Nourishing Nutritional Support for Pregnant or Breastfeeding Mothers

This post originally was created because many people were asking me about detoxing while pregnant or breastfeeding. Once you start learning about how toxic we are and how we can pass toxins to our babies (whether in utero or in breast milk), you want to know as much as you can to keep your child healthy.  Unfortunately, there are precautions about many detoxes while pregnant or nursing because we do not want to stir up any stored toxins- we want to just support the body gently to prevent detox from getting too sluggish. My goal with this post is to focus on nourishing nutritional support for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Our First Priority should be to NOURISH

Pregnancy and breastfeeding are both VERY hard on the body. We have to create and grow a whole new person. This requires calories, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and more.  A majority of women go into pregnancy with a nutritional deficit as it is so by the time they are about to wean their child from breastfeeding, they are even more depleted. Postpartum depletion is a real thing and it can last for up to ten years after having a child!

The more nourished we are, the healthier our children will be.  The more nourished we are, the easier it is for our bodies to focus on things like detox and weight loss. Postpartum depression happens when our bodies are extremely undernourished or imbalanced.

I do not recommend doing anything that can cause harsh detox while pregnant or nursing.  Your body is in such a delicate state as is, so pushing it even more can create even more health issues down the line. We are always in a constant state of detox though, so you cannot completely avoid having detox reactions even during these times. There are many ways to nourish the body so that you gain strength and fix nutritional issues while supporting the body’s natural detox ability without creating too much stress.

Staying Nourished while Pregnant and Breastfeeding

1. Nutrient Dense Foods- Fruits, vegetables; full fat foods like butter, ghee, and coconut oil; organic/grass-fed whole milk dairy products; fermented foods; eggs; grass-fed meat; beef liver every so often if you can handle it! Nourish Her Naturally from Earthley can help a bit. The WAPF has a great basis for a real foods diet
2. Herbal Infusions– Nettles and Red Raspberry leaf are the 2 best herbs fro pregnancy and nursing. Nettle infusions are full of vitamin K, iron, copper, magnesium and calcium, and they help the kidneys, liver, and adrenals.  Red Raspberry leaf is a well-known uterine tonic and helps to keep hormones balanced, especially after birth. Oatstraw is a great herb for those that need more nervous system healing.
3. Focus on Gut Health– we need sufficient stomach acid and bile to digest a lot of our nutrients and to take care of nasty things like bacteria and parasites. Using either a probiotic or eating fermented foods is essential as well.  Constipation is extremely common while pregnant or breastfeeding so we have to try and keep things moving!
4. Stay Hydrated! Try to drink as much filtered or spring water as you want, as well as herbal infusions. Depending on your personal needs you may be able to use Salt water Sole and coconut water as well, to help sodium and potassium balance. Check out my post on proper hydration here.

Supporting Detox While Pregnant or Breastfeeding

1. Stress Management- yes I can only imagine the eye rolls I will get on this one! There is nothing more stressful than a newborn child. I understand, trust me. But if you are a first time mom, the best advice I can give you is this- “you cannot pour from an empty cup.”  You have to find ways to relax, especially those first few months postpartum. Take whatever help people offer and more importantly, ASK for help when you need it. Rest when you can- the cleaning can wait, seriously. Find something that you love to do and do it everyday, even it is only for 5 minutes. Read, watch funny videos on YouTube, talk to a friend. Try yoga, buteyko breathing, or EFT This is probably the hardest thing to do- but it is important to find the best way to manage stress otherwise it will have a negative effect on your body.
2. Dry Skin Brushing– This is an easy, gentle, and safe way to support detox. It helps to keep the skin free and helps the lymph flow.
3. And of course- HTMA! Making sure that your minerals are balanced is one of the most important things to do for your health. Pregnancy and nursing depletes us of all of our nutrients and it is easier to know our personal deficiency levels in order to properly treat ourselves. We have worked with many pregnant and nursing mamas over the years and we always make sure to keep our plans safe, gentle, and effective. It is even better to go this route before trying to conceive so you can prepare your body for pregnancy! Read more about HTMA here.

Kristin

Welcome to Sassy Holistics! My name is Kristin, and I'm a Holistic Health Coach. I've been on the path to help people achieve better health using whole food nutrition, mineral balancing, and holistic healing principles for almost 7 years now.

The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.

My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.