This week I have been reflecting back on my pregnancy journey with the girls. I reread my post, Week 31: Premature labor scare! And all of the old feelings of fear and uncertainty came back to me again. My biggest goal during my pregnancy was to take great care of my gut.
I started writing these posts when I was 21 weeks pregnant. Here is an excerpt from a post I wrote when I was 21 weeks pregnant, Gut Health During Pregnancy Part 1.
The most powerful way to influence the health of your gut is through your diet:
Avoid food toxins found in processed foods
Avoid refined sugars
Avoid refined grains
Avoid artificial sweeteners
Eat more fermentable fiber
Hydrate well with clean, filtered water
Eat plenty of probiotic-rich foods
Consume more bone broth
Other important strategies include:
Improve stress management
Get plenty of daily movement
Minimize the use of antibiotics
Eliminate the use of NSAIDs, steroids, antacids, and other medications
Minimize exposure to chlorinated water
This quote summarizes these tips best:
Even though I put into practice all of the steps listed above. The girls still arrived early at 34 weeks. That does not mean that all of my efforts were unimportant.
Even if you see signs that your preferred outcome is expected, don’t let go of your mission. Stay the course and stick to your principles because eventually you will see their benefit. In this post I describe how I took care of myself when I had a short stay in the hospital, Week 32: Home from the hospital and back again and reminiscing.
If you are currently pregnant or planning to get pregnant, know that taking the steps now to take awesome care of your gut is so important. The most powerful way you can impact your and your baby’s health is by taking care of your gut.
The girls spent a week in the NICU, which I will discuss in part two of this article. Fortunately, their stay was part of the hospital’s standard of practice, not out of necessity. Of course, I assumed my prenatal care had a big part in their health and size. Fortunately, science has given us the information we need to take care of ourself through nutrition and exercise during pregnancy. Now we just have to put it into practice.
Remember that whatever you are eating, your baby is eating. This article cites the impact of probiotics for mama.
The bottom line is this, if you feel better, you move more. If you move more, you feel better. You can see how this cycle continues.
Share this:
