside to the bathroom, trying to focus on relaxing, and coming to grips with the fact that at this rate I would not be having a water birth, then Joel calling through the door “the pool is warm and half way filled if you want to get in!!” He had so sweetly started filling the pool, turning on the music, and getting things ready the minute I called home! I told him he’d better call Lynelle and Priscilla (our friend who was going to come help with our girls and take pictures), and they’d better hurry, and I still remember the relief of settling into the warm pool.
Just a minute or so old! Pink all over except for her slightly bruised face which was caused by her speedy birth!
Once I got in the water, the intensity and closeness of the contractions subsided, and I had a chance in between to catch up Joel on all that had transpired. Lynelle and Priscilla don’t live far, and arrived within a few minutes, and I still remember us all laughing in between contractions as the craziness of how fast things were happening! It wasn’t long before I felt the pressure of Tirzah’s head descending, and Lynelle was ready to help in anyway she could. Priscilla called our girls in, and they all clustered around the pool, quiet with excitement and anticipation. This time around I didn’t want anyone to touch me (other than squeezing Joel’s hand!), and I have never experienced the awareness during pushing as I did with this birth. It was an incredible experience to actually breathe her out and catch her myself—something I don’t think I could have done without the help of the water! I pulled her up to my chest, she cried right away, and we settled back in the warm water, both amazed at all that had happened. It was 4:42pm, only 20 minutes after I had arrived home!!
Sisters!
My girls were so delighted to help welcome their little sister, and their eyes shown as they stroked her head, and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to sit back and relax and catch my breath. Being in the warm water seemed to decrease my usual after-birth shakes, and we had a long chance to connect and rest. Rose Marie arrived about 20 min later, and since I hadn’t delivered the placenta yet, daddy and the girls took baby sister to the other room while I transitioned to the birth stool where the placenta came easily. I was feeling good enough (and minimal blood loss!) that I showered quickly, and then cozied up on the couch while our midwife and friends did all the baby checks, and Joel popped a pizza into the oven. Eventually Priscilla went to bring the boys home to meet their sister, and we had a lovely evening rejoicing in our new gift. I had never had a daytime baby, and I couldn’t believe how good I felt and how I was hardly even tired! After everyone had some supper and everything was cleaned up and taken care of, I took our new baby upstairs, and we cuddled up together for the night-so thankful for the amazing experience, and still in a bit of unbelief!
As we head into flu season and continue to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, I wanted to share some suggestions for pregnant moms wanting to boost their immune systems. There are so many ways we can proactively support our bodies in order to provide better resistance to germs and illness, and possibly prevent severe sickness. Many women find their immune systems face greater stress during pregnancy, so it’s extra important to try to support your body as it grows a baby while exposed to germs!
Before mentioning specific supplements, it’s important to remember that there are some key factors that also play into your overall health. These factors include:
Sufficient, regular sleep: you need ENOUGH sleep to support your body’s needs, and these needs are often increased during pregnancy. Make a habit of going to bed early enough to get the hours of sleep you need! If you’re having trouble sleeping, let your midwife know (I have some suggestions for pregnancy-induced insomnia, so don’t hesitate to reach out!).
Reduce Stress Levels: stress wears your body down, and makes it harder for your immune system work properly.
Eat a healthful, whole-foods diet with lots of variety. If you need information on what a good pregnancy diet looks like, I highly recommend Lily Nichols’ book Real Food For Pregnancy (check out her blog for helpful info, as well: Lily Nichols, RDN)
Stay hydrated: this helps to keep your body flushed and supported.
Add fermented foods to your diet, such as raw sauerkraut, kefir, etc.
Get 15-20 min of direct sunshine daily whenever possible!
Exercise regularly, especially in the fresh air: a 30 min walk outdoors daily is excellent for ALL pregnant moms!
Consider the following supplements daily (check with your prenatal vitamin to determine your needed dosage to reach the recommended levels below):
High Quality Probiotic: it’s no secret that our culture’s frequent antibiotic usage and lack of cultured and fermented foods are contributing to inadequate and/or imbalanced intestinal flora and correlating issues. A good probiotic with multiple different strains can help your body to work the way it should! One that specifically targets Candida overgrowth can be especially helpful in supporting the immune system. Klair Labs and Jarrow are two brands I recommend, but there are many options out there!
Vitamin C (preferably with bioflavonoids) 2000mg daily: this can be split up throughout the day.
Vitamin D34,000IU daily: for best absorption take with a meal containing fat.
Zinc lozenges5-10mg daily: preferably in the form of acetate.
Elderberry1-2TBL daily
When needing extra support (feeling run down, extra or direct exposure to illness, etc.) you may want to add the following to your regimen for 7-10 days:
Gargle with Salt Water 2-3x/day for 15-30 seconds.
Echinacea: 300-500mg dried herb (capsule or tablet) 3x/day or 2.5-5mL of tincture up to 3x/day
The following are some combination immune boosting blends that are wonderful to have on hand for extra immune support (they contain combinations of the above suggestions):
Gentle Delivery Midwifery Services (Centre Co. PA) 