Pregnancy FAQ (including why I'm eating sushi)

Hi Friends!

 

I don't think we've ever had so many questions come through about pregnancy! Obviously you are all curious about what I'm doing/not doing during pregnancy because I do things differently that the average Joe, and I'm here to share!

 

Question: Were you trying to get pregnant or just a happy surprise? So excited for you either way

 

Answer: We knew we wanted to fall pregnant right after the wedding, and as I was pretty open that we were doing a lot of conception prep.

 

I was hoping, obviously that we would fall pregnant on the first try especially given the fact that I did all of the energetic and physical work that is required for easy conception.

We did fall pregnant on the first try!

 

It was still a surprise, but l'd also been preparing for this energetically for so long that it was that feeling of when you've been manifesting something for so long, where once you get it...

You're like "AS EXPECTEDDDD💁🏼‍♀️". Because you've already felt it in your nervous system for so long. Anyway, feeling extremely grateful that it happened first try! And also just proof that the energetic and physical work, works !!!

If it works for me and my clients it will work for you!!!

 

 

Question: Anything you’re avoiding during pregnancy? (That you otherwise wouldn’t)

 

Answer:There's not much that I'm avoiding! I live a healthy lifestyle already, I know the media BS around pregnancy restrictions are just form fear mongering (we'll go into that in a second).

 

The main things are:

• I'm not horse riding.
• Avoiding heavy abs workouts that can cause that ab separation,
• The usual toxic shit that I avoid anyway (it's just up a notch) - fragrances, BPA, forever chemicals, vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, soybean, rapeseed, rice bran)
• No longer taking herbal tinctures or my gut powder and tonics as they're full of herbs (I've taken them twice when I was in a lot of digestive discomfort and might again a little more in trimester 2/3). There's not a lot of research out there with the safety of herbs so literally every herbalist says to stay on the side of caution esp in trimester 1 - this book as been a great resource and this one
• No saunas
• No red light near my womb - There isn't enough research to know if it's safe. Beause Red light literally boosts cell turnover, intuitively before I even researched I thought it wouldn't be good because maybe the baby would grow two heads or something because that's now powerful red light is LOL. I'm doing it on other parts of my body though just not near my womb! Our body knows how to grow a perfectly healthy baby so as long as our body is healthy, we'll be good. Don't want to add to many bio hacking things in there cause I don't think we need to bio hack a baby lol. That's why l've been saying it's so good to do PRE CONCEPTION because you're making your ovaries, eggs and womb so healthy!!

 

 

Question: How do you energetically prepare for pregnancy what are the steps ?

Answer: I'll write a blog post on this but I talk about energetic blocks to pregnancy (so make sure you don't have them) in this podcast. 

 

   

Question: I've been asking myself do I want to be a mother or not. Tips on where and how to start finding the answer

 

Answer:  Great question and thank you for asking!! I've had a lot of clients ask for help with the same thing and 100% of the time what's blocking their answer is fear.

They worry about repeating history with the way they were parented, they worry about if kids will ruin their relationship, or they worry if it'll inhibit their career. I've noticed that social media has become quite negative around parenting and it's causing a LOT of fear and contraction in my clients body.

 

So once we 1) release the trauma that blocking them from coming to their own truth (whatever that may be) and 2) create their own definition of what motherhood gets to be for them ... from that place clients have then said "I want to be a mum." It's just they're afraid of (insert normal human things).

 

This doesn't mean doing this will necessarily mean you get the answer of being a mum. But my point is to clear out the noise from your past, your own parents and then society.

I hope l'm able to provide so many of you with a fresh perspective of pregnancy and motherhood because boy am I NOT falling into the traps.

(Also every client that's said 'I don't know if I want to be a mum or not' actually DOES want to be a mum. If you really don't want to be, you wouldn't even be considering it. It would be a 'no' in your body. I have other clients that have gotten that NO and that's super in alignment for them)

 

The fact that you're asking this tells me something it pulling you towards it, you're just afraid.

On that note, I truly feel like so many women these days are waiting for the perfect moment, or to feel like they are 100% ready. I keep seeing this stuff on social media, and while a part of me appreciates the consciousness around deciding to become a mum... It also just lens itself to this perfectionistic culture where we all overthink and feel like we have to be perfect before we can do something.

 

It's also safe to just trust the intuitive nudge and know that your ego will always come up with reasons as to why you shouldn't do something. That doesn't mean you don't go and do the thing.

 

When I was pretty sure I was pregnant, before we took the pregnancy test... There were moments where I was freaking out in my head. And then I would literally tune into my body, and would be reminded that these fears are so normal when going through a big life change. And my body felt so excited, ready and sure they this was the 'perfect' time because there will never be a right time.

 

There were so many reasons for us to delay starting to try. Like the fact that I'll be heavily pregnant when my book launches. Fears are a sign that you're expanding yourself. Fears do not mean don't go and do that thing

 

Question: Congratulations!! How do you plan on working out throughout your pregnancy?

 

I'll be working out the same if not a little harder so I can build my endurance to be able to ski with the extra weight (and also cause omgggg I cannot even walk up the stairs without needed to pause to breathe lol) and also to give birth and be a mumma!!

 

I've slowed down on abs (not because you have to first trimester) but because I have a really strong core and I can tell my muscles are tight so all the moving of my growing uterus has caused me some an muscle pains and I've been randomly getting shooting round ligament pain.

 

The classes that I'm taking are The Pilates Class (BESTIE10 for 10% off their plan) and The Birthing Class as well as Sculpt Society. I also love B the Method and am just adjusting moves as needed

 

Question: Will you take a step back from business once bubs comes?

 

Answer: Thank you! Of course I'm planning a maternity leave, but business will proceed as usual. My business literally is my first baby, and so there is no world that I would be happy in if I was not working. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my purpose on this planet is literally the work that I do in this world, and so as much as I'm excited for motherhood, I know that I would not feel fulfilled if I wasn't still working.

I have no doubt that things might change as one would expect, but I do not have any plans for my business to change.

 

Question: Have you experienced morning sickness? Are you going to have a natural birth?

Answer:

Nope! I've felt very grateful and held onto a VERY strong mindset so even when I do all of a sudden feel super nauseated or I'm exhausted, I'm not falling into a dooms-day mindset. I have a bite to eat, have some ginger in hot water and I'm good to go. I know some women have horrendous first trimesters so I've felt extremely grateful. I also know I put the work in before we fell pregnant to hopefully avoid this. Nausea can be a result of magnesium deficiency, stress and overall nutrient deficiency and I was BOOSTING my nutrients big time and did a massive in depth nutrient panel earlier this year.

I've noticed that on days I eat a lot of meat, I’m lot less nauseas. But honestly it's not been that bad.

 

I've also noticed in clients, the ones that do a lot of energetic prep work before conceiving and that take my recommended prenatals and health steps before hand have an easier trimester 1 than their previous children. Just an observation.

Yes to natural birth!!!! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

 

 

 

Question: You're eating sushi, liver and raw egg yolks?! I thought you weren't meant to eat them during pregnancy?

 

Answer:  I'm assuming people are saying this because they're afraid of food poisoning so let’s break this down. You're 8x more likely to get food poising from fresh fruits and vegetables than eggs, In fact you should eating pasture raised organic eggs anyway and organic farms have a 7 fold lower rate of Salmonella infection compared to commercial producers[1]. even if your eggs weren't organic (maybe when you're at a restaurant). Eggs still only account for 2% of food poising nationwide[2].

 

To me, the BENEFITS of egg yolks FAR OUTWEIGH the potential for food poising. We eat high quality eggs (and sushi - will get there in a second) and I'm not worried one bit. If you take away the yolks all together, you are losing most of the nutrients found in eggs.

 

Liver and egg yolks have the highest concentrations of choline compared to any other food. Eggs are one of the most nutrient dense food you can eat and thanks to their amazing protein content, it's NOT something you want to be missing out on. About 94% of women are deficient in choline[3] and eggs are one of the highest sources of choline. I mention this in my conception blog, that a lot of prenatals don't put enough choline in them anyway so getting more choline from food is essential. I'm having about 3-4 eggs a day and can't survive without them being pregnant.

 

Inside of eggs you'll find vitamin A, vitamin E, omega 3s and 6s and vitamin D. These nutrient levels are MUCH higher in pasture raised chickens so make sure you're buying not just organic, but pasture raised.

 

But remember, ALL OF THES NUTRIENTS are found in the yolk. not the white. Plus, if you cook the egg yolks you start to lose a lot of the nutrients and antioxidants, so you get more health benefits from not overcooking your eggs[4].

 

In regard to liver, it’s another extremely high quality and nutrient dense food that I’m prioritizing eating during my pregnancy and I also made sure I was eating it beforehand. Liver has an extremely high level of iron and as it’s heme iron, it’s well absorbed so you don’t get constipated or anything like many so from iron supplements. Low iron is not something that you want during pregnancy so I’m eating liver about once a week.

Liver is super high in vitamins A, D, E and K. Whilst the media has made us fear that we shouldn’t eat liver as it’s high in vitamin A, the study that made everyone freak out was linked to a high dose SYNTHETIC supplement of vitamin A. When you’re eating vitamin A from a food source where it’s combined with vitamin D and K2, your body knows what to do with it[5]. Also, no one is eating 3 pounds of liver a week. Ew.

Plant sources of Vitamin A are not the same as animal sources. Plant sources contain carotenoids as opposed to retinol. Although our bodies can theoretically convert carotenoids to retinol, the conversion rate is highly variable. Beta carotene is up to 28 times less potent than retinol[6]. AND, the more beta-carotene you eat, the less you convert to vitamin A[7]. 

 

Vitamin A is crucial for the growth and specialization of various cells and tissues. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, it plays a vital role in the healthy development of the fetus and newborn, particularly in lung development and maturation. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) advises pregnant women to increase their vitamin A intake by 40% and breastfeeding mothers by 90%[8].

 

Ounce per ounce, liver contains up to 200x more vitamin b12 than muscle meat does. The importance of b12 is commonly overlooked during pregnancy; however inadequate maternal b12 increases the risk of neural tube defects and miscarriage[9].

 

Bottom line? Get good quality liver and eat it. I get mine from the farmers market and it’s from organic pasture raised chickens. I cook it in the slow cooker with beef or lamb mince to make spaghetti Bolognese and I barely even know it’s there. (I do about 1lbs of chicken liver with 3 lbs of beef mince).

 

Okay, lastly sushi. Number 1, what do you think women do in Japan? They still eat the raw fish. Again I know people are afraid of mercury in the fish and food poising but we need to outweigh the pros and cons of this. I have been craving sushi a bit during my pregnancy and this is when I put my sushi in my IG stories and explained that yes, I’m still eating sushi. Our cravings for certain foods during pregnancy are a sign that we need something in that food. Your craving for fast food likely is just a craving for carbs, serotonin or dopamine. But when you’re craving raw fish, cheese, or eggs, listen to your motherly intuition. Your body is telling you something. The bioavailability of selenium is higher in fish when it’s raw and selenium actually prevents mercury toxicity. The omega 3 fats in raw fish have also thought to be more easily absorbable by the body and the iodine levels (SO essential for you thyroid during pregnancy) are higher in raw fish than when it’s cooked.

 

Now, I’m not saying get sushi that’s been sitting in the supermarket for three days. You of course need to get high quality sushi from a reputable restaurant. And I’m a big advocate for trusting your body. So, if you got served the sushi and your body immediately felt nauseous, then maybe you’re smelling something in the fish that tells you to not eat it. So as always, trust trust TRUST your intuition. But in Japan, it’s literally encouraged to eat raw fish during pregnancy and the British National Health service also says on their website that it's usually safe (they’re not going to just say “safe” because they have to cover their ass), to eat sushi and other fishes made with raw fish when you’re pregnant.”

Lily Nichols sys that one exception though is raw shellfish as it accounts for roughly 75% of food poison so the risks aren’t worth the benefits you get from that food.  

 

 

Overall, there’s a lot of BS out there in the media that you need to sift through and trust your body on. I’m not limiting myself from activities or foods that make me happy. I love sushi, so I’m still eating it from reputable restaurants. I love skiing, so I’m still skiing. I LOVE a soft yolk, so I’m having 3-4 eggs every morning with runny yolks. Literally I hate hard yolks so much that if I get one when I’m out having breakfast, I will ask them to re-make the eggs.

 

If you’re eating healthy, good quality food and are also making sure your gut health is up to par (work on that before falling pregnant if possible), then don’t get sucked into the noise out there that makes pregnancy feel like a big head-f*ck.

 

 

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20617937

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6710a1.htm

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26886842 

[4] https://www.organicauthority.com/energetic-health/dr-mark-hyman-shares-5-rules-for-a-truly-healthy-breakfast

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17145139/

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854912/

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20237064

[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17665093

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18709885