Calling all aspiring mamas, soon-to-be mamas, and mamas in the thick of it all!
One of my favorite things in my practice is to help clients with fertility, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. My children are the reason I ended up on the path I am on, so it is a subject near and dear to my heart.
I often get so many questions surrounding pregnancy, so here are some of my best recommendations. I could talk for hours on each of these and many more, but for the sake of covering the most important ones, I’ve concisely compiled them here for you.
Blessings on your journey as a mama – a divinely bestowed path meant to lift you to great heights and depths of the soul.
Get lots of sunshine.
Not only is there research bursting at the seams about how sunlight is crucial for health and wellbeing (see more in this post), but it also assists with preparing the body for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. How important is Vitamin D? Research shows that Vitamin D during pregnancy supports gross motor, fine motor, and social development in the child; as well as fetal eye development and much more. Boosting your Vitamin D levels during pregnancy lowers your risk of postpartum depression, baby’s low birth weight, and preterm labor.
So if the main way your body absorbs Vitamin D is through sunlight on your skin (only a little through food), what do you do when living in a darker and/or colder climate during pregnancy? Besides hanging out by the window as much as possible, sun water or sun tea are also of great help. Even if the sky is overcast, there is still sunshine coming through that will give you benefits! Eating foods that require lots of sunshine to grow (such as berries, melons, other fruits, sprouts and greens) is another way to bring sunshine into the body.
Here’s how to make sun water:
Stay hydrated.
Drink LOTS of [clean] water! Your fluid intake should be well over half of your body weight in ounces, and I would encourage you to drink your full weight in ounces throughout the day. During pregnancy, the body is creating a fluid sac that needs – you guessed it – lots of fluid that has to come from somewhere! Many women limit their water intake because they don’t want to visit the bathroom more than the already frequent times one does while pregnant; however, this can lead to congestion, constipation, high blood pressure, and kidney problems (to name only a few).
Tips for hydration during pregnancy and postpartum:
- Drink clean water. I highly recommend researching and taking steps to ensure your water is free of toxins. I have written extensively about this here.
- Drink more than you think! (See above.)
- Drink high-mineral fluids. The easiest way to do this is to add a squeeze of lemon into your water, but there is a whole lot more you could do if you wish! See this post for lots more on this topic.
- Eat your water. Hydrating foods such as melons, fruits, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. are not only packed with nutrients to support your body and baby, but are also extremely hydrating to the organs and glands. See more here.
Eat lots of fruit.
As Anthony William says, to bear fruit, one must eat lots of fruit! Besides the hydrating and nourishing nature of fruit, look at the deeper aspect: fruit grows from the seed of the plant or tree. As women, we are blessed with this amazing capability. Fruit is the result of reproduction – so to encourage and support your body, consume lots of fruit. Besides, fruit is full of antioxidants, natural sugars that are vital to your system, and many other vitamins and minerals that are crucial for assisting your body to create a fertile environment for a baby to grow. Fruit is also amazing during postpartum to renew mineral stores that the body used during pregnancy and birth. A plant-based diet is also very helpful for this purpose. There are many resources on my website about this as well as my Go Vegan program with over 100 recipes and a 31-day meal plan.
Support your body through “morning” sickness.
“Morning” sickness hits at any time – so what can you do to prevent it or work through it? Here are my best tips:
- If possible, six months before conceiving, get lots of plant-based B-vitamins. Some great sources are avocados, leafy green vegetables, kale, blue green algae, sweet potatoes, alfalfa, chia seeds, and Jerusalem artichoke. I would also highly recommend a B12 supplement (even if you eat meat – read more on why here) – Global Healing Blend (not the Tri-Blend) or Vimergy are the only brands I can recommend at this time.
- Eucalyptus, peppermint, ginger, grapefruit, lavender, and fennel essential oils are helpful for preventing and managing morning sickness. You can massage a few drops of the essential oil mixed with a carrier oil (I love St. John’s Wort, jojoba, calendula, or evening primrose for this purpose) on the abdomen. Everyone responds differently to essential oils, so find a high quality one (I recommend the Primavera brand*) and see which one works best for you.
- Take in ginger and fennel in as many forms as you can – as a tea, as the herb/root, add it in your foot, juice it, use the essential oils, etc. Both of these have long ancient histories with assisting with nausea and morning sickness.
- Make sure you are drinking enough clean water (see above).
*I recommend only the Primavera brand after a decade of testing out countless brands, because of their clean extraction and manufacturing process. If you wish, you can use my discount amberbodilyhealth for a 10% discount.
Bring Foot Zoning into your life.
After a long struggle with infertility and a slew of health problems with my first son, I stumbled upon Foot Zoning. After being regularly zoned, I became easily pregnant with my second son. When he was discovered to have brain tumors in utero, I began learning Foot Zoning and implementing it into my life in desperate attempts to save his life. He was born against all odds and to every doctor’s surprise with only a few tumors left. After several months of regular zones as a newborn, all of his tumors dissolved! (Read more of our story here.) This is why, in my heart of hearts, I know that Foot Zoning absolutely helped save and create the lives of my children – and why it is so precious to me to use this technique with other mamas. I have been absolutely blessed to be a part of countless womens’ and babies’ journeys through infertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. Foot Zoning helps rebalance the body before, during, and after pregnancy to assist its many systems through the changes needed to support the creation of life.
In fact, many of my Foot Zoning students are mothers themselves – thirsty for knowledge that will catalyze health and wellness for their families. I have watched and coached my students using the gift of this technique and information to bring their children back from illness and chronic disease or to support themselves through the many seasons of motherhood. These mamas are forever equipped with healing knowledge and a tool that only requires their hands to rebalance the body. Here is what one former student and mother says about learning Foot Zoning:
“My healthy lifestyle changes eventually led to me feel empowered to help others, and get certified as a foot and face zonologist. Since I have gotten my health back, I married the love of my life, and am now in my final month of pregnancy with our first child. During the foot zoning certification course, I learned about healing my body on a deeper level, and what my body needed to conceive a baby. Healing from the inside out is a gift of knowledge that I have been so blessed with, and with my healing experience that the body has the power to heal itself (when given the right environment), I hope and pray that I can help others in need of something different than a one size fits all protocol that often occurs in our modern healthcare system. Our bodies have the power to heal!!! Amen!” – Yvette Mannion, Entrepreneur, Certified Foot & Face Zonologist
A Blessed Journey
No matter if your path to motherhood has been difficult or simple, creating a new life is an incredible gift that we are blessed with. It is my hope that these tools will support your journey and your child! Sending you many blessings.
Ignite the healer within,
Amber
P.S. The Radical Healing online course is an amazing resource for information that goes much deeper into these topics. Plus, it’s a pre-requisite for the Beginning Foot Zoning class if you ever feel inclined to take it! Check it out here.
