Invest in Your Baby! The 18 Month Pregnancy
The 18-Month Pregnancy: Redefining Health at Conception
Pregnancy is perhaps the time of most profound strength and beauty for a woman. Yet, many women struggle to conceive; to maintain a pregnancy; or develop excessive morning sickness or hyper-emesis with pregnancy. For these women, the dream of motherhood becomes a medical endeavor. At Dr. Autoimmune, we consider the environment of a woman’s body prior to conception to be just as important as during her pregnancy. Hence, the 18-month pregnancy.
For some women, dietary changes can be the answer to infertility and difficult pregnancies. A recent article in a Czech gynecological peer-reviewed journal indicated a infertility diagnosis may indicate a problem with gluten. This protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and a variety of other grains can cause tremendous gastrointestinal symptoms, brain fog, depression and yes – infertility and difficult pregnancies as well. Some women who had experienced several miscarriages had successful pregnancies after removing gluten from their diets.
While this is not an across the board fix for everyone, it can be a great place to start. Testing for gluten sensitivity markers like anti-gliadin IgG and IgA, as well as the “gold standard” tissue transgluatminase IgA can be helpful starting place if you struggle with pregnancy (but not the only markers!).
Working with a functional medicine practitioner to address the effects of gluten is essential for regaining a balanced body. A balanced brain creates a balanced body and balanced hormones. All three are necessary for a happy and healthy pregnancy. For this reason, we recommend an 18-month pregnancy.
A pregnancy should be prepared for just like any other milestone in life: years of school prepare us for careers; months are spent planning weddings and marriage; months are spent deciding which car to buy. By optimizing a woman’s health long before conception, structural, metabolic, hormonal and neurologic balance is addressed, dietary and lifestyle habits are optimized and an ideal environment is created to conceive and grow a healthy, balanced baby.
Giving your child the gift of health from the beginning helps create a bright and limitless future. Planning for and starting a family is a time for joy, although not without its challenges. Creating an ideal environment for conception helps you appreciate the joy and the fun of each step along the way.
Functional Medicine that balances the entire body can make pregnancy, and daily life, a time of balance, joy and vitality.
Doctors Ian specialize in digestive issues, inability to thrive on the gluten free diet, thyroid imbalances and childhood development. 303-882-8447.
