A recipe for fertility and pregnancy the natural way.
We are all designed to breed!
In my first interview with prospective parents, I always start with this statement to emphasise the importance of living the way we are intended to live. Abnormalities and physical issues aside, if people adapt healthy lifestyles, success in becoming pregnant is virtually guaranteed. Potential parents who have tried everything seem to take comfort from this declaration.
And it’s true.
I find in my natural health practice that it is absolutely essential for both partners to adopt a way of living that Dr. Leonard Mehlmauer, a world renowned naturopath, calls the “Big Seven”.
- A pure diet.
- Adequate rest.
- Right exercise.
- Natural hygiene.
- Right occupation.
- Life positive environments.
- Spiritual cultivation.
Diet
As always, a good natural eating plan with the right combinations is essential. In evolutionary terms, we are closer to the cave than the high tech, polluted environment we find ourselves in.
So think about the diet our forebears of the far distant past would have eaten; Nuts, berries, fruits, veggies, and the occasional protein. (Only after LOTS of exercise to chase that woolly mammoth down!) Grains and most carbohydrates were only eaten once we changed from hunter/gatherers to a more sedate pastoral lifestyle. No matter what, all food was seasonal and always organic with no preservatives and flavour enhancers.
I would like to mention, though, that in India and the far East green paw paws are used to abort unwanted babies, so to be safe avoid any suspicious paw paws.
The beverage of choice being water in copious quantities.
Adequate rest
Once again, use our distant ancestors as an example. We retired at sundown and rose at sunup. A minimum of eight hours of peaceful sleep in a well aerated and slightly cool environment is a basic requirement.
Right exercise
We don’t have to go to the extremes of the caveman as our mammoths now come in neat little polystyrene packages without the fur. We therefore need to expend less energy. 25 minutes of power walking five times a week is a minimum.
Natural hygiene
Do the things our mothers taught us! We don’t need to obsessively scrub everything with antiseptics, we do, however need to keep ourselves and our environments clean.
Right Occupation
On the face of it, this seems obvious.
I find, however, that most of my patients are working in their jobs “because they have to.”
Not necessarily their first choice.
This not only is the perfect breeding ground for unhappiness, stress and possibly depression, it also creates the situation that their heart is not in the task at hand and a less than perfect outcome is often the result.
A passionate and devoted employee is gold to employers and will always get the first job offer.
Life positive environment
Try to stay away from toxic relationships, takers and depressives. Always be positive and, like the proverbial Latin individual, let your emotions out. Don’t bottle things up. It is just as healthy to cry as to laugh. As long as the emotion is honest and appropriate, let it out!
Smoking (even secondary smoking) and drinking are best left alone.
Spiritual cultivation
We are all spiritual beings. No matter what your particular persuasion is, it is essential to try to live up to the ideals twenty four seven. It certainly is my experience that a spiritual person is less likely to fall ill and when they do, healing takes place more rapidly.
I know that this sounds so simple, but our modern lifestyles tend to make the simple complicated. I do, however, agree with the need for supplementation because the value of nutrition available to us has deteriorated. Thus folic acid, Vitamins B6, B.Comp, magnesium chromium, dolomite and zinc usually are a prerequisite. Depending on foods available, other vitamins and minerals may also be necessary. I would like to mention that I am a great fan of eggs, especially the yolk, as they are the perfect protein and contain the necessary ingredients for new life.
How we live governs our fertility as Mother Nature insists that our children have the best possible advantages so that we, as a species, improve from generation to generation.
During pregnancy there are a few pointers – In the first trimester, in addition to the previously mentioned supplements, iron is essential. Your body will be making huge numbers of red blood cells and iron is the key ingredient. You should also get checked out by a natural practitioner to make sure that there are no underlying conditions that are contraindicated to iron supplementation.
If you or your mother has lost a baby in the past, you need to take it as easy as you can. Deal with stress, do not over exert and ask for help. This is vital as if and when you don’t feel up to it, you have a support system in place.
In the last two weeks, Rosemary tea is a good idea as this will assist in the childbirth.
Once your bundle of joy has arrived it is really important that you maintain your pre pregnancy regime and breast feed for at least four months. If this is not possible, you might investigate obtaining healthy expressed milk from another mother.
It has been clinically proven that mother’s milk is not only rich in the nutrients that a new born needs, but vital immune functions are reinforced during this formative time. A study completed recently showed that the thymus gland (an essential part of the immune system) is seventy percent larger in babies fed with mother’s milk than formula fed babies. The lungs also develop much more efficiently with this wonder food. A final thought on mother’s milk, sudden infant death syndrome (S.I.D.S.) can frequently be laid at the door of non-breast fed babies.
You will be very excited and want to show your new arrival off. Babies do not fully develop in the womb and need a warm stable environment to settle into their new bodies. It is best to be a little patient and treasure you time together rather that carting baby around. There will be plenty of time to show off later!