BODY PREPPING FOR BABY
It’s been on my mind a lot lately about BODY PREPPING for a getting pregnant and sustaining a healthy pregnancy.
We have more miscarriages and infertility today than ever before…why is this?
The research says, “Fertility is a growing concern for Americans. As many as one in eight couples reportedly struggle to conceive, and a full third of Americans have either sought fertility treatment themselves or know someone who has.”
• 12% of women experience difficulties becoming pregnant or carrying a child to term.
• 1 in 8 couples in America encounter fertility hurdles.
• 15% of all couples are unable to conceive after a year of unprotected sex.
• 10% of all couples are unable to conceive after two years of unprotected sex.
• 33% of Americans have turned to fertility treatments or know someone who has.
I think a lot of infertility has to do with levels of toxicity in our bodies. We are more toxic then we have ever been before and we are more stressed than ever before. We take on much more than our parents took on and carry emotional stress very differently than they did.
This MATTERS when it comes to your body and carrying a baby.
I’ve had a lot of patients privately ask me what I did to “get pregnant” and how my birth went. So I thought I would share my preparations with you all and maybe this will encourage some of you who have tried, been unsuccessful or have had a miscarriage or lost a baby but want to try again.
Children are a gift from God and our bodies are made by him and are made to carry children and bring them into this world. With knowledge we can do our part to make our bodies a living sacrifice or “a happy home” for baby to thrive in.
I unknowingly began prepping my body for a baby back in 2016 when I aligned with a toxin free beauty company (CRUNCHI) and began cleaning out all my beauty and skincare products.
I switched EVERYTHING except highlighting my hair (Lol girl please…)
Clean toothpaste, clean shampoo and conditioner, clean deodorant, clean makeup, clean skincare, clean laundry detergent, clean nail polish, clean lotions, clean soaps, clean menstrual products, clean razors, clean house hold cleaning products and more. Please see my master toxin free list in this group for wonderful tried and true toxin free products I switched to.
This was a slow but fun process of removing toxins from my day to day life.
♀Fast forward to 2018, I am still toxin free at home but decided to lose some weight which I needed to do and clean up my diet. I focused on an anti-inflammatory diet and dropped about 15 lbs. I felt great, and my joints felt great. I felt light and clean.
Now it is 2019, I got engaged in April to the love of my life and we started planning our wedding, but I started planning my body for a baby….I knew we wanted one and we would be ready shortly after our wedding.
So I got some blood work done and did a workup with my dad (my doctor) and did a DUTCH hormone test (using dried urine to test my hormones). I evaluated my blood work on a nutritional level to be able to up regulate areas of my body needing more focused support along with supporting my hormone imbalances.
I then got on a strict supplement regimen along with a clean diet (I did the pilot diet for 56 days then followed it on a modified level…you can google this).
I had NO alcohol or sugar (except weddings and special occasions). I was strict on this as these things would derail all my efforts.
I got regular chiropractic adjustments to keep my body in alignment so my nervous system was functioning at an optimal level and able to heal well.
I also exercised mildly by walking or doing a short 20 minute weight routine 3-4x a week.
I managed my stress by dealing with negative emotions through prayer, relationship communion, counseling, and being in nature.
I also drank 64 oz. or more of water a day.
I also began tracking my menstrual cycle very closely to be sure I understood my body even more then I already did. I used a little ladycomputer called ‘Ladycomp’ to track my temperature every morning to let me know when I was ovulating etc. This little device is very effective, and my choice for “birth control.”
I will now list the supplements I took (all links to these will be listed in the comments)
❗️Chaste Tree- to regulate my progesterone levels to make uterus a happy place for implantation (come off this once you get pregnant)
❗️Vitamin D- mood, and bone support
❗️B12- energy and gut health
❗️Pre-natal- excellent multi vitamin to prep body for baby
❗️DSF- adrenal hormone support- once you get pregnant baby draws from you so I need happy adrenals to support myself and then baby
❗️Pro-cortisol balance- to manage stress…because stress doesn’t stop just because your on a body prepping mission
❗️Probiotics- gut health- the more out the better- keeps you regular
❗️Vitamin C- healthy immune system for healthy mamma
❗️Systemic Detox- to facilitate detox in the body to further prep body for baby- keeping toxins low in my body so as to not pass onto baby
❗️Magnesium- to help me sleep deeply at night so my body is healing and recovering well in my sleep
❗️Fish oil- so helpful for brain function, inflammation control, and hormone function- we need healthy fatty brains to have healthy hormone function.
❗️High Protein diet- did protein shake almost every morning- if I skipped I would have eggs for breakfast
So now I’ve been on this regimen from April- October.
We got married October 25th and it was the most perfect day.
We started trying right away trying to get pregnant and I thought to myself well it will at least take a few months. I got pregnant right away. Most likely November 4th. That is 10 days after our wedding…haha!
We didn’t even get a chance to “practice.” I know that is very personal information but I share this because I had put in the work to help my body be ready, and it was. This is not a full proof recipe to getting pregnant but doing these things can only help your odds!
A FEW EXCEPTIONS:
1. I have never been on the birth control pill. If you are on the pill and get off the pill it can take anywhere from 6 month to a year for your body to regulate and longer if you do nothing to assist your hormones/or body in detoxifying from the pill.
2. I practiced natural family planning where I took my temperature every morning. I had and have been doing this style of “birth control” for a long time. It is safe and effective when used properly. I never missed taking my temperature in the mornings. NEVER!
3. I was also not on any other medications, if you are on other medications they could slow down your hormonal regulation/body preparations. Please consult a functional medicine doctor to help you evaluate your blood work so you know what steps to properly take regarding how to accommodate your medication and what that time line looks like or how to help you get healthy so you may or may not need the meds etc.
A note on infertility: while infertility is on the rise in this country let’s not forget that men are also at risk for infertility and can be a contributing factor. I cannot stress enough the importance of both partners having their hormones checked through proper testing. Remember hormones are best tested through dried urine or saliva. The thyroid hormones are best tested through blood. Please ask your functional doctor to run proper testing so you can begin working on you and your spouse’s hormones effectively. It may involve some life changes and both partners need to be willing to make those changes for the utmost success in conceiving. There are many medications that disrupt one’s ability to conceive that both men and women take. Also alcohol is a fertility killer, if you drink you may want to consider giving it up for a while to try and conceive.
https://cofertility.com/fertility-statistics-2020/
Written by: Dr. Ashley Carnes D.C.