The primary focus for couples today is to have a baby. Most of you know that fertility has declined in recent years. Many women are waiting longer to have a baby, careers taking priority, as well as extreme stress that truly affects our hormones and disrupt not only our health but key hormones that affect conception. More and more pollutants are in our environment, food, cosmetics, cleaning products as well as chemicals used for weed control which get into our environment and affect us “silently” or so we think. Check FB at East Winds Acupuncture for more information on these “endocrine disruptors” and other related topics.
A professor Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Southampton’s Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Research Center has pioneered medical research that has linked babies with low birth weight with a higher incidence of developing disease later in life. He says “Preventing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes needs to begin before a baby is even conceived. Research has found low birth-weight babies to be at increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.” This makes so much sense to me as the Mommy’s environment affects the baby, imagine if blood sugar is out of balance, that baby in utero is going to be affected. Girl babies more so as their little ovaries are already laying eggs down as the develop. This can affect three generations. This is common in women with PCOS.
At East Winds we also take “preconception care” seriously. Our focus is on both partners to ensure they are equally prepared to provide their future child with every possible advantage. We spend time making sure that you are taking all nutritional supplements for a healthy baby. Men as well as women need nutritional, herbal and life style changes preferably for three months before trying to conceive.
Many physicians overlook gut health! It is key to our health, if we do not digest and absorb what we eat our body is not being “nourished” how do you think a baby would do in this environment.
Bottom line; if both partners have optimal health before they conceive it can ensure “optimal” fertility, reduce miscarriage, full-term babies, healthy pregnancy, smoother deliveries and less prenatal complications.