2020 update on natural products that may affect your pregnancy.
Zulaikha’s interview with Sue January 2020
Disclaimer: this information is not to be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please discuss any changes you with to make to your diet or supplementation with an experienced and knowledgeable practitioner.
The first trimester of a woman’s pregnancy is a critical stage and there and many things to help and many more to avoid doing. “ Simply improving the maternal diet before pregnancy can alter gene expression in the offspring and their susceptibility to certain diseases for up to four or five generations. This can help reduce the risk of giving birth to a child who will develop autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD, dyslexia and learning disabilities.”
Q: What supplements and herbs must you definitely stop taking as soon as you fall pregnant?
A: Certain herbs have a direct influence on the womb, causing it to contract or abandon the pregnancy. Parasite treatments that contain Artemisia, like our parasite remedy, for instance. But prior to conception, it is important to eliminate parasites, especially worms and microbes that may be causing a leaky gut. More about that later. The rule with herbs is: when in doubt, don’t. Even mint, rosemary, basil and oregano are viewed with suspicion, but that may be extreme.
Eliminate parasites to prevent intestinal permeability. Parasites like giardia, a protozoa, cause damage to the intestinal wall that increases its permeability. Antigens and microbial fragments leak from the gut into the bloodstream, over-stimulating the immune response, causing allergies and auto-immune disorders. The intestinal permeability can also be caused by antigens within the gut, such as gluten. These factors contribute to inflammation and are linked to disorders that the unborn child may become exposed to via the maternal transmission of antibodies. So if you are not yet pregnant, get rid of giardia ant other parasites and cut out gluten!
Mothers who have a leaky gut or carry certain antigens can have babies that are more prone to: inflammation of the large or small intestine (colitis and enteritis), chronic arthritis , asthma, skin conditions like acne, eczema, hives or psoriasis, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, deficient pancreatic function ( diabetes 1 or 2) and AIDS .
Q: Apart from leaky gut syndrome and the mother’s antigens causing these very common conditions, what about disorders of the brain?
A: The gut and brain are linked and obviously an unhealthy gut produces an unhealthy brain. Research has shown that some children with autism develop autoimmunity within the brain due to antibodies passed to them from their mothers while in utero. A study found that one in 10 mothers of children with autism carry antibodies in their blood that reacts with their children’s brains. Simply improving the maternal diet before pregnancy can alter gene expression in the offspring and their susceptibility to certain diseases for up to four or five generations. This can help reduce the risk of giving birth to a child who will develop autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD, dyslexia and learning disabilities. Here is the full article.
Q: Are there any reasons for taking herbs during pregnancy?
A: Yes! If herbal remedies like our Agnus Castus or Sweet potato have helped to raise progesterone levels and thus enable the mother conceive, then they need to continue taking them to keep the progesterone levels up. There have been a few cases of ladies who stopped using them abruptly after conception and the pregnancy failed, due to not enough progesterone to continue. Under professional supervision, such cases need constant progesterone monitoring to prevent a mishap. The same applies to any woman who receives hormonal treatment for conception; stopping it suddenly may endanger the pregnancy. So the hormones need to be constantly monitored and maintained throughout a pregnancy that may be at risk.
Q: What about nausea – morning sickness, is there anything natural to take?
A: Ginger helps to control nausea and some midwives recommend tea with honey and ginger. The nausea is actually a form of ketosis, whereby the body is breaking down its reserves in the liver, for the transformation that is taking place. The queasy feeling is due to a lack of food, not from eating too much. So eating something fresh, like pineapple of pawpaw that is easy to digest ca help. We all had our personal favourites, like Marmite – on rice cakes!
Q: What are the best supplements to take?
A: Most important is to look after the probiotics, the bacteria in the mother’s body that are transferred to the baby. (see PROBIOTIC-15). The microbiome needs to be well stocked with the beneficial strains of gut bacteria. Also use some liquid probiotics diluted 5 :100 for vaginal rinsing (with a small enema bulb) from time to time for the same reason – especially if you plan to have a normal / natural birth. This will give Baby the leading edge. They say that the most important reason for a natural birth is the transferral of the bacteria to the new born baby. It establishes the immune setup from day 1. After that, touching and breast feeding the baby helps to establish the microbiome.
Because the gut is the seat of the immune system, a leaky gut triggers a cascade of inflammation that extends beyond the gut and into the brain and body. This raises the risk of brain antibodies developing in the mother and being passed to the foetus. Probiotics are the key to a healthy gut and to preventing candidiasis.
Q: Are you saying that a C-section baby who is bottle fed will lose out?
A: Yes, according to the midwives, so the mother needs to compensate as best she can. Antibiotics also destroy the microbiome, leaving a little baby with a very compromised immune system. At least a baby that is fed with breast milk can benefit from some natural protection, especially from the colostrum that is released as the very first meal. Ideally as nature intended it, directly from the mother.
Q: what about calcium, is it good or bad to take during pregnancy?
A: I am often asked the same question by expectant mothers. We are told that a pregnant Mom eats for two and taking our Calcium Complex helps to build the baby’s skeleton and preserve the mother’s. The magnesium is also important, especially during breastfeeding and it helps with controlling acidity and keeping the urinary system healthy. A herbal tea made from raspberry leaves used to be given in the old days – it was rich in magnesium!
Q: Are vitamins essential to take and do they really help to prevent neural tube disorders?
A: Yes, babies born with an undeveloped spinal cord (spinibifida), for instance have a folic acid deficiency. Mom needs to take a vitamin B complex, as all the b vitamins work together.
Q: Do you know of any eating habits a pregnant Mom has that may turn out to harm the baby?
A: Yes, eating wheat and gluten. https://swbrainpc.com/2017/05/19/autism-could-be-related-to-moms-diet/
Please read this article – before you fall pregnant and warn other people. Autism, diabetes and other autoimmune disorders are caused by the mother, especially during pregnancy by eating gluten and too much sugar or if Mom has a leaky gut. (A friend of mine has a third child who is type 1 diabetic. She admitted that throughout her pregnancy all she ate were biscuits, she kept craving sugar.)
Q: Is there any way of preventing these disorders?
A: A balanced, nutritious but specifically anti-inflammatory diet helps to establish a healthy immune system during pregnancy. It is important to lay this foundation prior to conception, after parasite and heavy metal cleansing protocols. Studies have shown the effectiveness of a gluten-free and dairy-free diet or, more ideally, the immune balancing diet to prevent autoimmune reactivity. It is also important to eat for your blood type, because not everybody is intolerant to dairy or wheat specifically, but other foods or substances may trigger the inflammation.
Q: As a last word, is there any secret to reducing the risk of autism but also the susceptibility to other immune disorders?
A: Try to approach conception and pregnancy with a balanced immune system and control factors that cause reactivity and hence inflammation. Avoid the trigger foods that produce antibodies that may affect the child’s brain and immune system. The main culprits are gluten based, but some lectins are blood type specific, such as chicken for blood type B, beef for type A and so on. Avoiding trigger foods controls inflammation and keeps autoimmune reactivity at bay. Doing this can help to prevent most cases of: asthma, eczema, food intolerances, allergies, and other brain developmental disorders (e.g. Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, ADD/ADHD and of course, autism.)
Q: What impact does the blood type diet have on the developing fetus during pregnancy?
A: Quote from Dr D’Adamo “Under situations of sickness, such as frequent miscarriage or whatever, the appropriate diet for the mother has worked wonderfully. We have had many patients as mothers who have followed the diet with great success. To my knowledge, the diet has resulted in no problems or reactions in these situations. Of course, everyone is different, and you might want to bring the diet to your obstetrician’s attention if there are any other health problems.” Eat right for you and your baby – the book.
“We can also positively influence genes after the child is born by improving external influences, such as by removing inflammatory foods from the diet and supporting good nutrition and brain health.”
Free e-book for repairing the gut-brain. The autoimmune diet.
Last word, in hindsight
“I wish I had known all this when I was pregnant. I wish my Mother had known this. Maybe I would not have suffered from childhood respiratory infections, anaemia and gluten sensitivity. Maybe my sisters would not have had thyroid issues, eczema, and sinus problems. Knowing what I do 40 years after having my own babies, I could have prevented gluten and PCOS from affecting my own daughter and causing her years of battling to fall pregnant. However, it is never too late to make changes, to overcome autoimmune mishaps and to be Healthy and Happy!” (Sue Visser)