You have just gotten the news! You’re pregnant. You’re excited. You’re nervous. You have every wave of emotion coming at you all at once. Have you prepared enough? Are you ready enough? How are you going to do this? What’s going to happen next? Pregnancy is one of the most magical times in a woman’s life, and a conscious woman wants to take a holistic view of her health. Having an OBGYN to monitor your case is imperative. Her role is to assess the health of baby and mommy as well as rule out any potential risk factors during pregnancy. He or she is also responsible for monitoring any complications that may arise during the pregnancy and manage many complex issues related to female reproductive health. There are many specialists within this field that serve in specialized areas in instances of infertility, pelvic floor reconstructions, and maternal, as well as fetal medicine.
A Naturopathic or Holistic Doctor serves a different role in your pregnancy. For one, they prepare your body for pregnancy. We call it tending to the 365 days before your pregnancy. This is the time and space that we develop the body for the state of health and wellness to sustain life. We monitor the mother’s nutrition, begin to remove irritants from the diet.
The following is our schedule for prenatal care by trimester.
1st Trimester – We provide nutritional as well as homeopathic support for symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, constipation, headaches while also optimizing the nutrition for mommy and baby. We encourage rest and relaxation and educate mommies on the process of pregnancy, including what to look forward to and begin to create a birthing plan to include birthing providers. This is where the mother chooses an OBGYN for their case and commits to the various appointments related to her prenatal care.
2nd Trimester – We fine tune the diet from the first trimester and work to prevent many food-related conditions such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, stress management while pregnant, etc. We also coach the mother on adapting to the changes associated with pregnancy including body image imbalance, hormonal imbalances, and decision making. We begin to begin making recommendations for childbirth education and breastfeeding as well as discussions about choosing a doula and/or midwife to join the families case.
3rd Trimester – We support any new symptoms related to nutritional deficiencies such as leg cramps, insomnia, heartburn, back pain, etc. We begin the process of cultivating healthy vaginal bacteria. We start to make decisions on pediatric care for the baby once delivered and finalize the birthing plan to present to all the providers on the case. We start to discuss birthing procedures and prepare the mother for the process of delivery including the postpartum healing as well as the transition to motherhood. We relieve any last minute anxieties and often use modalities such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, hypnosis, etc. to cultivate minimal pain in pain-free holistic delivery needs.
Postpartum – We meet your precious newborn and encourage healthy patterns to transition to motherhood. We optimize diet and lifestyle as well s supplementation for breastfeeding. We discuss various imbalances that may occur with the baby and a holistic approach to treatment such as colic, ear infections, tongue ties, etc. We provide assessments for families looking to vaccinate including genetic testing as well as neurological testing to assess reaction risk factors. We also offer Homeoprophylaxis to those families not looking to vaccinate yet still would like to educate their babies immune system. We provide breastfeeding support where needing including lactation consulting, milk supply supplements, as well as many natural treatments to avoid antibiotics for the first 1,000 days of life (from conception to two years old). We discuss healing after birth both physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally while supporting you through the process of motherhood.
The Integration of a Naturopathic Doctor into your family planning is essential in developing a healthy child. Naturopaths are trained to be able to treat causes and prevent disease in the body. We highly recommend choosing a qualified naturopath to be able to help support your families health care before, during, and after pregnancy. We offer two consultation options for families with a one-hour consultation as well as a 15 mins complimentary wellness visit.
All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.