Healthy Pregnancy

Inflammation is believed to be one of the root causes of many imbalances in the body. The stress of inflammation is indicated as a contributing factor in several infertility diagnosis including PCOS, endometriosis, recurrent miscarriage, poor sperm and egg quality. So it makes perfect sense that when you are ready to get pregnant, this diet can help to resolve any inflammatory responses in the body that could be preventing conception or impacting your health during pregnancy.

Even before tackling the dietary principles, it is important to take a close look at how stress may be impacting your life. It has been long known that cortisol, a stress hormone, is a leading cause of inflammation in the body. Choose activities that provide peace and relaxation each day can help to heal conditions of inflammation. This can be anything from a foot soak, a massage or even a funny movie at the end of the day. Something that helps you to unwind. Also, choose exercises you enjoy that replenish you, while detoxifying and reducing stress. Swimming, walking, dancing, yoga and gardening are all low impact exercises that get your blood flowing. One recent study on the benefits of stress reducing yoga has shown that a regular practice may have the capacity to reduce inflammation in the body, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP).

Along with stress reduction and gentle exercises consider adopting these anti-inflammatory dietary tips:

Avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners- especially in soda and processed candy

Limit caffeine, coffee (prefer green tea and herbal teas), alcohol, red meat, burnt food

Eat an abundance of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables for the bioflavanoids- especially dark leafy greens.

Cook with anti-inflammatory herbs or sprinkle on food: ginger and turmeric.

Consume a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water each day

Limit nightshades

Enjoy herbal Teas like Yogi detox, licorice, chamomile

Eat Omegas at every opportunity. Favor Omega 3’s and reduce omega 6 oils (corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil)

Foods containing a high ratio of omega 3 oil: Menhaden, salmon, cod liver, cod, shrimp, tuna, pink salmon, king crab, Mackerel, flax, flaxseed (sprinkled on salads or oatmeal in the morning) hemp, hemp nuts, canola, walnut, & pumpkin, pumpkin seeds.

Kathryn Flynn is the author of Cooking for Fertility: Foods to Nourish Your Fertile Soul. Kathryn supports men and women worldwide in achieving a healthy pregnancy through nutrition and lifestyle changes in her individual fertility nutrition consultations. For additional information, please feel free to email Kathryn.

A mother asks, “I am returning back to work soon and my 3 month old baby girl will not take a bottle. What can I do?”

It’s really terrific that you have been exclusively breastfeeding your daughter! It can be challenging to transition back to the workplace, so it’s great that you are being thoughtful about helping your baby learn about another way to receive your milk. It is normal for a 3 month old baby to initially refuse a bottle. It is a foreign object to her. Remember, she doesn’t know what a bottle is! Even if she had been given a bottle every day since she was born, she may still refuse at about 3 months. This is the age when babies can start taking more control of their world!

My best advice to you is to take it slowly, make it fun, be creative, and give her control. Babies are naturally curious and use their mouths to explore. If she sees the bottle as just another play-thing, she will be more accepting. Try other liquids. Make it surprising, novel and interesting. Try water or very diluted apple juice when introducing a bottle. Or use breast milk—but very cold. Some babies will only take a bottle if they are distracted with TV, toys or going for a walk. Try making the bottle very UNlike the breast, and you may be more successful. Some babies never drink from a bottle but do very well with a cup, so be sure to give that a try.

Whichever method you and baby choose, patience will win over force. Good luck!

Written by Renee Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC. Renee is a lactation consultant in private practice in Seattle, Washington. She is available for home/hospital visits and phone consultations. Renee can be reached at www.second9months.com

The Birthing Ball is to birth as mother’s milk is to a baby. It’s efficient, incredible and soothing.

It’s one of those things that get you thinking ”whoever designed this ball must be rich,” so I researched it. What we call the birthing ball was developed by an Italian plastics manufacturer   Aquilino Cosani   in 1963. They were originally known as “Pezzi Balls” and were used in treatment programs for newborns & infants by Mary Quinton, a British Physiotherapist, who was working in Switzerland at the time.

Before birth, which is the “I can’t see my feet” time, sitting on the ball helps ease backaches, increases blood flow to the uterus, placenta and baby, and gives support to the mom’s knees and ankles. Just as importantly, it just plain “feels good.”

During labor, the ball can be used in a number of different ways to provide the following benefits:

1.    To help relieve back labor

2.    It encourages rotation of a posterior baby

3.    It helps gravity do its thing and encourages the descent of the baby by enhancing uterine contractions

4.    It conserves energy by getting the mom off her feet

My daughter-in-law uses a ball with her newborn as the rocking motion relaxes her baby, gets the baby to sleep easier than anything else and reduces (my daughter-in-law’s) back fatigue.

This a great tool for pre-birth, during birth and postpartum.

Thank you Mr. Cosani!

To find out about my services, please visit my website at www.janmartinka.com.

Are you a dad-to-be who’s partner is planning to breastfeed? Do you think that breastfeeding is something a woman does alone? Think again. One of the most important factors in determining whether a woman breastfeeds is the support of her partner. Here are some things you can do before the baby is even born that will help ensure that your baby gets off to a good start.

Remind the mom-to-be that you know what breasts are for and how amazing she is. Let her know that you appreciate that she wants to give your baby the best possible start in life. Marvel out loud that she will be able to nourish your baby with her breasts.

Go to a prenatal breastfeeding class with your partner.

Read about breastfeeding. Learn the facts. Dr. William Sears and Dr. Jack Newman are authors that dads tend to enjoy.

Counter any criticism with confidence.

Interview pediatricians and do some research to find breastfeeding-friendly doctors in your area.

Ask friends, neighbors and healthcare providers about recommended lactation consultants.  Call them. Have a name or two on hand and bring phone numbers to the hospital or birthing center. Your wife will love it if you take some ownership of the decision to breastfeed.

Arrange for meals and other support from family/friends/neighbors for the first 6 weeks or so—especially for after you return to work.

Learn why breastfeeding is important to the mother of your baby. Have confidence in her and be proud of her choice!

Written by Renee Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC. Renee is a lactation consultant in private practice in Seattle, Washington. She is available for home/hospital visits and phone consultations. Renee can be reached at www.second9months.com

“When are you due?” Nothing sends shivers down the back of an expectant mom more than this question. This is especially true for first time moms who are bombarded with this question.

Due dates are an estimate and yet mom’s-to-be are given a specific date and it sticks in everybody’s mind forever.

This date is in the back of every expectant mom’s mind when they plan any event, especially during the last weeks of their pregnancy. This often causes them to change plans and increases their angst.

Why is this so? Human gestation is approximately 38 weeks and starts from the day of conception until the day you deliver. Most people don’t know exactly when they conceived.

Health care  providers count from the first of your last period, which is why pregnancies appear to last about 40 weeks.

Going back to my earlier question, wouldn’t a better way of answering the question be “my due date is between this date and that date?” So regardless of the answer, the expectant mom would be less stressed when everyone starts calling her on her due date and making statements and questions like “ I bet you’re going to have the baby today,” or, “Do you feel any contractions, today’s the day after all?”

Or after her due date being pestered with things like, “Why haven’t you had the baby yet, is something wrong? “

The pressure that she feels can be mostly avoided by being given the two-week span due date and since mom will be less stressed, so will baby! Feel free to write me (jan@janmartinka.com) with any (non-medical) birth or postpartum questions to get a doula’s perspective. To find out about my services, please visit my website at www.janmartinka.com.

Pregnancy can be fun but also challenging. Not only is your body changing but also your hormone levels are also fluctuating.

In my last post I mentioned information overload and one of the best ways to prevent overload is to create a support team.

Your support team starts with your spouse and family. They are the ones that you know you the best and can, hopefully, provide emotional and non-judgmental support.

Your doctor or midwife is the expert; they are trained and have been through the birth experience hundreds of times. When you go to your prenatal appointments make sure that if you do not understand their advice, ask them to repeat and re-explain until the information is clear. That is why you hired them.

Because pregnancy can cause fluctuating hormone levels, many mothers-to-be lose focus. Write your questions down before going to your doctor or midwife. It really helps! When I go to prenatal appointments with my clients we make sure that we have previously discussed their most important questions to ensure they get the answers they need.

Your team may also include a doula, massage therapist, acupuncturist, lactation consultant, herbalist, nutritionist, yoga instructor or Pilates instructor. Many of my clients have experienced tremendous benefits from these specialists.

All of these professionals can play an important part in your pregnancy. So if feel the need, do use their services to support you. It will be worth it!

To find out about my doula services, please visit my website at www.janmartinka.com

Pregnancy is a joyous time in a woman’s life, but it can also be confusing because there’s a lot of advice out there.  Many women want recommendations that support not only their own health and their baby’s, but also the environment.  Most people are prompted to start making healthy changes in their lives when they find out a baby is on the way.  However, it is best to begin before conception.

Here are the top healthy changes to make that will benefit themselves, their baby, and the environment:

• Eating fresh organic, seasonal foods can make a difference to women wanting to get pregnant, to the health of their babies and the environment.
• Investing in a Kangen water filter and cutting out buying plastic water bottles will make a difference too. (www.carolinakangenwater.com)
• Cutting out things like alcohol, caffeine, sugar and recreational drug use can make it easier to get pregnant.
• Taking a high quality prenatal multivitamin
• Supplementing with DHA.  Fish oils are great options but there are vegetarian options as well.
• DHA has been shown to help with the baby’s brain development.
• Doing a cleanse before pregnancy is a great way start this journey.
• Yoga and rest can help you have a healthy pregnancy and post-partum.

By Tiffany Jackson, ND (www.ecohealthwellness.com

Expectant parents these days are a lot more informed than anytime in history. They can readily access information via the Internet and tend to read everything they can pertaining to pregnancy, birthing and postpartum care. They seek advice from friends and other people regarding their birth experiences. They watch videos on television and YouTube. In other words, they can be overwhelmed with information.

Why do they do this? It’s because we all have a fear of the unknown. And especially with a first time pregnancy, there is a lot of unknown. As with any new experience, it can be scary and this is very understandable. The more knowledge people have the better they feel. However, how can they decide what tips and strategies to retain and what not to retain?

As mentioned above, there is a tremendous amount of information today compared to even 10-15 years ago. It’s amazing! I remember when I was pregnant with my first baby in 1974. I took the information that my OB gave to me as gospel. (If I knew then, what I know now, I might have done things differently – although all turned out very well.)

There have always been a lot of questions being asked by moms-to-be. Today, there are a lot more sources of answers to allow expectant parents to be well informed and the result is they feel very empowered. Way to go ladies (and guys)! Feel free to write me (jan@janmartinka.com) with any (non-medical) birth or postpartum questions to get a doula’s perspective. To find out about my services, please visit my website at www.janmartinka.com.

There is so much you can do before you are pregnant to ensure a healthy pregnancy. One of my favorite fertility experts has often explained to the importance of creating healthy habits to enhance fertility at least three months before conception. Since the follicles in your ovaries are develop on a 90 day cycle, what you are doing during at this time will impact the egg that is released during ovulation three months later. Here are some quick tips on what to do and what not to do to support your fertility and preconception health:

Habits to create

Healthy nutrition- you are the first source of nutrition for your baby. The more easily nutrients are absorbed into your body, the more you will be able to share with your baby. In fact, folic acid is an essential component in helping to form the fetuses neural pathways during the first trimester. Be sure to take a quality prenatal with 1000 mcg of folic acid. Consider additional sources of calcium and omega fatty acids. In general eat an abundance of whole grains, colorful vegetables and fruit with lean sources of protein and drink lots of room temperature water.

Exercise- getting daily exercise is vital in helping to optimize your weight, flood the body with fresh oxygen and blood, reduce stress and enhance your mood. Exercise should not be overexerting, so consider adjusting your program to include gentle walks, yoga for fertility, dancing and other activities you enjoy. Gentle exercises can help to induce the relaxation response which is essential to fertility.

Sleep- if you are not currently getting eight hours of shut eye per night, now is the time to start. Studies continue to prove the immense impact that sleep has on your health including hormone balance. According to a study from the University of Texas Health Science Center “melatonin could become an important medication for improving ovarian function and oocyte [egg] quality.” Melatonin is produced complete darkness and staying up at night, sleeping with lights on or even turning lights on to go to the bathroom may impacting menstrual cycles regularity as well as egg quality.

Menstrual cycle awareness- in Toni Weschler’s Taking Charge of your Fertility she educates women on how to chart their cycles to gain insight on patterns of ovulation, fertility and menstruation. When preparing to conceive, this information can be incredibly valuable for both you and your doctors.

Optimize your weight- as many as 12% of infertility cases are a result of weighing too little or too much. Changing your lifestyle and dietary habits can help to bring you to your ideal Body Mass Index (BMI). In woman who are overweight, weight loss as little as 5-10% can be helpful in restoring fertility.

Kathryn Flynn is the author of Cooking for Fertility: Foods to Nourish Your Fertile Soul. Kathryn supports men and women worldwide in achieving a healthy pregnancy through nutrition and lifestyle changes in her individual fertility nutrition consultations. For additional information, please feel free to email Kathryn.

We all love tight arms! Looking good in a tank top, short-sleeved shirt, or swimsuit means having tight arms. But what exercises really tone the biceps and triceps? According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, focusing a weights workout on biceps and triceps is unnecessary when lifting for the chest and back muscle groups.

How is that possible? When you’re doing a chest press, the triceps are stimulated, and when you’re doing a back pull, your biceps are stimulated. Think of it as multi-tasking. So, don’t feel guilty about cutting out the specific arm exercises. Your arms will become toned as you lift properly. The key is lifting enough weight during your chest and back exercises to reach fatigue at about 15 repetitions. Give it a try. Your arms will feel it!