When talking about pregnancy, general awareness comes down to a ‘balanced diet’, increasing calorific intake, folic acid and iron. For a woman of the 21 century (and especially after the age of 35), this is simply not enough. I often hear arguments that some women don’t look after themselves and yet give birth to healthy babies. The question is – will they grow into healthy adults? Will they have childhood eczema, chronic colic or asthma? Unfortunately, these have been accepted as a norm in the western world, and prevention in this area is basically nonexistent in conventional medicine. A doctor may say that ‘the baby will grow out of it’ and symptoms often do subside. However, they may turn into seemingly unrelated issues in future life – perhaps inability to concentrate in school or depression in adulthood.
Indeed, cetain genetic predispositions cannot be avoided. But the vast majority of genetic expression depends on the environment, both internal and external. Mother’s diet, lifestyle, social interactions, rest, forgiveness and most importantly – microbiota – can optimise future baby’s DNA. This is great news for aspiring parents. Similarly, the likes of morning sickness, high blood pressure, putting on a lot of weight or gestational diabetes – although common – don’t have to happen in pregnancy. It’s interesting to see that they are not common in undeveloped civilisations.
It’s easy to drown in the sea of conflicting nutrition and lifestyle recommendations. Therefore, in collaboration with OsteoPalma I’ve organised an interactive and practical seminar on the journey through pregnancy care, to help future mothers to navigate through the maze of truths and myths about what really matters during the 9 months. Nutritional therapy, functional medicine and naturopathy are all powerful tools that help to understand physiological changes that take place and your individual requirements in pregnancy – to maximise your baby's health and happiness.
The seminar is aimed at expecting mothers, fathers, those who plan on a family in the future, doulas, midwives, doctors, nurses, therapists, and will cover the following aspects:
Two remaining events at OsteoPalma:
‘The bump – a journey through pregnancy care’, 16th of June 10:30-12:30
‘Happy mum, healthy baby – postnatal care of baby and self’, 30th of June 10:30-12:30
€40 for one or €70 if you sing up for both. Tickets available at OsteoPalma. Confirm attendance here.