So you’re pregnant … or you’re thinking about it … or you’re just obsessed with all things baby and love reading pregnancy posts for funzies. Whichever category you fit into, this post is for you.
Whether you got here easily or it took years in the making, there are some pretty big changes ahead. Chances are, you did a little planning and cleaned up your act before you got pregnant. You know … ditched the bad habits, sat up a little straighter, ate a little better, did a little detox, and tried a superfood or two? But now that there’s actually toast in the toaster, it’s time to up your game.
Unless your diet has been almost perfect for the five years leading up to your pregnancy, you’re going to want a little something more than the once-a-day prenatal you’re not going to absorb anyway to get the job done. In natural medicine, we don’t mess around when it comes to making healthy babies.
Here’s a natural prenatal plan to help you grow a healthy baby and support your body while you’re doing it:
1. Red Raspberry (Herbal Form) or (Tea)
Red Raspberry is a female tonic that is known for its ability to tone the uterus. It prevents cramping, false labor, and morning sickness, reduces postpartum bleeding and swelling, shortens labor, promotes tissue repair, can contract (if needed) or relax the muscles of the uterus, increases lactation, and has anti fungal and antiviral properties.
2. Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a heart tonic that supports baby’s heart and circulatory system. It may also be beneficial for mothers who struggle with high blood pressure during pregnancy.
3. Calcium
There’s really no way around it: You need a ton of calcium during your pregnancy. You’re creating a tiny human with hundreds of bones and you need it for yours too. For maximum absorption, take calcium with vitamin C (and separately from all other supplements). I’m a huge fan of THIS raw calcium.
4. Vitamin C or Rose Hips
Vitamin C helps prevent sickness, reduces varicose veins and hemorrhoids, strengthens the perineum, reduces labor and recovery time, and decreases baby’s risk of infection. It also increases the absorption of calcium and iron.
There are many different types of vitamin C supplements you can take, but the best form is raw and/or whole food sourced like this one or an herbal rose hips.
5. Probiotics
A good gut is essential to a good immune system and you can’t pass on what you don’t have … so get on a good one.
6. Magnesium
The need for magnesium is R-E-A-L. It helps nervous system development and is a go-to for pregnancy probs like constipation, sleeplessness, restless legs, and pain. There are a lot of different forms of magnesium out there, but nothing compares to Natural Calm.
7. Herbal Trace Minerals
Trace minerals are those little minerals nobody pays attention to that baby needs for development. Taking trace minerals in an herbal form increases their bio-availability.
8. Vitamin E with Selenium
Vitamin E is a super important antioxidant needed for baby’s development. Taken with the trace mineral selenium, it helps prevent pre-eclampsia, cystic fibrosis, low birth weight, infant mortality, SIDS, and genetic disorders. Synthetic vitamin E has lower bioavailability and is excreted three times faster than natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol), so opt for 400 IU of natural vitamin E each day and take it with food.
9. Vitamin A and D
Vitamin A and D help prevent deafness, blindness, and poor bone formation. You can get a supplement that has A with D, or take the vitamin D separately in micro-emulsified form.
10. Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B supports the nervous and digestive systems, while also nourishing the mother’s adrenals. If you don’t want to spend your entire pregnancy feeling like you got run over by a mack truck … you should probably take one. (Here’s my favorite.)
11. Methyl Folate
One of the most important supplements you can take for a healthy baby is folate. Don’t get folate confused with “folic acid.” They are not the same thing. Folic acid was one of the stupidest recommendations made to pregnant women … like ever.
Folic acid? Run. Methyl Folate? Take.
12. Zinc
It’s super important to make sure you have enough zinc during your pregnancy. Zinc is essential for healthy absorption of vitamins and the function of more than 200 human enzymes (including those necessary to synthesize RNA and DNA). It also enables proteins to connect with nucleic acids. You wouldn’t think that we’d have an issue with zinc deficiency in this country, but because of our overly processed diet, it’s actually quite common.
13. Udo’s Oil, Cod Liver, or Raw Coconut Oil
Essential fatty acids are vital to the functioning of every single cell in your body … and baby’s. The body needs fat for the nervous system, hormones, brain development, skin, hair, nails, and everything else you could possibly think of. A tablespoon a day of a good fat is a must.
Optionals:
Here is a list of supplements you might want to consider if you’re a go-getter or are experiencing a unique pregnancy situation.
Chromium
This is an important supplement to take if you’re at risk for developing gestational diabetes or have had it in prior pregnancies.
Chelated Iron, Herbal Iron, or Yellow Dock
A lot of women can suffer from anemia during pregnancy (and all of the exhausting side-effects that go alone with it), and it’s often due to low iron. Prescription iron will make you constipated and it’s not in a form your body can readily absorb, so herbs naturally high in iron (like yellow dock, I-X, or burdock) or a chelated form of iron is the way to go.
Wild Yam
Wild Yam is taken for the first three months to prevent miscarriage and morning sickness.
Protein Shakes
Although we greatly over-estimate how much protein people require in this country, pregnant women need a little more. So if you’re active, light on meat, or vegetarian, consider supplementing your smoothies with plant-based raw protein.
Prenatal
With each pregnancy, there were days where I just didn’t have time to take the Mercedes-Benz of prenatal plans. For the days where I needed a shortcut, I took a raw prenatal, a calcium supplement … and a nap.
Happy baby baking!
Hello, I am 38 weeks pregnant, I used most of your recommended vitamins during pregnancy, and just went back to order some more. I am concerned because when I went to re order the vitamin A with D it says on the description that that amount of vitamin A can lead to birth defects..
Megan, Is there a good prenatal you recommend that is chewable or small in pill or tablet form? I can’t swallow large pills. Also, do you recommend taking the red raspberry during the entire pregnancy or just towards the end?
I took red raspberry during my pregnancy and up to three weeks after. I would look into Mama Bird AM/PM prenatal or Seeking Health. I’m not sure what formulation their product is in though.
Hi. I’m in my first trimester, over 40 and having my 3rd child. Are all these supplements taken along with a prenatal or in place of it? They say that too many vitamins are not good. Just want to make sure I’m not over doing it. Thank you
I wondered about that too. I think the list is all the “must-haves” – either separately or in a prenatal (which usually don’t have a lot of those listed by Megan, or not high enough dose) – and the prenatal and calcium is the minimum if you can’t do them all some days. That’s how i understand it, hope this helps!
Is there anything we can do to make sure all of these (specifically prenatals) are properly absorbed? Is it possible they could be going right through us and down the toilet?? I already take them with fat (spoon of coconut oil). Anything else?
The Herbal Trace Minerals are what we recommended before Nature’s Sunshine came out with their own Prenatals. An excellent formula. The NSP Prenatals I have found to be excellent. I have grandchildren who were formed with them! I also love the Nature’s Sunshine Vitamin C’s. They are all good but especially the timed release. My daughter took 8 a day for her varicose veins during pg and delivered an 11 lb. 4 oz. baby boy naturally without a tear! She is a small person and this was a VBAC! The midwife was impressed. She has used oils since for her veins and they look much better. (The veins are inherited.) For pg I would also recommned eating high quality beef! Getting high quality protein is essential. I recommend beef to most of my clients and many of them do well with raw milk also. With muscle testing you can select what supplements are best for the pg and that is super helpful as some will need one thing and some another, but certainly good nutrition is important. The westonaprice web site is a good place to find more information. Before we got into all the processed food our ancestors ate a lot of eggs, if possible, during pregnancy. And of course, NEVER get the flu shot during pg!
All very good things! Thanks for adding your wisdom CLN. <3