I think the part of pregnancy that is most NOT looked forward to is morning sickness. Yes even more so than labor and delivery. During the course of morning sickness, or in my case 24 hour sickness, I have learned a lot of things about my body and the more probable causes of this dreaded 6 week experience.
We often hear the old wives tales " the sicker you are the more likely it is that it is a girl!" "heartburn means it is going to have a lot of hair". The thing about both of these "signs" is that they have everything to do with the mother's digestive system rather than characteristics of the baby.
One thing I will agree with is that the hormone changes do have an effect on how one feels :)
My conclusion of what morning sickness (MS) has the most to do with has been an ongoing development over the past 5 weeks, and will probably continue the more I pay attention.
For me it all comes down to the health of the digestive system of the mother-to-be. This is determined well before the child is even conceived, and so is something that would be better off taken care of before pregnancy ensues. For me, trying to take care of it after has been miserable.
My biggest health issue that I have have dealt with is sluggish bowels and digestion. It is an ongoing thing that I can remember from my early childhood.
Dr. Christopher from the School of Natural Healing, teaches that the number of bowel movements we have a day should match the number of meals we have a day. So if we have 3 meals, we should be utilizing the bathroom at least 3 times. If not, then we have a form of constipation, mild to severe depending on the situation, with diarrhea as the most severe. Once we can get a hold on this, it literally opens up healing in the body from about 90% of all disease.
This is important to remember, because when a woman gets pregnant, among all the other physical changes that happen, the digestion process becomes slower. For one who already experiences slow digestion, this isn't the most fun news.
Dr. Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live, describes what is called Toxic Hunger, which is ironically every symptom I experience with MS. He explains that we often mistake a cleansing process that the body goes into after digestion for hunger. So we eat, starting digestion and stopping the cleansing, leaving harmful waste to circulate toxins through our body. I have heard before that morning sickness is your body going through a cleansing process, getting rid of harmful material so your baby has a better place to develop. I strongly agree with this, explaining why my MS symptoms are exactly this toxic hunger or cleansing. This is what he says-
"It occurs predominately after digestion ceases and the digestive tract is empty and it can make a person feel extremely uncomfortable if he or she does not eat or drink a caloric load ( to inhibit detoxification) for relief."
Toxic Hunger Symptoms:
- headaches
- fatigue
- nausea
- weakness
- mental confusion and irritability
- abdominal and esophageal spasm
- fluttering and cramping in the stomach
For me, this is pretty much everything I experience. I only feel better when I have a big heavy meal that stays with me for longer than 2 hours. I know that there are those that feel really sick if they eat anything, and to me that just comes back to the whole idea of having a healthy digestive tract that moves freely. If it isn't able to move freely or hardly at all, the body is going to reject any more food being put in because it is working so hard to get rid of what is already there.
Ways you can help increase digestive action and create better health before conception -
- Lower Bowel Herbal Formula from Dr. Christopher
- Ingest at least 60% raw foods with at least 4 fruits a day
- Increase fiber intake to a minimum of 100 grams a day (preferably not an over the counter supplement but through your raw fruits and veggies)
- Take Pro-biotics
- Limit dairy and other animal products to a maximum of 2 times a week
- Drink at least 1 oz of water for every pound you weigh ( if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 150 oz of water)
- Work up to at least 1 Tbsp. of Diatamceas Earth in a drink a day
- Exercise - especially something like Yoga or Pilates ( something that massages your internal organs
- GREEN SMOOTHIES!!
- Liver Cleanse ( Lemon Juice, Peppermint and Lemon Essential Oils)
Doing these things BEFORE becoming pregnant is very critical, because as we all know, our bodies are very particular about what goes in them after and will even reject things that are good for you. :) Some things you can do to help your digestion during pregnancy are:
- Liquid Chlorophyll ( My life saver this pregnancy!!)
- Lower Bowel Formula ( as your body will accept it, mine wouldn't for the first 4 weeks)
- Diatamaceas Earth in some juice or even water
- Pro-bitotics
- Rub Ginger Essential oil on your tummy
- Make a Ginger tea either with oils or herb
- Rub Ease Essential Oil on tummy
- Massage Stomach in a circular counter clockwise motion
- Liver Cleanse ( Lemon Juice and Lemon Essential Oil)
In a high powered blender - I use Blendtec - blend on a high speed for about a minute. If using Blendtec, push the Fondue and Soup button and let it go.
