Pregnancy Throughout The Trimesters

Pregnancy is a precious time and one that everyone experiences uniquely. It’s a true passion of mine to help guide my clients through their Pregnancy journey, to optimise the magic each trimester can hold and help navigate symptoms that arise along the way. Ideally, Naturopathic support is established in the preconception period, but of course it may be commenced at any point, including in the postpartum period.

Research has shown that the diet and lifestyle of the mother and father during the six months prior to conception can impact their child’s life-long health. I want it to be widely known that the health of the father is equally as important for the health of the baby. It’s a 50:50 equation!

During the preconception period I look at a client’s presenting health picture and address any pre-existing conditions and nutritional deficiencies first and foremost to ensure they are not depleted. We then look at ways to specifically optimise their fertility and egg quality and thus optimise what pregnancy will be like for them through diet, lifestyle adjustments and individualised nutritional and herbal supplementation.

This preconception work really paves the way for a healthy and happy pregnancy, ensuring specific nutrient requirements for each trimester are set-up before conception even occurs is my goal, specifically for Folate, Iron, Vitamin D and Thyroid hormones. This ensures the health of both Mum and baby growth and development are optimised.

Often the below areas of health are analysed and optimised in this preconception stage. If you are experiencing any unusual symptoms in these areas, I always suggest gaining some support at least 3-6 months prior to trying to conceive:

•  Gut Health and Digestion
•  Vaginal Health
• Thyroid Health
• Nervous System Function
• Sleep Quality and Quantity
• Nutrient deficiencies

I’ve listed below some general guidelines for a healthy preconception diet and lifestyle to optimise the health of your body and your developing baby (ideally 3-6 months prior to conception):

• Avoid trans fats and reduce saturated fats
• Increase omega 3 fats
• Increase whole plant protein
• Consume nuts and seeds daily
• Opt for whole grains
• Include 5 serves of vegetables daily
• Include 2 pieces of fruit daily
• Limit toxic exposure by opting for organic where possible
• Consume 2-3L of filtered water daily
• Avoid processed foods
• Avoid Alcohol
• Avoid Smoking and Vaping and Elicit drugs
• Reduce toxic exposure from home and self-care products
• Exercise daily
• Reduce stress and calm your Nervous System

If you take one thing away from this, let it be that healthy and well-nourished parents will support a healthy and nourished baby!

Trimester 1 - Weeks 1-13

The peri-conceptual period (just after fertilisation) is a highly sensitive time and therefore if you are wanting to optimise this, following the above ‘preconception’ guidelines and gaining support with supplementation is recommended to ensure the first critical weeks of pregnancy and baby development are supported.

During the 1^st Trimester we are wanting to first and foremost support healthy pregnancy and avoid pregnancy loss.

Additionally, we want to support the below areas:

• Morning sickness
• Setting up weight gain goals for the pregnancy
• Educate on food safety and toxin exposure (listeria, mercury, lead, arsenic, BPA/ phthalates, air pollution, mould)
• Preeclampsia prevention
• Baby brain development
• Neural Tube defect prevention (ideally supported in pre-conception)
• Thyroid Function
• Key nutrients / supplement intake (individualised)

Trimester 2 – Weeks 14-27

Trimester 2 is a time for ensuring the pregnancy is tracking well (working closely with their medical practitioner on this).

Other areas of support include: 

• Iron Deficiency check – testing at around 25-28 weeks as it is normal for levels to drop during this time due to the baby sucking up iron to last them their first few months of life before solids are introduced.
• If Iron levels drop, this is a time to consider the necessary next steps dependent on the individual circumstance.
• Blood Glucose Monitoring (between 24-28 weeks)
• Support additional energy intake required for this trimester
• Key nutrients / supplement intake (individualised)

Trimester 3 – Weeks 28-40

During Trimester 3 our goal is to continue supporting optimal growth of the baby and to keep mum as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

Our goals during this trimester are centred around:

• Growing baby to size (collagen is supportive here and a balanced diet)
• Supporting adequate additional energy intake required
• Supporting sleep quality
• Addressing any discomfort or acute symptoms that arise
• Add in any key nutrients for the baby and mum that may not have been previously tolerated until this point (ie. With morning sickness)
• Encourage supportive Nervous System practices  
• Education regarding nutritious meal prep for the postpartum period
• Key nutrients / supplement intake (individualised)

Birth Prep – from 35 weeks on

Towards the end of the Pregnancy, we begin preparing for birth and the postpartum period. Some goals and focuses during this time include:

•           Guiding patients on when to stop certain nutrients approaching birth (ie. Stopping omega 3s)
•  Supporting the body nutritionally and herbally to bring about spontaneous labour 
• Setting patients up with key nutrients and herbs for postpartum recovery and support

Postpartum -  

During the Postpartum period (the fourth Trimester) the goal is to support recovery from birth, decrease the risk of nutritional depletion, support lactation where needed and nourish the nervous system.

Additionally, we like to encourage Mothers to get their Postpartum blood tests done at 6 weeks Postpartum so we can address any deficiency signs or imbalances nice and early.

The postpartum period is such a unique and special time and I like to ensure patients feel supported in whatever way their body needs. Everyone is so very different in regard to what level of support they require.

If you’re looking for support, I’d love to help! I love supporting Women to feel their best during this incredibly special time. 

Tayla X

www.gutbiomeclinic.com