Good Nutrition is the Number One Thing You Can Do to Ensure a Healthy Baby

Throughout pregnancy, many women receive numerous tests to ensure that their baby is healthy.  While these tests can sometime be helpful in detecting problems, in most cases knowing something is potentially wrong does not actually provide a solution.

The best thing you can do to take care of your baby and yourself is to eat well and stay physically active.  There is no guarantee that if you do all the 'right' things, your baby will be healthy, just as some people do things that research has shown to be harmful and end up with perfectly healthy babies.  Nevertheless, eating well and exercise have been proven by research to improve outcomes for babies overall.  Also, the habits that you form around your diet before and during pregnancy will be passed on to your children.  Babies actually develop a taste for the food that mothers are eating through their amniotic fluid (and later through breast milk) and like those foods themselves.

Here are some specific suggestions (businesses are all Lethbridge-based):

Yoga is great for helping you feel good during pregnancy and preparing your body for birth. Theresa Spencer at Terra Sol Yoga offers classes and workshops for pregnant women and their partners. www.terrasolbodytalk.com

Eat whole, unprocessed food. Avoid processed soy, sugar, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners whenever possible. Many grocery stores have a 15% discount on the first Tuesday of the month, so stock up on healthy, organic food. Look for local produce and meat, as it is often free of pesticides and hormones and it supports local businesses.

Eat as much as you need to of healthy, nutrient rich food and you can expect to gain 28-40 pounds (or more) during your pregnancy. Perfect Fit – Pre & Postnatal Fitness offers classes specifically tailored to pregnant and new moms to help you stay physically active. www.perfectfitness.ca

Taking a DHA (or fish oil) supplement improves your baby’s brain development. Naturistas (424 7 St S) sells prenatal DHA, other prenatal vitamins and many other high quality pregnancy and baby products.

Receiving chiropractic adjustments can be a great way to relieve many of the common discomforts of pregnancy. Many women under chiropractic care report feeling better during the entire pregnancy, better quality of sleep, less morning sickness and a more comfortable labour and delivery. Contact Dr. Amy and Dr Elliott at West Lethbridge Family Chiropractic for more information. 403-327-0070.

Birthing from Within® Childbirth Classes help you prepare for the healthiest, most stress free pregnancy, birth and new parenthood possible. Contact Ellie at elliedoula@gmail.com to learn more about these unique classes.

Take time every day to relax and connect with your baby, even if it is just a few minutes. When you are eating, pay attention to the food, how it tastes and remember that you are nourishing yourself and your new baby.

Join ‘BIRTHING FROM WITHIN LETHBRIDGE’ on facebook for great articles and information to help you in pregnancy, birth and new parenthood and chances to win prizes.

Getting Postpartum Support - A few ideas

Below are some ideas for support with a new baby.  Most of the resources are local to Lethbridge, but the ideas apply to everyone.


When you have the baby, change your voicemail to say:“{NAME} was born {DATE&TIME}, weighing {POUNDS}. We are busy getting to know our baby and we will get in touch when we have all rested a bit.” You can also put a sign on the door if you expect people to stop by.

 Make a list of things that people can help with: Groceries, Meals, Chores, Errands.  This way when they ask what they can do, you can put them to work. Check out www.mealtrain.com to set up an online meal request calendar.

Hire a postpartum doula (if you haven’t already).  A postpartum doula can help you with practical baby care, emotional support, babywearing and anything else you might need.  See www.elliedoula.com for more on postpartum support.

Connect with La Leche League Lethbridge for breastfeeding support.  Meetings are the first Tuesday or Wednesday of each month at the downtown library.  Join the facebook group to get reminders about the meeting or call 403-331-1003 for phone support.  www.lllc.ca.

Find a group of new moms you can connect with.  www.mommyconnections.ca offers postnatal programs for moms in Lethbridge.

If you think you might have postpartum depression, get help.  www.thesmilingmask.com has lots of resources including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.  Alberta Health Services offers in-home counselling for women with postpartum depression, free of charge.  Contact Bree Elliott, Mental Health Therapist at 403-388-6666 for more info.

Get a baby carrier and wear your baby as much as possible.  www.ecobabycanada.com is a local business selling great slings, wraps and soft structured carriers, along with help learning how to wear them.  Also join the facebook group for Bridge City Slingers – Lethbridge Baby Wearers, to get support on babywearing and info about meetings.

DADS: If mom is breastfeeding the baby for hours every day what does dad do:

o   Everything else! – find ways to give mom a break (even a short one)

o   Wear your baby in a carrier around the house or go for a walk

o   Change diapers

o   Give the baby a bath or take a bath together

o   Take a nap with the baby (make sure to follow safe co-sleeping practices)

o   Make a meal, or go out and pick up healthy takeout or nutritious snacks

o   Sweep the floor, do a load of laundry, change the sheets on the bed...

o   Support breastfeeding by caring for your partner, so she can care for the child.

Active, creative self-expression...

... is critical to childbirth preparation.  And it is really beneficial for life in general.

Making art slows down fleeting images, allowing us to really see and know how we see things. People who discount or dismiss the importance of art-making in prenatal preparation are probably people who feel uncomfortable making art themselves. They often argue that millions of women have given birth without ever having made any art during pregnancy. That is true, but it doesn't mean it is "right." Birth Art is a vehicle that brings parents from their outside knowing to their inner knowing. It is an organic and enjoyable form of learning, unsurpassed by any other method. - Birthing from Within

Birthing from Within Classes allow parents to engage in creative self-expression through birth art.  Birth art is a part of the class that people are often either intrigued by or terrified of.  First, let's clarify what we are talking about with birth art.  It is:

• For the purpose of learning about yourself, finding new ways of thinking about yourself and your birth.
• Not art therapy.  The only person who looks at your art is you.
• Different for everyone.
• Not supposed to be pretty.  It is not 'supposed' to be anything.  
• Helpful in preparing for birth and parenthood, because it usually doesn't go the way you planned it in your head, but even more marvelous things happen than you could have imagined.

Even though I am not pregnant, I get to do lots of art in preparation for mentoring my Birthing from Within classes.  The idea is that everything I ask parents to do, I am doing twice as much of.  So if I ask parents in my class to draw their 'Strongest Image of Birth' as the assignment for a class one week, I am drawing that assignment or something similar twice.  

Doing the same assignments several times allows me to let go of some of the associations or 'stories' I am telling myself about certain aspects of pregnancy and birth.  Every time I draw something the images are different and new questions come up.  Sometimes little questions about what to ask parents in my class after a certain art assignment and sometimes big questions that help me to understand and put aside my own judgments and biases.

The Birthing from Within book has some of the art assignments in it, but the best way to experience the art is in a class setting.  Whether you draw and paint on a regular basis, or you haven't picked up a crayon since kindergarten, the birth art process will teach your something about yourself.

This belly cast is not something that we do in a class, but it is something you can experiment with.  It is decorated with henna, which women around the world have used to decorate their bodies in order to celebrate major life events such as birth.

My friend Kim Strom did the henna decoration.  You can find her on facebook under 'Henna by Kimberley'.  She does blessingways, baby showers and plain old henna parties.